The Bracken Bridge

Being Ever So Helpful...

2012-01-22T14:15:00.000-08:00

Shinigami - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The above character from Death Note is named Ryuk
He is a Shinigami (死神^?, "death god" or "death spirit") the personification of death in Japan. It's unclear when the concept entered Japanese culture; it may have been imported from China (where there are several psychopomp deities), or possibly been imported from Europe during the Sengoku era—that period in European history featured a common motif of the Grim Reaper gathering souls.

AKA (Depending where you're from)
Azrael
The much feared Angel of death in both Islamic and Hebrew lore, Azrael’s name means “whom God helps.” Azrael’s primary role is to help people cross over to Heaven at the time of physical death. He comforts people prior to their physical passing, makes sure they don’t suffer during death and helps them assimilate on the other side. Working as a grief counselor, he surrounds grieving family members with healing energy and helps them cope and thrive, and absorbs their pain.

AKA (Working up the ladder, so to speak)
Metatron
One of the most important Angels in the Western tradition, he represents the supreme Angel of death, to whom God daily gives orders as to which souls will be taken that day. Metatron transmits these orders to his subordinates Gabriel and Sammael. He has a special place in his heart for children, especially those who are spiritually gifted. After the Exodus, Metatron led the children of Israel through the wilderness and into safety. He continues to lead children today, both on Earth and in Heaven and helps them to adjust to Heaven after crossing over.

Also seen in the character of Terry Pratchett's Discworld series
Death (Discworld) (See, not a bad guy, just misunderstood)

Enter Clown Relief from Stage Right

2012-01-20T08:21:00.000-08:00

A Happy Kind of Weeping

2012-01-14T19:58:00.000-08:00

While My Guitar Gently Weeps

I look at you all see the love there that's sleeping
While my guitar gently weeps
I look at the floor and I see it needs sweeping
Still my guitar gently weeps
I don't know why nobody told you
How to unfold your love
I don't know how someone controlled you
They bought and sold you
I look at the world and I notice it's turning
While my guitar gently weeps
With every mistake we must surely be learning
Still my guitar gently weeps
Well...
I don't know how you were diverted
You were perverted too
I don't know how you were inverted
No one alerted you
I look at you all see the love there that's sleeping
While my guitar gently weeps
Look at you all
Still my guitar gently weeps
Oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, oh, ooh

Blue Monday will "celebrated" on 23 January 2012

2012-01-09T09:18:00.000-08:00

Blue Monday (date) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"By the original rationale, Blue Monday will fall on 23 January 2012, however some events will occur on 16 January 2012"

Blue World

2012-01-09T09:07:00.000-08:00

Of Two Easters

2011-12-30T20:37:00.000-08:00

Through lips of flesh you spoke to us
of living water, endless days
deemed fantastic, peace ecstatic
Tree of Life you hung to die

God whose spirit with us stays
help us few who wonder why
such death you chose from which you rose
Great Teacher, can we now suppose
the Three in One and One the Same
your power ours to claim?

Will your angels tend to us your garden gate to find?
Will your angels cry with us for loved ones left behind?
What of those who laugh at us and say we've lost our mind?
for death to self and born again's the practice of our kind

Such practice does make perfect for a resurrection day
but Heaven as a kingdom seems so very far away
As Easter morn we hide some eggs that children have their play

What of the hare our goddess chose
Eostre most fair put in the moon
to lay the cosmic egg of life
that immortality prevail
for every dawn and every Spring
and every new moon born again
becomes the Easter Bunny tale
as now those gods we must curtail
while seeking still our treasures

Wind-up

2011-12-26T15:03:00.000-08:00

As soft the morning sun creeps in
the windows where I lay
stretched and naked on my bed
once more I pause to pray
wind me up again Dear Lord
to live another day

The spring's a little rusty now
and tends to catch of late
the cogs will sometimes rumble
but some breakfast would be great
and coffee, yes, I've got to have
it seems to lubricate

So as I bow here on my side
and make this little plea
your pleasure Lord do please decide
to kindly turn my key
and cause your man to dance again
as You would have it be

Honor Guard

2011-12-26T14:57:00.000-08:00

Common Spirits uncommon valor

chose to serve ideals utmost
fallen on grounds made hallow
by sacrificed blood worldwide
such chosen few abide forever
around old glory
when she flies
night and day

Guards of Honor
never die

Pearl

2011-12-19T21:20:00.000-08:00

Pearl Menu - Bill Stanton

Learning to Love Nothing

2011-12-18T18:28:00.000-08:00

How to Abhor the Void While Loving the Quantum Vacuum (from Mercury magazine)

Much More about Nothing

2011-12-18T10:55:00.000-08:00

Calphysics Institute: Introduction to Zero-Point Energy

Nothing to talk about? Part 1

2011-12-18T10:49:00.000-08:00

Nothing Like a Vacuum

Mud Pie Vision

2011-12-16T09:47:00.000-08:00

Looking down I see it round
and brown seeded by a
slight to right, sinistral blight
a concept wrought of power fought
with blurry top

maybe it's a volcano, someday
to build it up, that's the way
mud or clay?
of which was Adam made?

I forget it's been so long...

the magic lay in making
something out of nothing
(if you don't count the clay)
but there's no nothing left at all
no more nothing...

making a mountain... pyramid or tower
out of something then, anyway
patting, patting, form it round
build it up from solid ground
make it pay, form it hard, firm and round
let it bake as though a cake
but no volcano still, a dead molehill
smash it bash it start again

not for now, not alone
lucky beasts
perhaps next time
some rip and flow
volcano!

Crossroad

2011-12-11T08:13:00.000-08:00

Crossroad

Echo

2011-11-17T20:42:00.000-08:00

Me dam echo dam me

like the interstellar shark
the reef upon which surges break
from pool to fool via crashing wake
to depths sublime exempting time
decisions I'm to make

and long abide the rushing tide
through current without falter
in company of three good men
though one should wear a halter
I could not tell I swear to hell
her shadow cast a binding spell
a stranger she to my surprise
though taught til now like sacred cow
that she'd be in the bottle still

so madness long or madness short
plug it off! the sharp retort
implore your mind to leave behind
a finger in the dike so kind
least bursting forth a gusher lay
please bear us out another day
should one partake in error find
the mother's love to terror

And shudder still to think it so
that fate would find for her a foe
upon which many unkind blow
would kindness seem if death prevail
as echo makes another wail
the banshees' greatly envy

evolved reserve devolved to serve
when chaos rules and gods are fools
all gates are jumbled into mires
as twisted double helix fires
should we pretend to be a friend
right up until the end?

So hide if I discover pain
or hide you lose when faced again
the perfect pitch along the curve
to pry out every single nerve
I'm not my mother's daughter
who would draw you to the slaughter
just an echo drumming softly, softly, softly...

The BasIs of Knowledge and Power

2011-10-11T09:20:00.000-07:00

“I'm just the occasional dagger” the rabbit mumbled, “but what about you?” It was a tall, slim and morose looking clown at whose kneecaps the question was apparently directed but it was the owner's voice from above which replied, “This is a truly beautiful sunset. It will be dark enough soon.” Speaking from behind a drooped ear the rabbit continued, “OK... you can act that way if you like, but there's no secret as to my part. I just do what my kind is best known for and play the part of the prey.”

"Yesss", the clown said through a smile sufficient to repell hungry wolves, "That is a particularly good act you have.” A few quiet moments passed before the clown spoke again, “Yes, you are indeed the helpless bait with an afterbite while I am that which all mortals must flee". The rabbit was simply thinking out loud as he slowly remembered certain things which are best left forgotten, "It's not as though anyone escapes in the long run".

In truth this rabbit who went by the name of Ben was actually a hare if anyone insisted upon being technical and a gray one at that, but each actor plays his given role for a given time and place as best he can. Herr Hare had a key role in this pair's current venture, which is to say his part (having long been typecast) was to attract a particular following and then open certain gates or doors at prescribed times. In this he was well versed and any apparent insanity (except perhaps during Spring) was jest in keeping with another well established stereotype. While a pocket watch would be a nice touch for such a rabbit, time would not be much of a factor this time, and the less said about the clown the better.

Even if inclined to try from time to time, Ben could no more peer into the twin voids of his associate's eyes than any mortal might choose to fall upwards, although the two experiences have been rumored to be much the same. "So what time am I to die tonight?", he quietly inquired as his memory continued to improve. Contemplating a brown spot on the back of his well veined right hand the clown replied, "They showed up about three A.M., excuse me, I mean they will show up then. I tend to forget your current temporal, single phase nature."

"It wouldn't do for me to know anything beyond a guess, now would it?" once again as the mumbling rabbit, "I guess I'll have to rely on the blue cross again?", as such an image came to mind. With a slight nod that tended to make the space before him shudder the clown quietly answered, "Yesss, very blue... and very complete. You serve as the brush to a masterful artist's hand." "Easy for you to say," whispered the rabbit under his breath, “It's not your fur on the line”.

*******

"Is the demon ready?" Kahn asked his apprentice. From across the room Luke replied, "Yes, but this one seems more confused than usual, Master, even though the torments were applied exactly according to your list.” Examining the glowing apparition captured within a sphere of solidified pure influence generated precisely according to their order's secret and ancient ways Kahn answered, “It looks more like this one is particularly anxious for something, perhaps because it already knows what we seek and even whether we will find it. All signs are excellent that we will learn more of the suspected Starbreather before the sun rises". Both men noticed an increased ringing in their ears as ever more random thoughts and ideas began to make their escape from within the sphere, including a name.

"This demon's name name is Bakersfield? Is this some kind of joke?" Luke asked. Kahn explained, "Any being such as this would never willingly yield its real name, but they do tend to have a twisted sense of humor about names in particular. Confusion is their real forte albeit some very important information is always inserted within what seems to be many nonsensical ramblings. This serves as bait to string those such as us along and ultimately trick us in some way. Everything's an inside joke to them, so the answer to your question is yes, it is a joke.”

Luke was then worrying aloud, "But Master, the things, the emotions this one imprints to my mind thus far range only from veiled threats to promises of horrific tortures." In his most serious tone Kaan replied, "Those are more like promises than threats my young apprentice should the demon ever get loose upon us in this world, but however dangerous our practice is by its very nature this night represents the most important of efforts which have been on-going for many generations. Those who have already passed this life as well as those yet to come fully rely on what we can find and so we must not fail."

*******

"You say they completely fall for it?" asked the rabbit.
"Trust me," said the clown.

******

"WHAT LACKS OUR BANE NEEDS TOWARDS EXISTANCE?" ("Bakersfield")

With the issue of this clear telepathic question, Master Kahn took charge and spoke directly to the unfathomable apparition before him, "You already know your task, oh keen one, our host this night is to be that particular gray rabbit which has been determined by several of our most capable brothers to bear an active genetic memory key. We are unsure how far into the past or future such a key can take us but good evidence has been cited that this is a magical creature which also carries the scent of a Starbreather, one of the primal sources of power and knowledge according to our most ancient legends."

"HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN ALREADY THAT SUCH A PATH GOES NOWHERE THAT YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY BEEN? RELEASE US NOW AND YOUR OWN BLOOD AND DEATH MAY SUFFICE OUR WRATH!" ("Bakersfield")

******

"You also say the demon they're using is actually in on this little joke?" whispered the rabbit?
“Oh yesss,” hissed the hooded figure.
"And I am to dance tonight?" asked the rabbit, knowing this meant his death... yet again.

****

"We have read the signs from a species standpoint, but because the rabbit is gray we can't tell of which phase our suspected Starbreather might be. That adds most of the risk to our travel," as Kahn spoke to himself as much as to Luke, "And to add to our confusion the rabbit is symbolic of fertility and yet this particular one is a eunuch." Kahn paused for Luke's response. "That is difficult to read, Master, and yet we are going to do this anyway?" asked Luke. "Yes, it is that important!" replied Kahn, "This personal risk is also the reason we are alone instead having a circus wagon load of drooling high mages tagging along. They all fear that the Starbreather might actually be something akin to a black-fire sentient such as never encountered, in which case the two of us are doomed."

"THOSE FOOLS, THEY TOO WILL ULTIMATELY BE OURS NONE THE LESS!" ("Bakersfield")

"Do you think it knows something," asked Luke, "or is that just the usual demonic interjections?" "Their kind either knows or can discover just about anything of the past or future, but with their giving so many ambiguous answers under what they call their “Sybil's Rules”, it's hard to tell what the actual truth is - as always with that kind." answered Kahn, "I also sense some bad luck with the drawing of this one who chooses to call himself Bakersfield, but we can bank on it following the rabbit at this point even if it's just out of curiosity. But there's something else, something seemingly personal in the air as well...”. Luke pondered and then suggested, “Perhaps it was the prostitute we tortured to initiate the summons?” and then as if covering a mistake he added, “But if this one fails we can get another, perhaps better girl or maybe even a boy for next time.”

"YET MORE!" ("Bakersfield")

"Our host will be going to sleep soon and we must be ready to enter its mind suddenly as soon as his subconscious power manifests itself," said Kahn. "Will that startle him?" asked Luke. "No," Kahn answered, "He is infested with a parasite that inhibits fear, the same parasite that sometimes disguises itself as “faith” which is often found in the ignorant and uninitiated. It is also apparent from our observations that this rabbit's perceptions regarding entropy have been highly enhanced in some manner which is what first tipped us off about a Starbreather connection." as Kahn continued, "A tell-tale sense of extreme order is quite evident such as with his separating a jar of mixed salt and pepper by just shaking it up!" "Oh...", replied Luke, “This will be very interesting... a magic rabbit.”

Ben stretched out and rolled gently on his bed, having already forgotten any earlier dialogue with a strangely ominous, quite unfunny clown. Perhaps it was just another dream. Madmen, fools and hares are blessed to wake up in a new world each day and this one's morning was to come quite soon as Ben was quickly possessed of another strange, sweet dream. Consequently the demon Bakersfield bearing his two mystic riders had scarcely shown up before the prostrate rabbit rolled over once again and locked unconsciously into a position long forgotten to channel the exact energy pattern needed to gently open the first garden gate with barely any resistance. And so the dance began.

*******

An exhausted and fully naked youth peered upwards through glazed eyes to see that he was currently resting his bald head between a pair of huge mounds of soft white quartz sand. In the distance he could hear the cry of gulls as he sought to remember the events of the previous night. After a failed attempt to rise he glanced briefly between his feet to catch a view of the sun rising over the top of a pyramid in the distance.

"STILL DEFINATELY A EUNICH!" ("Pharmin" as the demon was known in this particular world).

*******

"Taco, go fetch Haz from the western dune," ordered Blaze (third high priestess), "We left him there after last night's ceremony and we need him again as the staff member for the noon ceremony." Taco gave a nod and plodded out as smartly as any giant of a bull mastiff might. Of course by "fetch" she might have meant literally so, but as another once-male (as with all males serving here) Taco had more than a few things in common with Haz aside from a common employment with his mistress and so he would be more gentle than as if he was fetching a stranger.

"So Blaze, how did the 'Ultimate search for any good in a man ceremony go last night?" asked Carmen (second high priestess) as she walked into the lab. "All too well I'm afraid, there was not a squeemish one in the group," reported Blaze, "Taco is going to fetch Haz now so I can restore him in time for the mid-day ceremony."

*****

"If this is our dream dancer why isn't he dancing anymore?" asked Luke, "Have we already arrived at our destination or are we going to have to make him do something?" "We have full possession of his consciousness which seems to have gone into hiding right now, but for some reason we have no link to the nerves which move this body," answered Kahn, "I've already tried without any success... what say you about this demon?" "COMPLETE EXHAUSTION, PLUS THE LINGERING EFFECTS OF OPIATES MIXED WITH WASP VENOM, IF YOU WANT A PROFESSIONAL OPINION!" ("Pharmin") "Very Interesting," said Kahn, "Perhaps there is much to learn here regarding such a useful technique." "I MIGHT ADD THAT THE SCENT OF YOUR "BREATHER" IS ALSO OVERPOWERING AT THIS SITE!" ("Pharmin")

*******

The moon was still full in the morning sky as Taco trekked his three hundred pound frame through the sand around the crest of the sacred dunes. Pretty much everything was sacred anywhere near "The Terminal" as the full time staffers referred to this part of the temple grounds. Below him on the gentle slope his moment's errand appeared to be resting peacefully between what the students were taught to call "the Mother's breasts", although a well trained eye would also recognize that a powerful tranquility spell was at work there. Taco found himself fighting back a sudden urge to seriously maul something as he approached the helpless body of Haz. Even with having performed this recovery many times before he had a hard time accepting that the whole gory scene before him was simply the aftermath of a recurring reenactment for the patients (or "students" as they were referred to) here at the Temple of the Goddess BasIs. Poor Haz, he thought... the seagulls will soon be picking through the various small parts that are always left behind.

Taco peered down into the suddenly alert eyes of the otherwise limp body known as Haz with only a slight drool dripping gently onto the boy's face. "WELCOME SEEKERS OF KNOWLEDGE AND POWER," he telepathically projected, "TO THE HEALING ARENA OF BasIs!" (The phrase being a standard welcome for this particular terminal). "YOUR PARALYSIS IS LIFTED, CAN YOU WALK NOW OR NEED I CARRY YOU?" upon which he exhibited his massive jaws and teeth which were fully capable of such a chore.

"No, wait!" as Kahn quickly found control of the body he and Luke currently inhabited, "I think I can move now," quickly proving it so with a widespread quiver. Slowly they turned the body on its side and propped up on an elbow. How do you know we come seeking knowledge and power?” the lips of Haz asked, as Kaan just slowly realized he was talking to a dog.

“ALL PARTIES WHO ARRIVE BY THIS GATE ARE SUCH”, beamed in the dogs thoughts, “IT IS SO BY DESIGN. COME WITH ME NOW, MY MISTRESS COMMANDS”.

“Where did that demon go?” Luke quietly asked his own master.

About the same time Taco mentioned "DON'T BE ALARMED", "Haz" glimpsed down his naked boyish form to see what appeared to be (and was in fact) a good sized mound of candle wax drippings piled over his scorched and blood encrusted crotch. Any alarm was rapidly replaced with a wave of nausia but surprisingly there appeared to be no pain associated with what was obviously a quite horrifying condition. "MISTRESS WILL FIX... COME!"

Blaze gazed out the window of her temple office which faced the main approach knowing that various staff members were already positioned to observe and make notes on the reactions of the many patients who were out and about this morning along this prescribed route where "Haz" would soon be seen either stumbling along behind, being dragged or else carried by her huge canine servant. Taco always did his part to appear very business-like on this occasion.

Among the staff there was always hope for a graduation, and any sign of remorse, any glimmer of compassion within the population of patients would certainly be noted and followed up with a consultation to see if it represented true progress. This was, after all, their loving and sworn duty to BasIs. To anyone observing this occasional macabre parade it would appear that the mind of Haz as well as his body had been shattered since the boy always talked to himself as he slowly slogged through the sand while leaning on the support of Taco's rump. Taco on the other hand had already sensed that he had at least two other entities in tow.

"What does it mean, Master, that the demon is no longer here with us?" asked Luke, "This has never happened before... I don't understand what's happening, it is all so strange." Kahn paused thoughtfully and replied, "Bakersfield could only escape our control if our wards at the tower loft were broken... in which case we are either already dead or may well soon be. But as you say, this is all a very strange thing to be happening in a rabbit's dream and must be related to the starbreather we seek. Perhaps all is not lost since we have already been promised some answers."

*******

An oddly mismatched trio watched this slow progress from within the morning shadow of an adjacent dune, one being the aforementioned missing demon Pharmin who was kneeling a respectful distance from the tall hooded figure around whom space-time itself appeared to shimmer. This made it very difficult for one's eyes to focus upon any specific features which once might have resembled a clown. Between the two sat a very tired gray hare who scratched his ears and mumbled upwards towards the taller one, "Well Lord AzRa, first spawn of BasIs, I'm just dead, may I be excused for a short nap?" The unfunny un-clown replied, “Just don't dance anymore for now.”

******

"Taco and Haz have turned the corner and are starting their walk up the mall way," Blaze reported to no one in particular, realizing that anyone who actually needed to hear this in fact would, "Now let's hope we can catch any of the students who might feel any pity or guilt." Their total sense of humiliation was growing ever more complete as the two once powerful wizards staggered along naked, exhausted and sexually mutilated while following all too close to a massive dog's anus before a growing crowd of girls and women on on either side of the street. The irony of the situation was reflected upon only by the senior of the two who recognized that this scene might have a strange and twisted parallel somewhere in history.

If he raised his head with some difficulty Kaan could barely focus through the yellow haze in his current eyes to make out a white temple at the end of the street. Women of all ages were watching carefully, many pointing furtively and in some cases snickering to each other. As he looked to either side along the walk he heard no catcalls towards the dog or naked boy who followed it, but more than once he imagined that he saw a familiar face.

Luke remained silent and miserable through this horrible nightmare of a ride. Aside from a rapidly growing degree of fatigue and mental anguish, there was still an absence of any physical pain. Looking at "his" own body (that of Haz) it was difficult to imagine how this could possibly be. His master had said nothing for several minutes now and there was some fear that perhaps the two of them were truly powerless in this situation. "What is this all about?" Luke asked himself, as slowly a true sense of fear and guilt started to rise in his gut.

The two men had been together in mystic practices for some years and been in some puzzling situations similar to this in the past. They each knew that everything would ultimately turn out to be as though it was all but a dream even while they both retained collective memories of the experiences and everything seemed so very real. At the same time there was always a measure of doubt since both of them knew they were witnessing some very powerful magic indeed and they had good reason to be apprehensive and even fearful. That stated, nothing fuels bravery (or foolishness) as much as ambition.

It was mid-morning by the time Taco and Haz reached the front of the temple. Looking up the steep stairs ahead, both Kahn and Luke were dreading the climb due to fatigue as well as the obvious further exposure, grief and shame associated with the nakedness and mangled condition they bore in Haz, a strange feeling indeed since while the body was not their own, it still in some way represented their personal presence in this place for an indeterminate period. Fortunately at the last opportunity to do so Taco turned away from the stairway and led them through a ground level entrance into a hallway through which they eventually came to an elevator. The mastiff easily reached his paw high enough to press the single button on the control panel, then turned and silently looked at Haz. “MISTRESS AWAITS”.

Haz closed his weary eyes for a moment as the elevator doors closed, but almost instantly a set of back doors opened to reveal what appeared to be a modern hospital operating room tastefully decorated in two-tone lavender. The room's lone occupant who was wearing a white lab coat over white scrubs turned and passed a sad smile of recognition at the sight of the bloody, naked boy following her huge dog. In what seemed a well practiced and rather formal move Taco gave a slight bow and telepathically announced, “MISTRESS BLAZE, THE SEEKERS ARE DELIVERED” before dismissing himself to curl up against a nearby wall.

Looking upwards through the eyes of the slightly built boy, both Kahn and Luke were immediately struck as if paralyzed by the vision of Blaze who, medical garb aside, seemed the archetype of a Celtic nature goddess even down to a slightly perceivable shimmering glow. Still a sad smile lingered on her lips as she leaned down and gently kissed them on the forehead after which she whispered into Haz' ear, “You I will fix up in no time”. Blaze then gently cupped the boy's face between her hands and blew lightly into it. “REST NOW” as the two felt their heads swimming for just a moment before they passed into unconsciousness.

Kahn awoke into darkness and immediately felt the loss of any mental contact with his apprentice Luke. This would usually mean that their mystical journey was over but he still felt very strange as he flexed his muscles to test his freedom of movement. “Luke, can you hear me?” he asked aloud through a strange, raspy voice. Shaking his head he could feel that he had a bag over it which explained the darkness, but the only sound he could hear was the cooing and ruffling of a nearby dove. Kahn also had a sudden realization that except for the fact that his feet were somehow automatically gripping onto a perch he would have lost his balance and fallen into the unknown darkness. He reflexively flapped his wings.

“Ah, I see that both of you are awake. Welcome to BasIs,” said Blaze as she tugged the covers off of both Kahn the raven and Luke the dove before adding, “Is anyone hungry?” After a bit of blinking, looking around and shuffling along their respective sides of a shared perch, the two birds stared first at each other while sizing up their current situation and then looked to Blaze as she smiled and offered each of them a cracker. They appeared to now be within a walled garden which was open to the sky and it passed through the minds of both birds that they might probably choose to fly away in fear except for the current charming nature of their hostess. In any event, it would be foolish for Luke to make such a move without his master's lead. Neither was quite ready for a cracker.

Setting down the crackers, Blaze continued, “I know you have many questions, but before you complain about your current form you should be aware that no external male genitalia are permitted here, so this seems the least distressing way for you to go about during your visit, at least in our own experience.” Her glow seemed a little lighter than when the two men first saw her this morning dressed in white, but she remained one of, if not the most strikingly attractive woman either could recall. Now that she was dressed more comfortably they could appreciate how much the sun kissed freckles which adorned her otherwise alabaster skin seemed as entrancing and somehow just as significant as any field of stars in the evening sky.

While Blaze could correctly be called a redhead, such would miss the mark when in fact her highlights and even hair color seemed to shift from time to time to accentuate her current expression or mood. One's experience of Blaze could thus be compared to gazing at length into a wood burning fireplace or even a perceptively changing sunrise or sunset. Fortunately this aspect of her hair also served as a visual warning of impending danger or even doom from the aptly named Mistress Blaze but there was historically little talk from anyone about such things and for some reason absolutely no one could ever remember anything bad actually happening. Whether perceived as some kind of goddess, an angel, a priestess or even a she-demon it mattered not in what role Blaze served, only that she did so very well.

"Any cats around here?" Kahn the raven asked while looking around somewhat nervously. "No, at least not right now,” snickered Carmen as she glided into view from behind from behind the two birds, “ It seems the cat always dies, but we do have some Hawking going on nearby you might watch out for,". "That's a terrible pun!" laughed Blaze, as she turned to greet the second woman, "How are we to teach our visitors anything at all if you insist on making such jokes?"

As Carmen passed into their view, Kahn and Luke both took notice of her yard long silky black hair which flowed down over the back of a black satin floor length hobble dress. Even before she faced them they could somehow sense that Carmen was a spitting image of the Morticia Addams seen in the 1960's Addams Family television show. "What indeed shall we teach them?" she whispered to no one in particular.

"I suggest we begin with having them ask questions," answered Blaze, "since I detect a certain nervousness in these birds and that might relax them a bit." Carmen considered the closest bird and asked, "Caw, you went through a lot of trouble to get here, so what do you expect to learn out of this?" "Stop that!" whispered Blaze, “they're already confused enough”. Carmen gave Blaze the trace of a smile and answered, "Well, it seems a more fitting name, all things considered...".

Kahn, who seemed to be engrossed in comparing his own jet black feathers against Carmen's satin finally realized the question had been addressed to him and spoke in his new, bird voice, "The red haired one welcomed us to "BasIs" earlier. Is that the name of this place, who are you and where exactly are we? Carmen gave Blaze a nod, deferring the answers to her, "You're on, bright-eyes, good luck with this one," and then added, "but I was kind of hoping for at least one "nevermore" out of him."

“Among other things,” Blaze continued, “you might think of BasIs in an intangible sense as being a hub of time, while it would be more correct to refer to this as a hub of local gravitational forces, a blind spot in the universe so to speak. Viewed from the standpoint of physics, that which your scientists refer to as time is purely a function of local mass, however, as it happens, BasIs exists as a null point in this respect.” Blaze went on to explain, “Most people think of time as being like a path with the past being behind us and the future lying ahead. From this some can imagine, such as for a science fiction time travel scenario, that different time lines might branch out into an infinite number various possible futures, but as with most ideas the more complicated one makes anything the further from the truth it becomes. Much of this kind of notion is derived from the illusion that freewill actually exists, but I digress.”

Even though he now apparently inhabited the brain of a raven, Kahn was beginning to understand some of what Blaze was saying, although how much he might actually believe or even remember in the long run remained to be seen. “I understand much of the type of science you speak of,” said Kahn, “but we came here through a mystical means, this is much like a dream, but so real. How much of what we see is science, and how much is the magic that we seek? How is of this is real? We are also led to believe that BasIs is some kind of a god or something.”

"You misunderstand" replied Blaze, as Carmen stood by with a slight smile. "Answers to such questions always involve a certain degree of ambiguity," supplied Blaze, "To some of us the question of "magic" is a moot one. That particular word implies ignorance as to the true nature of all things." "If I may interject," said Carmen, "You may have heard it said that "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic," referred to as Clarke's third law, which is a general fallback position as stated by that particular writer of science fiction. Magic is what people call things which are not understood. BasIs is as you have suspected, a starbreather, a prime source of all knowledge and therefore there is no such thing as magic here since we know all there is to know, past, present, and future.”

"No magic?" asked Kahn, noticing that his apprentice snapped his head around and shuffled over on his perch so as to better listen to what his master might say next. "But the demon... and everything else that got us here...". "So it would seem," answered Blaze, "but perhaps you will pick up better on these things as we go along." "And besides," piped in Carmen with a chuckle, "doesn't following a rabbit, even a gray one, into a hole to find a strange new world seem to you just a little over-done, at least in hindsight?"

Kahn's mind was now racing and it was in fact beginning to seem just a little silly about them following a rabbit into this "wonderland" as it were, but all the mystical signs had been thoroughly studied and so many brother adepts were in agreement about the significance of what had to be done. "Alice in Wonderland?" he asked, "Is this but some dream fantasy?"

"No, but it might help things to back up a bit," suggested Blaze, "The "Alice in Wonderland" story which provides the idea of a rabbit hole gateway was written by the mathmatician and author Charles Dodgson, writing under the pen name of Lewis Carroll. He also gave us "Through the Looking Glass" as you are probably aware, but what you may not know is that both stories were later recognized as being sympathatic with some of the leading edge theories in mathematics and physics of the day. Subtle brilliance and ultimate utility such as this is delivered to the human world at a high price to the receiver's mind, and we therefore feel "Carroll" is quite deserving of continued honor where and as applicable. Besides, the rabbit is now a calming standard for such novel introductions of new knowledge where innocent children might otherwise be frightened."

"More to the point of understanding where you currently are," said Carmen, "Have you also heard of a leading physicist of the same historical period by the name of William Thomson, perhaps better recognized by the name of Lord Kelvin?" Both birds were quite intent in their listening, on the edge of their perches so to speak. "You mean the one who came up with the Kelvin scale for temperature measurement?" asked Kahn. Luke the dove could not speak but did bob his head up and down in the normal dove fashion.

"The same," Carmen continued, "but his list of other accomplishments was also quite long, in fact extraordinary even for the age of discoveries in which he lived. To say that much of his scientific revelations were "salted" by beings such as you now see before you is true but any historical discounting of his own personal brilliance should be deemed unfair considering the amount of misleading and false information he was also supplied with out of a necessity to bring a degree of ridicule to him and thus curtail any serious thought in a direction which we felt was dangerous."

"So, Blaze followed, "Somewhere within an ocean of various scientific pronouncements, many of which were quite accurate and some of which were simply considered overbearing and far reaching lies a quote by Kelvin, the leading scientist of his day, which actually states, "Vortices of pure energy can exist and, if my theories are right, can compose the bodily form of an intelligent species." That much speculation is currently not acceptable, being too close to a truth which could upset our plans.”

Kahn and Luke looked at each other, a Full Mage of the First Order and his apprentice (which is no slight thing in itself) and then looked about, reevaluating their hosts as well as their current situation. "So much for knowledge," whispered Carmen, “BasIs has the franchise”.

Almost apologetically and clearly operating from an unaccustomed disadvantage Kahn almost stammered, at least as much as a Raven's beak allows, "But we, Luke and I have powers, magical powers of our own, that's how we came here, and we came as humans, but now we are birds... so how can you claim magic doesn't exist when we are clearly under your spell? My own power seems unreachable right now for some reason, but be warned! "

Blaze was smiling as if to a child but she held no tone of condescension as she spoke, "Ah, we know all too well about the magic you've worked so hard to gain, but I never said that what you deem as being magic doesn't exist, I only said that you misunderstand the true nature of what you actually have." Once again Carmen managed to capture the full attention of the two birds with her black eyes as she added, "Under my spell... yes, I like that, it has a naughty sound to it." A silver bowl appeared in her hands as she quietly asked, "Blaze dear, have you checked on the cat lately? "

Blaze obediently turned and left to check on the status of their cat as Carmen continued to transfix a certain raven with increasingly deep and malevolent eyes. "BEWARE? YOU TELL US TO BEWARE? ACCORDED THE KINDEST OF HOSPITALITY BY TWO OF THE MOST GENTLE OF WOMEN TO BE FOUND WITHIN OUR DOMAIN AND YOU CHOOSE TO THREATEN US?" There was no doubt this bold and clear telepathic message was Carmen's to Kahn alone as he suddenly felt a hand grip tightly around his throat. "LESSON ONE ENDS WITH YOUR REALIZING THAT BAD MANNERS SHALL NOT BE PERMITTED!"

A quiet, yet palpable sense of terror ensued as Carmen slowly squeezed while turning her focus towards the dove saying, "Watch the birdie!" while making Kahn's eyes bulge fully out before he flapped once, quivered and died. "Now what was it your master did wrong?" Luke was terrified and might have tried to fly away but quickly realized he had never learned to fly, at least not as a bird, so he just staggered on the perch watching as Carmen unceremoniously dumped the dead raven into the silver bowl and set it on the floor. "YOU WERE HIS APPRENTICE, WERE YOU NOT?" Carmen directed towards Luke,, ""SO NOW YOU ARE MINE, AND I AM WAITING FOR AN ANSWER."

As if on cue to allow Luke a little more time to formulate an answer, Blaze returned carrying a large black cat, "Oh, I'm a little late. Sorry, Adolph was dead again but I fixed him up. You'd think the odds would be in his favor by now..." She set the cat down and looked up towards the sole remaining bird on the perch. Luke couldn't bear to watch what was now happening to his ex-master but also couldn't ignore the crunching noises being amplified by the silver bowl below. "I'M STILL WAITING" (Carmen) "Teaching the guests some manners?" inquired Blaze. "Spoiler!" giggled Carmen, "You're always giving away the answers."

Kahn was slowly realizing the strange sensation of chewing on feathers when he looked up at the dark clad woman facing a very nervous looking bird on a perch. Think... lick the paws... also he felt he was not alone. "Was it good for you?" asked the red haired woman behind him, "And pay no attenton to Adolf, he's still a bit depressed about the gas chamber thing."

So there's our little Austrian cat," chimed Carmen, "He woke up hungry I see, and still batting a thousand for our quantum physics experiment too. Schrodinger would be proud even if a little surprised, but poor Adolph does have a lot of negative karma working against him with the gas chamber thing." At the sound of his name, the cat reflexively stuck out his right paw at her as if in salute and let out a muted "meaow".

"MANNERS! IT'S MANNERS, MASTER KAHN HAD BAD MANNERS! (Luke) "What a bright little birdie your are," said Carmen with a smile, "Only it's no longer Master anything regarding him, in fact instead of Kahn we'll be calling him Kant, and since you're so bright, we'll even start calling you Light." "Oh Mistress Carmen,that's just too cute," laughed Blaze, "but I'm starting to think you've been working at this job a little too long." "THE MASTER, I MEAN KAHN, ERR, KANT IS ALIVE?" (Luke), in his best newly found telepathy. "Yes, Light,dear, I'm afraid actual death would be considered quite the luxury in these parts. Are you ready for a cracker now?" Blaze answered. Kahn/Kant was helpless to stop Adolf from finishing off the remains of their dinner, but then Kant was helpless to do much of anything except to wonder what was happening. He did however begin to think more clearly as his former bird self was steadily devoured.

"WHAT HAPPENED TO MY POWER?" (Kant formerly Kahn) thinking to himself.
"YOU THINK YOU LOST POWER, WHAT ABOUT ME?" (Adolf) "I ONCE HAD IT ALL!"
"And now both of you together add up to one fat pussycat, and a declawed one at that, but quit your whining, it's time for another lesson, said Carmen as she gently stroked the back of the very still and quiet dove's head, "Unless you're ready for a cat nap instead?" Having heard that many times before, Adolf reflexively shivered at the last question.

"So how about we learn a little bit about "power"?" suggested Blaze, "is anyone familiar with the term phase?" Luke's recently heightened eyesight noticed something faintly written on the far wall which read E/M = C2. This seemed strangely familiar but the current stroking of his head was very distracting... faze? A flashback of Kahn's neck being broken prompted the possessed dove's attention back to the apparent Mistress of Darkness who was looking directly into him with a charming smile not two feet away. "ONE?" the thought came straight out of Luke's mind. "Oh, what a bright little birdie", cooed Carmen with delight," indeed Light is a good name for you! Being in phase means you are one, but what that actually means is something for a later lesson.”

The praise he received was somewhat comforting until Luke happened to notice the baleful glare he was now receiving from the cat who was being quite still except for the twitching of his tail. Something was familiar about that look, a look of madness he'd seen before in any number of old film clips, but no, it couldn't be... or could it? Luke was suddenly very uncomfortable once again.

Don't be jealous, Adolf," said Blaze, "I'm sure you will get something right sooner or later." As if in response the cat suddenly raised his paws full of claws that were no longer and let out a short growl. "Ok, into your box!" said Carmen, "We'll have no acting up in front of company". "Just when we were starting to learn some important things," added Blaze, "What a shame."

"MISTRESS, THE STUDENTS ARE GATHERING FOR THE NIGHT'S CEREMONY" (Taco) as the large dog seemed to appear out of nowhere.

"Well then, Mr "Kant Do" here still has time for a quick trip to the box along with Adolf if you ask me," snapped Carmen, "It couldn't hurt much at this point." "YES MISTRESS" (Taco) as he suddenly gobbled up the cat and trotted off with it. "Maybe a little nap will settle them down?" smiled Blaze, who was ever the more thoughtful of the pair, "And we're still betting that the cat will die as opposed to not?" "Of course they will," replied Carmen, "Kahn doesn't do much to balance the books for old Adolf there, now does he?" Luke cocked his little dove's head still wondering if the dog actually ate the cat which contained his former master.

That evening Kahn awoke lying motionless in the sand on his naked back with his mind still quivering, still being haunted by the intense taste and accompanying agony of having been slowly choked to death by poisonous acid gas. In the dim distance he could see a succession of hooded figures approaching by the glint of candle light reflecting off of numerous shiney metal objects. It was going to be a long night...

Entitled Thinking

2011-09-27T09:20:00.000-07:00

http://www.facelikethesun.com/

Natural-born painkiller found in human saliva - health - 13 November 2006 - New Scientist

2011-09-06T11:33:00.000-07:00

Natural-born painkiller found in human saliva - health - 13 November 2006 - New Scientist

Hacker ethics

2011-09-06T11:09:00.000-07:00

Hacker ethics

Ode to Bourbon Fine

2011-07-13T16:01:00.000-07:00

Of late we'd like to spend our time
on hearty Bourbon made so fine
and never spend another dime
on wine

Such western gold Kentucky Straight
of legend we can meditate
while father's fathers congregate
of late

Pray not to break this special bond
and glow of which we are so fond
for stuff which came across the pond
begone

Good things happen “just because”
but special is as special does
as welcome comes the lightest buzz
my cuz

But time prevails o're lucre si
Sangria better plays than tea
and might make for a better me
to be

It's fire or blood ingested then
so balance son, remember when
and why, and how it did begin
my friend

And toast to each a mindful sip
and guard as arms be on your hip
for loving kindness never slip
thy lip

Word of the Day: Biases

2011-04-10T15:12:00.000-07:00

Bias, the singular form of biases refers to an inclination towards something; predisposition, partiality, prejudice, preference, predilection and in the sense of being something positive can represent a person's having already had the benefit of a learning experience which is then automatically and for the most part subconsciously applied to have some affect on a decision making process. Bias or prejudice can also be a negative thing when it has been based upon a false premise or is somehow improperly applied as typically seen when poor relationships have developed between differing races or cultures. Because bias seldom actually occurs singularly the chosen word of the day became biases, which has the added benefit of being in somewhat less common usage.

The above discription refers to cognitive biases but biases are also widely applicable to physical processes as well as mental ones as more fully discussed by the linked Wikipedia article and this term thereby lends itself to use in blended scope applications. A quantifiable amount of physical bias can often be expressed in various units of measurement depending upon whether one is dealing with a force of gravity (newtons), electrical charge (volts), fluid pressure (psi) etc. each further demonstrating the universal concept of biases. The quantification of mental/cognitive biases is problematic at this time although there might be some degree of an individual's qualifications to be claimed. In simple graphic terms, the application of any continued active force of Bias tends to push or pull all things out of the Grey and towards either the Black or the White.

This is definitively a matter of having a directional active energy in play whereby the most persistent net force may (or may not) ever appear to actually "win" such a tug of war although in an amusing parallel to Einstein's Theory of Relativity even the determination of "winner" often remains subjective to the bias of any participating observers or in some cases the participating debaters. Alternative universes are apparently created by the witness of two or more equally qualified observers bearing opposing biases who nevertheless each assert that "this is so" whereby an application of imaginary numbers would also seem to become the rule. Rectification of such an event may become evident as methods of both quantification and qualification of cognitive biases evolve, assuming of course that delusional persons and/or liars are not in direct competition with persons bearing speculated Genetic disorders, specifically those who lack the God gene (VMAT2) where the lack thereof may have prohibited the development of some generally ineffable Senses being relied upon by the opposing party.

In the absence of a continuously applied directional net force of bias in the physical universe all things ultimately become gray, null and void, a corollary of which is that just as each participating observer will witness an event as being subjective to their own biases, any non-participant's ("outside observer") more objective, presumably bias-free viewpoint will also ultimately witness all things as being gray, null and void as well as unimaginative and thus too dull for words. Assumptions hereto include that like-units of energy exchange exist in common Spacetime dimensions which precludes exchanges between (for example) theists and atheists if each is of the "strong" variety whereby no common ground exists upon which to battle (see above on "alternate universes") .

Basis:
pragmatics
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cognitive_biases

Bent That Way

2011-04-09T21:04:00.000-07:00

TRUMP 12 - THE HANGED MAN “If anyone comes after me, let them deny themselves, take up their cross and follow me.” This symbolizes Jesus’ crucifixion, and our death to ourselves.

Bent That Way

by Lloyd E. Hargrove

If taking notes, our paths have crossed
and happenstance directs our way
onward yet past polite nod
acknowledgements humanity
yet silence holds its burden fast
to each his own in contemplay
a mindful search of sensory
is this a one who carries God?

Which vessel fit for kingdoms come
which current carries beyond sight
past judgement day or even night
who knows the grail that He did choose
silence before the storm...

Take kind regard of other's shoes
and note the sole that holds the hole
you see some have a special bent
though rates of ware may vary much
volumes are spoke of where it went
where it was worn, where it was rent
of traction lost to fall away

Witness the heals that follow up
yet left alone these always fail
past tears of joy such never change
worn ever in a special way
that fights the man with every step
and leads the weary sole to path
an untrod one that's just begun

So stranger if you call me that
I'll smile and nod and tip my hat
and cry inside to know the truth
our blood is one fired by the Son
and tempered by the Three in One
towards Magnum Opus no one knows
forever yet kept folded tight
as yet another lover's note

Basis:

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)

Where Did I Come From?

2011-03-30T15:58:00.000-07:00

Where Did I Come From?

Asking or Telling... Where do you want to go?

2011-03-25T11:37:00.000-07:00

Photo Credit: Parée Erica

Word of the day: Sensorium

2011-03-21T15:27:00.000-07:00

Sensorium - Wikipedia article, "The term sensorium (plural: sensoria) refers to the sum of an organism's perception, the "seat of sensation" where it experiences and interprets the environments within which it lives."

Song as Performed by - Epica

Song Lyrics

Chance doesn’t exist
But the path of life is not totally so predestined
And time and chronology show us how all should be
In the ways of existence
To find out why we are here

Being consciousness is a torment
The more we learn is the less we get
Every answer contains a new quest
A quest to non existence, a journey with no end

No one surveys the whole, focus on things so small
But life’s objective is to make it meaningful
Only searching for this
That which doesn’t exist
Although our ability to relativize remains unclear

I’m not afraid to die
I’m afraid to be alive without being aware of it

I’m so afraid to, I couldn’t stand to
Waste all my energy on things
That do not matter anymore

Our future has already been written by us alone
But we don’t grasp the meaning
Of our programmed course of life
Our future has already been wasted by us alone
And we just let it happen and do not worry at all

We only fear what comes
And smell death every day
Search for the answers that lie beyond

(It's "Karma" Spelled Backwards)

2011-02-21T13:42:00.000-08:00

Allflaws - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Amrak Lyrics

The apparitions of yesteryear are coming round full circle,
Doing orbits of your history, winding back your symmetry,
Your mistakes are carved in their hearts, and your fate is etched from their scars,
Your treachery is survived by those who bare your marks,
The watchmen is counting backwards, the now is becoming the past,
As you slowly sink deeper into the sands of the hour glass,
Coz time is coming back for you, time is bringing your death,
As the hands of the clock grip your neck, you take your last breath.

You feel your times coming,
You're reaping what you're sewing,
You hear the devil calling,
Your mind away.

You spin the Samsaric wheel until Satan strikes you a deal,
He says, "lower others to raise yourself and true happiness you will feel,
You think you're winner, but you're a sinner,
Your gain is a flagrant lie,
Coz the unconscious mind falls blind, and defeats you every time.

Abomination screams your name,
Luring you to the darker side,
The ego says go right ahead,
Posing as your righteous guide,
You do it all for the f___ing high, You do it all for your shallow pride,
But it takes you further down.

The demons that you choose to create,
Are the demons that seal your fate,
Cause and affect, karmic vex,
Now you time is coming next,
Like Aaaagh, Aaaagh, Booom,
You reap the pain of your own design,
You manifest you own demise,
Coz now your enemy is your mind.

You feel your times coming,
You're reaping what you're sewing,
You hear the devil calling,
Your mind away.

Karma comes colossal when you shoot angels from the skies,
Now the victims of your malevolence will be the judges of your demise,
The future will be written by the ghosts of your history,
The ones of suffer your devilry will be the deciders of your destiny.

The fist you throw circles the earth,
And comes back behind you to deal you a curse,
Your blow returns on the akashic breeze,
Your rage comes three sixty degrees.

You feel your times coming,
You're reaping what you're sewing,
You hear the devil calling,
Your mind away.

You know the devil's calling,
Your mind away.

More lyrics: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/a/allflaws/#share

The Craft of H.P. Lovecraft

2011-02-19T09:33:00.000-08:00

Out of the mists gleamed godlike the form of a youth, in winged helmet and sandals, caduceus-bearing, and of a beauty like to nothing on earth. Before the face of the sleeper he thrice waved the rod which Apollo had given him in trade for the nine-corded shell of melody, and upon her brow he placed a wreath of myrtle and roses. Then, adoring, Hermes spoke:
"0 Nymph more fair than the golden-haired sisters of Cyene or the sky-inhabiting Atlantides, beloved of Aphrodite and blessed of Pallas, thou hast indeed discovered the secret of the Gods, which lieth in beauty and song. 0 Prophetess more lovely than the Sybil of Cumae when Apollo first knew her, thou has truly spoken of the new age, for even now on Maenalus, Pan sighs and stretches in his sleep, wishful to wake and behold about him the little rose-crowned fauns and the antique Satyrs. In thy yearning hast thou divined what no mortal, saving only a few whom the world rejects, remembereth: that the Gods were never dead, but only sleeping the sleep and dreaming the dreams of Gods in lotos-filled Hesperian gardens beyond the golden sunset.

Excerpt taken from: Poetry and the Gods by H.P. Lovecraft and Anna Helen Crofts
Full text:[HTML | TXT]

The Rose of England

2011-02-17T19:56:00.000-08:00

by H.P. Lovecraft

At morn the rosebud greets the sun
And sheds the evening dew,
Expanding ere the day is done,
In bloom of radiant hue
And when the sun his rest hath found,
Rose-Petals strew the garden round!
Thus that blest Isle that owns the Rose
From mist and darkness came,
A million glories to disclose,
And spread BRITANNIA'S name;
And ere Life's Sun shall leave the blue,
ENGLAND shall reign the whole world through!

Tests to Make, Tests to Take

2011-02-14T10:56:00.000-08:00

Reality is an interesting concept but it is important to remember for any situation that our senses and perceptions are less than 100% accurate. All of us rely upon incomplete and even faulty information daily in order to interact with the world at large, however, forgetfulness or even disbelief of this fact is apparently a comfortable position for many people to take considering that actually increasing one's level of awareness has the potential to shift what amounts to a healthy level of skepticism towards an unhealthy level of mind-numbing paranoia. Needless to say, it is best to maintain a personal firewall between seeking a more fully perceived reality and having an over-active imagination.

Restrictions encountered when seeking a "mostly correct" perception of reality may be due to physical limitations or mental constraints. For example, the human eye has a blind spot due to physical limitations which is called a Scotoma (Greek for darkness) which our brain automatically fills in with an internally created image in order to accomplish a "best fit" to complete any scene being viewed. Conveniently the same term Scotoma is also used metaphorically in psychology to refer to an individual's inability to perceive personality traits in themselves that are obvious to others.

Simple reason must conclude that the physical limits of the senses upon which we fully rely to experience the world plus the often unrealized limitations to, or constraints existing within the mind will together generate only conclusions which range from being merely incomplete to being outright false. Basically it is easy to lie to oneself or each other about a great many things that one would normally assume to be obvious (see above) but human evolution has nevertheless historically favored quick reaction times over any tendency for extended contemplation in such matters (you snooze, you lose) .

The basic survival decision tree for all intelligent life goes like; (1) Is this a threat?, (2) Is this an opportunity?, (3) Is it safe to ignore? Mankind transgresses this only at it's leisure. One of the defining characteristics of human behavior, however, is that we are inclined to test things when given the opportunity to do so in order to categorize everything we know or at least think we know into some mutually agreed upon subjective reality which we then nevertheless tend to erroneously call objective. This objectivity thing sounds nice in theory but quite often things do not always work out between conflicting schools of thought even in the presence of scientific proofs and/or "expert" witness testimonies. It's almost as though humans are only human.

On a more personal level we have developed tests to help us evaluate both the without and within, the world at large and our inner selves. Some understanding and knowledge of both is deemed necessary to afford the luxury of our even approaching any true reality. At least that's one theory, but our pursuit of knowledge has also been deemed the ultimate exercise in vanity while being compared to a mouse nibbling on a mountain. Let's at least hope there is some cheese to be found in such an effort and besides, as long as the mouse is having fun what's the harm in that?

Theme Basis:
I know that I know nothing

Ignoramus et ignorabimus

Tests to play with:

duck test

smell test

Acid test

Personality test

love

Attitude Adjustment, Owl Style

2011-02-04T13:25:00.000-08:00

Herold this one!

2011-02-01T11:59:00.001-08:00

Hargrave Name Meaning and History
English: habitational names from any of a number of places called Hargrave or Hargreave, of which there are examples in Cheshire, Northamptonshire, and Suffolk; all are named with Old English har ‘gray’ or hara ‘hare’ + graf ‘grove’ or græfe ‘thicket’.
http://www.ancestry.com/facts/Hargrave-f…

Surname: Hargrave
This surname, of Anglo-Saxon origin, is a locational name from any of the various places in Cheshire, Northamptonshire, and Suffolk called Hargrave or Hargreave, recorded as "Haregrave" and "Haragrau" respectively in the Domesday Book of 1086. The placenames are derived from either the Olde English pre 7th Century "har" meaning grey, or "hara" meaning hare, plus the element "graf, grove" or "graefe", meaning a thicket. The suffix "s" denotes "of that place". Locational surnames were developed when former inhabitants of a place moved to another area, usually to seek work, and were best identified by the name of their birthplace. The surname dates back to the late 12th Century (see below), and in the modern idiom it can be found recorded as Hargrever, Hargreaves and Hargrove. An early settler in the New World Colonies was Richard Hargrave, aged 20 yrs., who embarked from the Port of London on the "Bonaventure", bound for Virginea in January 1634. A Coat of Arms granted to a family of the name from Lincolnshire is described thus: "Az (blue) a fesse ar (silver) fretty gu (red) between three stags in full course or (gold), attired of the second. Crest - A stag's head erased per fesse or and az attired ar". The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Geoffrey de Haregrave, which was dated 1188 in the "Pipe Rolls of Derbyshire", during the reign of King Henry 11, known as "The Builder of Churches", 1154 - 1189. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling. © Copyright: Name Origin Research www.surnamedb.com 1980 - 2010 Read more: http://www.surnamedb.com/surname.aspx?na…

Surname: Hargrave
The surname of HARGRAVE was a locational name 'of Hargrave' parishes in the dioceses of Chester, Ely, and Peterborough. The Hargreaves of Lancashire, probably spring from Hargrave, County Chester. Local surnames, by far the largest group, derived from a place name where the man held land or from the place from which he had come, or where he actually lived. These local surnames were originally preceded by a preposition such as "de", "atte", "by" or "in". The names may derive from a manor held, from working in a religious dwelling or from literally living by a wood or marsh or by a stream. The name was originally derived from the Old English word HAREGRAUE, literally meaning the dweller at the grove of the hares. HAREGROVE (without surname) who was listed in the Domesday Book of 1086, appears to be the first of the name on record. HARGRAVE (without surname) appears in Cheshire in the year 1150. Following the Crusades in Europe a need was felt for a family name. This was recognized by those of noble blood, who realised the prestige and practical advantage it would add to their status. Other records of the name mention John de Haregrave, County Buckinghamshire, 1273. William de Haregreve was documented in East Cheshire in the year 1296. Henry Hargrevys, was recorded in County York, 1486. Ambrose Hargreves, registered at Oxford University in the year 1586. Surnames as we know them today were first assumed in Europe from the 11th to the 15th Century. They were not in use in England or in Scotland before the Norman Conquest, and were first found in the Domesday Book. The employment in the use of a second name was a custom that was first introduced from the Normans. They themselves had not long before adopted them. It became, in course of time, a mark of gentler blood, and it was deemed a disgrace for gentlemen to have but one single name, as the meaner sort had. At first the coat of arms was a practical matter which served a function on the battlefield and in tournaments. With his helmet covering his face, and armor encasing the knight from head to foot, the only means of identification for his followers, was the insignia painted on his shield and embroidered on his surcoat, the flowing and draped garment worn over the armor. The associated arms are recorded in Sir Bernard Burkes General Armory. Ulster King of Arms. Registered in County Lincolnshire. http://www.4crests.com/hargrave-coat-of-…

The Hargrave surname is an English habitational name from any of a number of places called Hargrave or Hargreave, of which there are examples in Cheshire, Northamptonshire, and Suffolk; all are named with Old English har ‘gray’ or hara ‘hare’ + graf ‘grove’ or græfe ‘thicket’.

Origin: English

Coat of Arms: A blue shield with a gold fesse between three gold stags courant.

Crest: A deer head.

Motto: Vincit amor patria

Motto Translated: My beloved country will conquer.

Spelling variations of this family name include: Hargrove, Hargreave, Hargreaves, Hargrave, Hargroves and many more.

First found in Cheshire where they held a family seat from very early times.

Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: Alice Hargrave purchased land in Virginia in 1646; and William Hargrove settled in the Barbados in 1678; Nathaniel Hargrove settled in Maryland in 1733.

Source(s):

http://www.youririshroots.com
http://www.aboutgenealogy.info

The Fool and the Necromancer

2011-01-28T08:56:00.000-08:00

Saturnine the fool decried in bringing forth this plan
an avatar of straw revived to create a demise
and giving yet another poke into his little friend
the king of jest prepared to play the game that will not end

Namelessly it drifted through as vapor serpentine
then slowly coalescing in a drama much refined
the Necromancer stood and leered at what he thought to gain
in company of shadows bearing promises of pain

With fingers long arthritic from such powers having borne
the magician flashed his deck of cards each eager to engage
and challenged one and all to seek a fortune or a fate
but only fools had dared to speak and none survived to date

His entrance with a somersault the fool then shouted out
what bring you forth to play on me in such a shiny deck
the sorcerer just glared and said, a tie to fit your neck
most wonderful! the fool decreed, I wear purple, green and yellow
clash with me never for you see I'm such a jolly fellow
and tote for you a gift as well to give you such a grin
and turning with a wink he said now let the game begin

At last! the mage whispered within, the colors fazed him not
besides, a silly madness showed beneath that jester's hat
two jacks to open, both one eyed now let's see what he's got
said the master of all magik with his gambit falling out

Amazing! from the fool who said you really shouldn't tease
now eye my ladies if you please, delivered with great ease
and feeling good I'll raise you four
you follow yet? do not forget
where once there was a door

The magik man reviewed his hand
I thought I'd dealt... but never mind
a fishy fool this seems to be with hook in his symbology
and disconcerting more is that his toy begins to look like me

A tremor rising with the man
though all is in I fear I fold
perhaps I'll play another day
sheepishly the man did say
a marker I can offer now
though carried with me long I vow
to leave this deck - the joker's wild
and forever has been your child
I should have seen your likeness let
the back of every card to fet

Permission granted! waved the fool
but know you've broken every rule
so listen now and I'll portend
new colors plus a smile to lend
as you become my little friend
to leave behind your haughty way
and serve this fool instead of you
for just a time and for my reason
while you lose yours but for a season
said turned about with one more wink
then boldly stepping off the brink
and little friend though now on four
chased to begin the game once more

Homo sum, humani nihil a me alienum puto

2011-01-13T12:13:00.000-08:00

Aishah Shechinah By Robert Stephen Hawker (1803–1875)

A SHAPE, like folded light, embodied air,

Yet wreathed with flesh, and warm:

All that of heaven is feminine and fair,

Moulded in visible form,

She stood, the Lady Shechinah of earth,

A chancel for the sky:

Where woke, to breath and beauty, God’s own Birth,

For men to see Him by.

Round her, too pure to mingle with the day,

Light, that was life, abode;

Folded within her fibres meekly lay

The link of boundless God.

So linked, so blent, that when, with pulse fulfilled,

Moved but that Infant Hand,

Far, far away, His conscious Godhead thrilled,

And stars might understand.

Lo! where they pause, with inter-gathering rest,

The Threefold, and the One;

And lo, He binds them to her orient breast,

His manhood girded on.

The zone, where two glad worlds for ever meet,

Beneath that bosom ran:

Deep in that womb the conquering Paraclete

Smote Godhead on to man.

Sole scene among the stars, where, yearning, glide

The Threefold and the One;

Her God upon her lap, the Virgin Bride,

Her awful Child, her Son!

(I am human, therefore nothing human is strange to me)

Created in the Trinity Image of God

2010-12-09T20:11:00.000-08:00

This is a picture that compares a candle flame in normal gravity to one in microgravity. In earth gravity, convection causes a flame (left) to rise in the cone shape to which we are accustomed. In a microgravity environment, convection has no effect. As a result, the flame (right) of a candle becomes a dome shape. (From http://spaceresearch.nasa.gov/sts-107/resourceguide/content/images/summary/images_gallery/flame.html)

Depending upon the conditions under which it's viewed, the above candle flame appears to unify from at least three colors into one, yet it's still the same thing. Science is wonderful, isn't it?

The "three in one" concept:

The Trinity of God is a concept which many feel is difficult to grasp, however it may be helpful to start with something closer to home, that being ourselves. According to scripture, man was made in the "image of god", to wit, Gen 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. Gen 1:27 So God created man in his [own] image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

Please note that in the above context, either God was speaking in the plural sense (let us, in our) of his own entity, or else He was speaking to one or more others present at that time who was also an "image of God". To take the last words of the above paragraph literally, one would also have to suppose that God is also both "male and female", as both beings were created "in his own image". Although that may shock or distress many of some faiths, of the dozen or so translations of Genesis 1:27 provided by the above referenced link (if you then click on "V"), they all read the same in this respect.

As humans, we often tend to express our wellbeing in terms such as "mind, body and spirit", each being considered for separate aspects of health, THREE correlative conditions that combine to make each of us ONE human being - mental, physical and spiritual. It could therefore be said that we are a form of "trinity" in a more humble sense, the "image of God".

Any of these three aspects may have it's own strengths or weakness within an individual, however, the ideal is that we seek a balance of all three, mind, body and spirit for a complete picture of health as each will tend to reinforce the other. This is important regardless of the particular brand of spiritual strength one chooses to work with so long as it does not become a destructive force in your life or is otherwise cast into sudden doubt resulting in a loss of faith and loss of spiritual health. In this there is something to be said (one way or the other) for keeping within a family tradition or at least continuing to search for that solid faith you can hold onto regardless of what's happening with the physical world around you.

How then, unless the above suppositions are flatly denied, does anyone even remotely familiar with the multiple nature of human beings manage to deny that a similar manifestation could be present for an all powerful God, unless that person's position is to simply deny that God exists at all? For a discussion on the Trinity as most Christians recognize God, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity and http://everystudent.com/forum/trinity.html?OVRAW=Trinity&OVKEY=trinity&OVMTC=standard

The Groan as a Prayer

2010-11-26T18:08:00.000-08:00

Do you sometimes find yourself at a loss for words? God knows your needs and hears your prayers even when your grief and pain allows for nothing more than a groan.

Exd 2:23 And it came to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage.
Exd 2:24 And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.
Exd 6:5 And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bondage; and I have remembered my covenant.
Act 7:34 I have seen, I have seen the affliction of my people which is in Egypt, and I have heard their groaning, and am come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send thee into Egypt.
Psa 38:9 Lord, all my desire [is] before thee; and my groaning is not hid from thee.
Psa 102:19 For he hath looked down from the height of his sanctuary; from heaven did the LORD behold the earth;
Psa 102:20 To hear the groaning of the prisoner; to loose those that are appointed to death;

Even Jesus found himself lacking words during the time of grief described in the following passages, but His Father in Heaven heard him and saw to his needs nonetheless:

Jhn 11:33 When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled,
Jhn 11:34 And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see.
Jhn 11:35 Jesus wept.
Jhn 11:36 Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him!
Jhn 11:37 And some of them said, Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died?
Jhn 11:38 Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it.
Jhn 11:39 Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been [dead] four days.
Jhn 11:40 Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?
Jhn 11:41 Then they took away the stone [from the place] where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up [his] eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me.

For the sake of groaning, Lazarus was brought back to life. This ultimate miracle was done through a prayer having no spoken words other than a thanks given afterwards.

Reality Bytes, Quotes of the Day:

2010-11-22T14:04:00.000-08:00

Not only is the universe stranger than we imagine, it is stranger than we can imagine.

Sir Arthur Eddington

(This is one of my favorite quotes, but while the good and capable Sir Arthur may have been by these words referring only to our physical universe, this more than applies also to that of the non-physical. There is no level of paranoia or conspiracy inclinations which can come close to describing the reality which (thankfully) exists beyond our perceptions.)

Belief as an article of faith in something unknowable may be granted as acceptable and even adopted as favorable to civil convention, however, as many who claim to "know" that to which others attach doubt are either accepted as leaders of men or deemed simply foolish if not certainly mad.
(unknown)

The Breath of Change

2010-11-14T15:38:00.000-08:00

a soft wind crosses the skies of night
too gently sets those sails within
as many days are lost to sight
becalming voyages ere has been
while mortals laugh and gods do cry
and both become the hare of Spring
to never yet see eye to eye
as chaos laughs and starts again

SomeGreyBloke Speaks

2010-10-26T15:01:00.000-07:00

What goes around...

2010-10-16T12:33:00.001-07:00

It's all in the Hat

2010-10-05T17:27:00.001-07:00

Peering Into the Darkness; Cosmic Conflux ><=0

2010-09-23T10:07:00.000-07:00

Cosmology has most recently come to the scientific opinion that the Universe consists chiefly of something called dark matter and dark energy. This convention has been deemed necessary in order to explain the motion of the stars and galaxies detected from astronomical investigations. Scientists coined the terms "dark" while it would be more properly described as being transparent or invisible (perhaps because it is keeping them in the dark?). Currently neither dark factor is directly detectable by any of our instruments but are inferred as necessary to the mathematical calculations of how much mass and energy is required for the observed motions throughout the universe that we are fairly confident of via direct detection.

Thus dark matter and energy describes a "place holder" for unknown factors that we know exist and this tells us that as much as 95% of our known universe consists of something that is currently unknown and possibly unknowable. The corollary to this is that the known universe (that which we can directly detect) is very much a case of the exception as opposed to the rule. So what is it that we can't "see"?

The actual effects of dark matter and energy are best realized in the scope of far distant investigations and their observed effects do appear become ever stronger with increasing distance which leads to the Expansion of space , an accelerating expansion of space as we think we know it to speeds even beyond that of light. Such observations into deep space, it must be noted, also represent vast amounts time (billions of years into the past) as well as distance (see Spacetime) whereby potential incident areas and time of exposure to many various factors and thus opportunities for changes having been made to the remaining result of any original causation which we are investigating must be noted. It is thus a "well used" universe that we can witness anywhere and an increasingly "worn out" one at the far reaches of investigation.

Most if not all of this cosmological science is concerned with the investigation of electromagnetic waves and Gravity for which the waves themselves are subject to various known changes as they travel through space and time such as described by Redshift or blue shift indicating relative motion and gravitational redshift being the effect that gravity has on the waves. But perhaps more difficult to ascertain are the long range effects of Interference (wave propagation) of the various electromagnetic data which actually reaches us whereby (considering the infinite nature of the Universe) light and all other such forms of radiation possibly inclusive of gravity, may be expected to become increasingly subject to factors such as multi-path propagation, Multipath interference, shadowing and other generally well recognized complications of wave propagation in recognition of the superposition principle.

Astronomical interferometer techniques may be utilized to either increase or decrease what can be detected in space. In the case of our looking for planets around distant stars the object is to reduce the interference of the star's own light utilizing phase shifting towards the negative (inducing an increased amount of optical interference) in the hopes of detecting a much lesser light being reflected by a dark body/planet which is orbiting the star. In recent practice this is actually being done utilizing an array of orbital telescopes to use starlight against starlight, one against the other to give the resulting darkness required ( ><=0). Both weak and strong gravitational lensing come into play with increasing distances of investigation and such is utilized for the positive image enforcement it offers on targets far beyond such a gravitational lens. To what extent can the net result of any observed waveforms that we can now detect be made subject to some form of Fourier analysis across perhaps billions of light years exposure to both positive and negative incidence opportunities when such a waveform has been subjected to numerous possible causes of phase shifting (possibly to darkness) or other anticipated degradations long before it reaches us? Perhaps the more important question would be why can we can still obtain seemingly clear information on only a certain few distant galaxies which perhaps represents just 5% of the existing total while everything else (the dark 95%) has definitely gone missing?

Could such an analysis reconstruct our universe and tell us where all energy and matter that we are now missing went to and is there any chance that what we call outer space is more complicated than we suspect? We know that it is by no means "empty" with regards to electromagnetism and gravity but does the universe manage to increasingly null out most of the actual electromagnetic signatures (which is really all that we have to work with) from most of our current means of direct detection over the increasingly long distances from the stars to our observation point here on Earth? Is what we see simply the "lucky light" that managed to make it through to us?

In considering the offered term "Cosmic Conflux" as per the title hereto it would seem that all points in the vast universe inclusive of Earth are omnidirectionally bombarded through space and time (at least from some point of perceived "beginning") with a full range of electromagnetic waves, the net results of which are to all purposes hereto fully representative of our observable universe. Such "empty" space that exists between all matter may be collectively accounted for as Vacuum energy which might be considered a misnomer for what the average person generally considers a vacuum to be but the term represents the means for a scientific accounting of that which space itself actually consists of as opposed to being assumed as nothing at all.

Assumptions of how collective vacuum energy might affect deep space observations may range from it being nulled out altogether to it being regarded as infinite from a mathematical if not pragmatic standpoint. "Using the upper limit of the cosmological constant, the vacuum energy in a cubic centimeter of free space has been estimated to be 10^-15 Joules.^[1] However, in both Quantum Electrodynamics (QED) and Stochastic Electrodynamics (SED), consistency with the principle of Lorentz invariance and with the magnitude of the Planck Constant requires it to have a much larger value of 10¹⁰⁷ Joules per cubic centimeter.^[2]^{[3]". (Such spread explains the magnitude of the problems we are dealing with.})

The perceived emptiness of vast distances of outer space notwithstanding, the electromagnetic intelligence available from both waveform and energy levels continues to diminish over increasing distances regardless of how magnificent it all might have been at the start of its journey, that is except perhaps for being lucky.

Further reading:
Optics basics: Coherence | Skulls in the Stars

Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silent

2010-09-11T05:58:00.000-07:00

1. Let all mortal flesh keep silence,
and with fear and trembling stand;
ponder nothing earthly-minded,
for with blessing in his hand,
Christ our God to earth descendeth,
our full homage to demand.

2. King of kings, yet born of Mary,
as of old on earth he stood,
Lord of lords, in human vesture,
in the body and the blood;
he will give to all the faithful
his own self for heavenly food.

3. Rank on rank the host of heaven
spreads its vanguard on the way,
as the Light of light descendeth
from the realms of endless day,
that the powers of hell may vanish
as the darkness clears away.

4. At his feet the six-winged seraph,
cherubim, with sleepless eye,
veil their faces to the presence,
as with ceaseless voice they cry:
Alleluia, Alleluia,
Alleluia, Lord Most High!

Why the Rose

2010-09-05T06:51:00.001-07:00

The Mystic Rose
By Elsa Barker

I’ WOMAN, am that wonder-breathing rose
That blossoms in the garden of the King.
In all the world there is no lovelier thing,
And the learned stars no secret can disclose
Deeper than mine—that almost no one knows.	5
The perfume of my petals in the spring
Is inspiration to all bards that sing
Of love, the spirit’s lyric unrepose.

Under my veil is hid the mystery
Of unaccomplished aeons, and my breath	10
The Master-Lover’s life replenisheth.
The mortal garment that is worn by me
The loom of Time renews continually;
And when I die—the universe knows death.

http://www.bartleby.com/236/372.html

Another Shade of Blue

2010-08-19T06:42:00.000-07:00

Leeds

Always at the heart of the matter.

Mysticism (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy/Fall 2008 Edition)

Occult Leeds: The Dark Secret of Leeds

The Obloid Key

2010-07-19T20:59:00.000-07:00

To think that we might find the key
that fits the within to without
and dares us then to jump and shout
before a fearful company

That poison to the mind entreat
accept no wither or dismay
such clouds and veils must fade away
as past and future come to meet

As long ago the arm does stretch
to pluck the pearls of destiny
through calloused visions of a tree
to children's children deftly catch

The bark that's left is scaly rind
beseech that tone of soft regret
the answers all too soon forget
as branch by branch is left behind

And yet within a blended scope
with soft caress like mother's womb
a guide ensues to all entomb
by light with music as the grope

An endless bale such journeys go
with sunset after sunset met
through shadows marking any fret
as countless fingers tell us no

It always comes to where we're from
yet tunnel forth towards such great end
choices to which we must pretend
and still the frantic moth become

But such a key could rock the boat
through everlasting undefined
and gray all even keels of mind
so keep it safely in your throat

The Science behind Angels and Demons

2010-06-14T10:06:00.000-07:00

The book Angels and Demons by Dan Brown which was followed by the popular movie staring Tom Hanks and directed by Ron Howard provided the general public some exposure to cutting edge science along with a great deal of religious and perhaps even sacrilegious mixings and a major helping of some nefarious conspiracy theory. All of this material appears to capture our imaginations very well at least up to a point, but without delving into the story to outline any possible reasons, CERN, probably the most advanced scientific research facility in the world which served as the source for the actual science referenced by Brown as well as the starting place of the story evidently felt it was in their best interest to outwardly embrace this new source of publicity.

This special attention by CERN (also the birthplace of the world wide web) was perhaps decided upon to assuage any lasting negative effects that might come from perceived misunderstandings about the possible misuse of their science such as depicted in the story which is purely fictional entertainment while this might not be fully understood as such by the general public.
Link to CERN's website response to the movie:
http://angelsanddemons.cern.ch/

Basically, we needn't worry about a CERN antimatter bomb blowing up anything or even fear that their Large Hadron Collider will generate a black hole which will suck in the whole Earth, at least not anytime soon. (Science is good, science is not dangerous)

On the other hand the Catholic Church, another major player in the book and movie which was possibly cast in a less than Holy light had their own various and many responses, and it might be noted that the Vatican reportedly refused a visit by Ron Howard and Tom Hanks such as was welcomed by CERN and shown on their website. If you Google "Catholic Church on Angels and Demons" you may see much of the negative leaning but certainly free mass publicity that was generated for the book and movie. (Church is good, church is not dangerous)

We haven't seen much of a response from the "ancient secret brotherhood called the Illuminati - the most powerful underground organization in history" who where portrayed as the really bad guys in the movie (although some readers may actually favor them over the Catholic Church) but if they're as smart as they are reportedly powerful, my bet is that they had money invested in the movie and therefore made a killing - so what would they have to complain about? Oh yeah, at least that much (about the Illuminati) was the one thing that the book's author, Mr. Brown was sure to point out was a purely fictional use of an historic but certainly now extinct organization. And I'm sure that Mr. Hanks, Mr. Howard and the rest of the gang are pleased with that.

Without creating a too much of a spoiler my disappointment in not seeing any special effects with the portrayal of any "real" angels or demons either one was only surpassed by the totally nonsensical twist at the end concerning the ultimate bad guy but it did provide for some closure where needed. Several scenes were not suitable for children which could actually have been done without, but they too would like to see at least some kind of an angel out of the deal.

SLAVS

2010-06-14T09:34:00.001-07:00

Slavic Sky

2010-06-14T09:25:00.001-07:00

Galaxy Being - The Outer Limits

2010-05-20T14:20:00.000-07:00

Metatron's Gift

2010-05-20T09:37:00.000-07:00

Metatron

Jellyfish checkout time- download
found at bomb-mp3 search engine

Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away. [Genesis 5:24 NIV.]

Flower of Life - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Word of the day: Clear

2010-04-29T16:11:00.000-07:00

Above - Various colors as used in mystic symbolism

Clear? Such a useful word! On the one hand it might be a certain understanding and might mean everything, but it could also mean it's only clean or perhaps simply vacant.

http://www.visualthesaurus.com/landing/?ad=cdo&utm_medium=default&utm_campaign=VT&utm_source=cdo&word=clear

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clear_%28Scientology%29

or, seeing how common this word is to certain ways of thought:

http://www.bartleby.com/cgi-bin/texis/webinator/sitesearch?FILTER=colHC&query=clear&x=8&y=9

Perhaps there is really no such thing as actually being clear whether we are speaking about the lack of color or lack of misunderstanding. Perhaps it is only an absence of things that the word clear can actually represent since if any of this seems clear you obviously don't understand how much it is that you don't know.

After all, we humans do not assume to identify themselves with being clear, preferring instead to drape ourselves in various colors (inclusive of white and black for this purpose) almost as if it is according to some otherwise unspoken purpose of the day. Consider your clothing choices as an alignment with certain forces or powers and the clothing thing automatically becomes a uniform for the purpose of identifying yourself to others in some way. Perhaps nudists are only trying to be "clear" and play it safe in some way?

Is there not always some hidden hierarchy even as to colors being worn by people? Certain street gangs take their own colors very seriously and wearing the wrong one could even get you killed in some neighborhoods while bikers term their club patches "colors".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gang_colors

Let's imagine we are all playing a game and we'll set up things like this:

White/Gray/Black - officials of some kind, generally neutral rule enforcer types

Blue or Red - the opposite sides of the two major combatant armies/teams/political alignments

Green - recognized as neutral non-combatants

Gold/Purple - either not necessarily combative higher powers or disfunctionals

Try not to think of this game the next time you dress to go out in public, but remember that it's very difficult and most often illegal to be clear in this respect.

One

2010-04-12T12:22:00.000-07:00

Luke's recently heightened power of eyesight noticed something faintly written on the far wall which read E/M = C2. This seemed strangely familiar but the current stroking of his head was very distracting... faze? A flashback of Kahn's neck being broken prompted the possessed dove's attention back to the apparent Mistress of Darkness who was looking directly into him with a charming smile not two feet away.

"ONE?" the thought came straight out of Luke's mind.

"Oh, what a bright little birdie", cooed Carmen with delight,"indeed Light is a good name for you! Being in phase means you are one."

Where lies the future?

2010-03-08T16:06:00.000-08:00

Mixed messages are the norm these days, perhaps moreso than ever, and does the availability of immediate information overload make things any easier? Are we programmed to forever provide simply one case in point after another whereby each of our minds automatically seeks it's own reality amongst the chaos we live in? If such is the case then what reality amounts to is nothing more than a matter of consensus. Getting easier? I think not...

Perhaps it's a matter of a particular individual being in a certain mood or state of receptiveness but how often will an otherwise relatively meaningless and perhaps otherwise familiar sensory input turn into what amounts to a Rorschach test of attempted communication whereby may be found some deep hidden meaning or insight? I might add there are popular substances which seem to enhance or at least alter this very human characteristic of variable moods or levels of receptiveness which have the potential to turn an otherwise boring evening into a truly romantic or even religious experience, but for some reason the authorities have made most of such substances illegal or perhaps have mandated some of them depending upon what you believe.

That much said, it does not pay to take anything too seriously as it often occurs that we exist only as the butt of an endless cosmic joke. This much I "believe" I know, so keep laughing. I suggest there exists a range of “realities” one end born of the current general consensus which may or may not actually be true per se, the other being the pure, absolute and ultimate truth which is probably quite rare if not altogether impossible to even fathom. Somewhere in between may be developed certain levels of mass paranoia, some of which might tend to gell into things like "Esoteric Agenda" for one example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cvp5BcICsig
But Esotericism itself is as old as mankind.

Perception and comprehension levels vary greatly between individuals and even more between species. Could we ever be expected to appreciate the range of smells that make up the natural world of a shark or bloodhound? Does a relatively low IQ dim wit (as opposed to the high IQ ones) actually encounter the whole world in the same manner as someone who is actually likely to be reading this (and yet each gets to vote)? Just how different are we from each other?

Modern scientific research relies heavily upon technological extensions of our senses to venture well beyond that which is naturally available to us. Theories based upon mathematics continue to push those boundaries even farther and we still hope to eventually observe many of those things which we can now only logically predict. The basic problem is that we have progressed in some areas well beyond anything even remotely “intuitive”. So if my “reality” in taking this into account differs from the general consensus, I may be considered by most to be “wrong” but that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consensus
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intuition_(knowledge)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flat_Earth_society

Does the cognition we humans seem so proud of in fact consist a collection of rationalizations and does this provide some basis of what we term contra-causal free will? How vacant is that? But on a more tangible level, to what extent could various mood altering substances such as caffeine, nicotine and alcohol given as some actually legal examples be said modify an individual's free will? Perhaps only as to the choice of whether they are used. Am I predetermined to be lazy and uncreative without some artificial stimulant or to remain uptight and tense in the absence of at least a glass of wine to help me wind down? I don't use nicotine but I know people who apparently cannot function without it's magical ability to act as either a stimulant or relaxant, depending upon the need. Personally I "need" caffeine and appreciate alcohol in moderation. Except for the cancer thing, I'd probably even appreciate a smoke once in a while. I hear there's a gum...

Free will is apparently "on loan" to the effects of such drugs, and perhaps is actually "sold out" to many more powerful substances (not to mention experiences). I fail to see where a drunk or someone freaked out on other drugs is legally excused for any harm caused by his inebriation and most of us do feel that a line of responsibility must be drawn somewhere. But then there is the question of a person suffering from something like Toxoplasmosis whose actions may be seriously affected by a poorly recognized form of parasitic mind control. Should we charge the person himself or rather the parasite with whatever infraction of the law was caused by what is apparently a mental "bi" situation or perhaps could even be called a superorganism?

Of course the easy way out is to say that such a person is "insane" because of the foreign organism which infects his brain/mind, but the difference between that and say, a 0.080 percent Blood Alcohol Concentration which is considered legally drunk in all states is basically that the obviously drunk person can be assumed to have made a conscious choice to drink, pre-destination notwithstanding while the much more difficult to diagnose Toxoplasmosis infected person is perhaps only guilty of getting inadequate medical attention. So where do the many drug addicts cycling through the legal system fit into this scenario considering that (at least initially) their addiction was a matter of it being their own choice (or was it?) while those very same unsuspecting dupes later resemble (at least to me) someone infected by the most tenaceous of any mind altering parasites?

It appears that we must return to some rationalizations to decide things. So what is considered "normal" or "natural" within your own social circles?

Eucalyptus can be Source of Deadly Fungus

2010-02-24T19:25:00.001-08:00

This disease recently hit a friend leaving him seriously disabled. Exposure was from Eucalyptus leaves being used for church Christmas decorations. We cleared several decorative sprays of the plant out of the house after hearing of this.

Feds Urged to Investigate Deadly Fungus in Eucalyptus Trees ...
Feds Urged to Investigate Deadly Fungus in Eucalyptus Trees from Environment News Service provided by Find Articles

Feds Urged to Investigate Deadly Fungus in Eucalyptus Trees
Environment News Service, June, 2007
WASHINGTON, DC (ENS) — --> Scientists and environmental groups are asking federal agencies to investigate the public health and environmental risks of a pathogenic fungal organism, Cryptococcus gattii, associated with certain eucalyptus tree species under cultivation in Alabama.
Inhalation of the spores can lead to fatal fungal meningitis, the groups warn.

The above article is from:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&source=hp&q=eucalyptus+fungus&aq=0&oq=eucalyptus+fungu&aqi=g1

also:

C. gattii disease
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptococcus_gattii

http://search.yahoo.com/search?ei=utf-8&fr=slv8-cclean&p=C.%20gattii%20infection&type=
http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_5656.cfm

Fuzzy Space?

2010-02-12T10:19:00.001-08:00

While being commonly used to discribe a given characteristic of our having a "flat universe", one could observe that the concept of parallel rays of light which remain parallel through space as opposed to either converging or diverting can not actually exist because any such light is subject to quantum mechanics through an infinite conflux of very real gravitational forces which exist throughout the universe. In the absence of being able to identify the majority of causal agents of same, the terms dark matter and dark energy have been coined to account for as much as 95% of the universe which we can now infer as being necessary to explain our scientific observations.

Regarding star light, the same is true but rather than starlight being a mathmatically correct "ray" of light, what we witness is actually that which is generated as incidental to the wave energy which expands outwards through time and space in an originally spherical manner through space from their various points of origin. As if a sea of gravitational forces from every direction is not enough to confuse things, the origin (star) and target (your brain) are also always in constant motion.

Strangely the means for us to cope with all of this is to consider both time and space variable even while our human senses are doomed to fail any direct witness of such happenings. Actually, Einstein’s theory of general relativity was developed first in his own mind and the apparent effect of such was observed later by observing starlight which originated from points on the opposite side of the sun being bent around the sun’s gravitional field during an eclipse. The key to this was to know what to look for because without Einstein's prediction, we'd never have known to look, much less how to explain it.

The “universe” as we know it is represented by those particular so many points of light above us in the night sky and what ever it is that we can derive from observations of same using first our natural and more recently some much technologically enhanced sensory powers. We continue to get better at this, but chiefly we are learning how much we still do not know, how much we are literally in the dark when we can’t “see” or even understand a factor so large as dark matter/energy which both theory and observations dictate must be there (wazzup… no starlight, huh?).

The various theories we can develop to explain or, as in the above Einstein example, even predict that which is or will be observed is in and of itself but a product of the human mind which nevertheless has the power to “fly” far beyond any current level of observed “objective reality” to which our technologically enhanced levels of sensory powers and full understanding/“proofs” are limited. Objective reality is now a matter of consenus, nothing more.

Observation methods and theories are subject to evolution, as are we ourselves. That is why there are things which are called “theories” as opposed to “laws”, but to reduce our current understandings of the stellar universe to shining a pair of flashlights into the dark or coining a term “flat” to discribe it just seems a bit too typical these days. Perhaps it all went down along with the phaseout of our regular use of the phrase, “the glory of the heavens”.

There was a time not so long ago when consensus said that the planet Earth was “flat”. That did not make it true but people swore by it as being obvious. The flat universe link provided herein is interesting as a way to keep up with the current avenues of research and thinking on the matters at hand but even the article states that dark matter/energy is something that must be presumed/assumed to make the flat versus curved theory work at all… “it MUST exist!” Then the article kind of backs down from that strong of a statement and hints that maybe things will work out ok either way. So now the emphasis is on our study of the unseen, unknown dark stuff which makes all these things happen and to which we confess actually knowing very little or nothing about but are free to apply a liberal dose of speculation towards while making statements of absolute certainty(in order to make headlines?). This sounds a bit like religion to me.

Research grants anyone? The rule has forever been, “When applying for research money, it is generally wise to agree with the general consensus.” That is probably why Einstein accomplished his best working in physics as a postal clerk as opposed to then being subject to the sometimes overpowering tides of constant "peer" review. I’ll buy that the universe might be “flat” as some are trying to describe it… might be, but very few things naturally fall into such a quaint category when they’re finally understood and it seems to be that we’re still very far from that point.

The current state of the art of science:

“Among the tens of other cosmological parameters that have been tightened by the new WMAP results are the age of the universe (13.73 ± 0.12 Gyr) and its content, reinforcing the unsettling fact that 95% of the universe is made of stuff that science cannot explain.”

Just for fun, we reiterate here: "the unsettling fact that 95% of the universe is made of stuff that science cannot explain”...

http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/news/33318

The final “unsettling” part… I’ll buy that! It used to be that if we couldn’t explain something we’d simply credit to or blame it on “God”, but science by definition is not allowed to utilize that particular phrase. Perhaps as we continue to evolve…

The point is; Scientists need to be skeptics also.

If a researcher tells me that he actually only understands the basis for a mere 5% of his new, somewhat all encompassing theory of the universe, I’d suggest that there is still very much work to be done, that, or perhaps he should re-check things from the beginning to see why it is that he had to invent something to account for the other 95% of the data in order to make it work..

Such broad speculation would not work for any other venture of which I’m aware, except of course religion - but I digress.

Not only is the universe stranger than we imagine, it is stranger than we can imagine. Sir Arthur Eddington

A ninety five percent weighting being reported as to an unknown factor(s) in a theory is being more than honest of the scientists involved and they are very honorable to admit this openly as being the fact. My point is it is difficult for me to accept a perceived “this is so..” attitude for the many numerous derivations in such a case even if (or maybe because) the public at large loves it nevertheless. “Unknown dark forces, yeah!”

Personally though, although I’ve only studied it at a glance I presently feel that no sense of warmth, beauty or elegance emanates from a theory which calls the universe “flat” while reporting a 95% likelyhood that some gross errors could well be introduced due to unknown factors. Paul Dirac was once asked what was his fundamental belief. He strode to a blackboard and wrote that the laws of nature should be expressed in beautiful equations. What little poet remains in me must agree.

I chanced upon a blog with a good explanation and enlightening graphics on this “flat” universe thing:

http://scienceblogs.com/startswithabang/2009/11/dark_energy_beyond_supernovae.php?utm_source=sbhomepage&utm_medium=link&utm_content=channellink

Perhaps some well qualified people tooling around with dissonant physics will eventually determine that Hubble’s law, the basis for the accelerating expansion of the universe, is fundimentially flawed in that it results from a Copernican (our sun as the center of the universe) mindset. Progress along the lines of quantum mechanics might well determine that rather than the entire universe (excepting ourselves of course) accelerating away from us, it is rather something like the case that the number of available particle paths through an increasingly congesting flux of electromagnetic waves actually decrease as the distance from the source thereof increases. I’d call that one the “Big Pileup Theory”, but I’m not qualified to actually discover anything of such nature so you guys go ahead. (And no jokes about what’s really piled up here, if you please.)

BTW, would this be a thread or a string? (As in theory, a little joke.)

“...which is in and of itself quite bizarre” captures my own thoughts exactly. From a tactical standpoint, it would seem that with this latest confirmation of our current reliance on dark energy/matter to explain what is being observed across the far distant ends (or rather the beginnings) of the universe we might be at a dead end if we cannot adequately explain better what it actually is that currently stands in as the very large place card for the required unknown. Perhaps rather than calling it "dark", we should be calling it simply "invisible", yet that which nevertheless has an effect on the visible. Is it a matter that large areas of space itself can bear a relatively static electromagnetic bias of some sort which manifests itself at distance only indirectly or does it all amount to so much gravitational flux? Would any existing waveform analysis lend itself to detect either?

Is there yet hope for some salvation from a new understanding of the observed data as it actually exists at our end of that observational long tunnel, to use a simple metaphor? That is, is there a chance that we currently misunderstand the quantum mechanics involved with making calculations utilizing the “very well traveled” light or waves (as opposed to “tired” light) which we ourselves observe and upon which we have based these assumptions/proofs that our universe is expanding and even accelerating its expansion rate at speeds beyond the speed of light. I might joke that “We’ll never catch up with that!”, but the thought is too depressing.

Einstein did not feel comfortable with the status of this even if he finally unhappily resigned himself to it as most of us must at least for the time-being. The physics boys and girls are still working on their end so there’s a double dose of hope to be had. I have already mentioned that it is my belief that parallel light beams, even of the high quality laser variety will not remain parallel in this particular universe in which we live. Call it a hunch.

Whether star light which manifests itself in universe encompassing broad waves or a tightly defined man-made waveform, all such energy is subject to the same forces seen as when relativity was originally “proven” by observation, it will deflect to some degree which will vary with the intensity of local and accumulative gravitional effects whether of a macro or micro nature. This may not be an appreciable amount from our limited perspective, but it would be enough in difference between the two to deflect such light from parallel paths given any long enough path and according to various chance incidents, particularly with “nasties” such as black holes, etc. which are inevitiable. Letme understand, time and space themselves are variable and even subject to reverse or invert, and yet the universe as we detect it is flat? I know… picky picky.

Add the above supposition to the fact that everything we can actually focus upon exists at least “local” to something else (if millions of light years are to be regarded as such) at one point or another if traveling is your game. Observed sources for the most part are in some kind gravity bound condition evident by which all the stars and galaxies owe their own undeniable motion and my bet is that those parallel “rays” that we started with will eventually diverge in some very unpredictable ways anywhere near the many gravitational fields which are always additive - except perhaps for that of the strange “dark” stuff”. As such, the distant starlight we view even without the necessity of dark E/M to explain things will react in variance of we’d expect to witness in a “flat” situation.

I fully appreciate the difficulty here. This is an excellent link on the matter:

Astrophysicists are always wrong, but never in doubt. ... RP Kirshner
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC314128/

I think I know how they feel.

Incidently the degree of error reported in the above article from Hubble’s own to later and “better” observations (x7) as to distances - is there any relationship between this factor and the magnification factors being used? Is the increasing acceleration of expansion attributed to this (x7) observation while keeping the better known age of the universe the same?
Cont.

I suspect that much of my uncomfortable feeling with 95% “unknown” could be attributed to the assumption that with regards to the use of relativity by cosmologists, the “C” value is is assumed to be the speed of light in a vacuum (only) while it is increasingly apparent that space is not perfect in that respect. What if this speed of light thing varies through some regions of space much more than we currently allow for? This is a problem which is magnified greatly (ignore pun) over great distances.

Quantum mechanics as with all mathmatics in general represent man’s way to explain resultant observations and/or speculations. The basic concept amounts to “if this, then that” utilizing special languages, symbols and terms such as that of an equal sign providing a fulcrum point to weigh one side of an “arguement” against another. Whenever such existing mathmatic tools fall short in such respect some new ones are developed and learned by others in order to facilitate conveyance of whatever new concepts are being breached. Thus mathmatics continues to evolve as does our apparent and/or desired understandings of the universe.

For those truly inclined, fuzzy space mathmatics examples may be checked into with articles such as the following: http://arxiv.org/abs/gr-qc/9709002

Hindsight may be 20/20 but mathmatics has thus far only reached the beginning of things which will someday be regarded as being so much stuff to cover in 101. The current mental soup of quantum mechanics describes things which are currently not regarded as being intuitive but this also may be subject to change given our history over the last hundred years or so. At least we certainly hope so. Then there’s the question of where the continuing development of AI might bring us. Will some supercomputer soon take the nature of knowledge off on a tangent that we’ve never even considered?

With regards to Einstein's Gravitional Redshift versus the dark matter/energy question, people would apparently prefer to believe that the net results of that particular effect works uniformly as to all points and directions being observed. I mention that because some well entrenched "laws" would appear to have assumed this is the case but I must suspect that way of thinking also provides us with a massive integration, a "flattening out" factor which proves convenient to various existing theories moreso than a chaotic disposition of gravitational forces might support. This may also continue to represent a huge stumbling block, yet hopefully the implied complexity is not such an insurmountable wall as it currently appears.

By the way, I’m inclined to support Wikipedia when and as I can. You’ll never believe all the stuff you can find on it, caveat lector notwithstanding.

Nothing Else Matters

2010-01-23T19:17:00.000-08:00

Sangha Denied - War on Peace?

2010-01-22T09:22:00.000-08:00

The Sanguine Hue of Youth

2010-01-22T08:36:00.000-08:00

Word of the Day - Wisdom

2010-01-08T06:17:00.000-08:00

Job 28:20

Seeking ALF?

2010-01-05T07:29:00.000-08:00

Not to be confused with seeking Alpha or even seeking Aleph , the ALF we're excited about is this one:

ALF is an American television sitcom that originally ran on NBC from 1986 to 1990 and was created by Paul Fusco. The title character was Gordon Shumway, a friendly extraterrestrial nicknamed ALF (for Alien Life Form), who crash lands in the garage of the suburban middle class Tanner family. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ALF_(TV_series)

The classic comic fuzzball ALF is truly worthy of some serious study (between the laughs), being included in a select group of archtypical extraterrestrials who, having lost their own home worlds now spends their time on Earth either saving or entertaining (perhaps both) us humans. Also included in this category would be the likes of Superman and Doctor Who, all being long favorites of multi-generational entertainment.

So where can we find ALF aside from the programming thoughtfully listed by Wiki? Why right here on your very own computer via the miracle of the world wide web:

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=alf+episodes&search_type=&aq=0&oq=Alf+Epi

ALF's favorite treat to eat before he became the worst of his own kind, a "Cat Lover! Ach, spituey") may be further investigated on: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat.

Which change in diet no doubt would please Bast (goddess), AKA the Eye of Ra .
But let's not tell Mr. Tanner's mother-in-law Dorothy ("the witch") about that one, she has enough going on already.

Realizing the Power of "i"

2010-01-02T07:19:00.000-08:00

Imaginary number

Minkowski’s Four-Dimensional Space

King of Kings

2009-12-27T14:13:00.001-08:00

Looking for Christmas Presents?

2009-12-23T19:55:00.000-08:00

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_rose

Looking (Glass) Deeper

2009-12-13T08:18:00.000-08:00

Picture: Cheshire Cat

The closing of
A Strange Wild Song by Lewis Carroll

He thought he saw a Garden Door
That opened with a key;
He looked again, and found it was
A Double-Rule-of-Three
“And all its mystery,” he said,
“Is clear as day to me!”

The Closing of
Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll

Long has paled that sunny sky;
Echoes fade and memories die;
Autumn frosts have slain July,
Still she haunts me, phantomwise,
Alice moving under skies
Never seen by waking eyes.

“LEASAN” learned?

The Endorphin Rush of Scientific Discovery

2009-12-01T10:17:00.001-08:00

Photo: Hubble "Deep", a glimpse into a vast "nothingness" as granted by modern technology.
Scientists such as those engaged in cosmology and quantum mechanics, representing respectively the infinitely large and infinitely small, delight in searching for the seemingly impossible. It is this journey, this intense struggle to further mankind's knowledge of the vast, impenetrable universe that releases a glanular derived pleasure to the brain and thus a warm feeling of satisfaction with each hint of perceived enlightenment. This feeling can become very pronounced with what might be termed a "Eureka"moment within the study of science which has been beautifully described by Charles P. Snow in The Search, a novel about scientists at work wherein he tells of "an experience of being at one with God and part of the unity of all things" as quoted and further developed in The Search for Solutions by Horace F. Judson.
eureka moment
http://science.discovery.com/brink/top-ten/eureka-moments/eureka-02.html
The endorphin release aspect of this phenomenon is postulated herein and obliquely advanced as a primary motivator in the continuing evolution of human Cognitive skills regardless of any specialized field of study whether real or imaginary. In this we say that it is chiefly the amount of effort put forth in any mental endeavor that really counts and not any actual scientific progress when it comes to the brain's rewarding itself for a job well done. The immediate reward is the pleasurable feeling to an individual mind as opposed to a later sense of self-satisfaction upon reflection of making any actual advancement in mankind's knowledge of the universe. Let's call it a "runner's high" as applicable to the brain (Endorphin). Let's also call it addictive.
Astrophysicists are always wrong, but never in doubt. ... RP Kirshner[23]
In that vein of thought, Robert P. Kirshner writes:

As Hubble said in The Realm of the Nebulae, “We measure shadows, and we search among ghostly errors of measurement for landmarks that are scarcely more substantial. The search will continue” (44). Hubble's article had velocities from Trumpler without citation, distances wrong by a factor of seven, reference to de Sitter's strange kinematic model, and was not enough to convince Hubble himself of the reality of cosmic expansion, but that article in PNAS pointed the way to understanding the history of the universe, and the continuing search among the “ghostly errors of measurement” has led to a deeply surprising synthesis of dark matter and dark energy.
(end of citation)
“What actually happens is that once scientists get hold of a good concept they gradually refine and extend it with greater and greater subtlety as their instruments of measurement improve. Theories are not so much wrong as incomplete.” - Isaac Asimov http://chem.tufts.edu/AnswersInScience/RelativityofWrong.htm
Cosmology's understanding of such mysteriously strange things as the "synthesis" of dark matter and dark energy will (in my own opinion) quickly improve as as scientists make progress in their efforts to reconcile quantum theory with the theory of relativity, and of course the converse may be equally true. Some answers to these questions may already be available to some extent utilizing such branches of study as the Many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics , which has perhaps elevated a lot of previous mere speculation to the status of being in serious consideration as these mathematics seem (at least to us laymen) to be able to find some apparent mathematical proof of viability to almost anything the human brain can conceive of and even more that we cannot.
"Not only is the universe stranger than we imagine, it is stranger than we can imagine." - Sir Arthur Eddington
Are we as laymen capable of getting so excited at the prospect of all this vast gathering of scientific knowledge we hear about? You may have gathered by now that these two particular aspects of scientific inquiry as well as science in general is definitely a huge "brain strain game" being played for the most part by some of the best and brightest "demigod like" minds that mankind has to offer. It may be a bit enlightening, however, to find out that it is actually easier for the rest of us "mere mortals" to reach "eureka levels" of endorphin or endorphin-like releases because laymen have even more unexplored, strange and branching paths of knowledge available to seek whether into the realms of actual science, science fiction, or even in the study, contemplation and meditation of various strong yet (necessarily to this purpose) unprovable beliefs . Scientists are on the other hand constrained by their own Rules of engagement.
When existing laws of science can actually be broken or even seriously bent, this could lead to a new paradigm. Such a fundimental change in our ways of thinking might be be found in physics which are currently considered Dissonant. In such an event we shall doubtless continue our journey into the ever-growing unknown darkness along even more lines of inquiry. "String Theory originally came about as a way to reconcile the mathematically dissonant theories of general relativity (which explains things like movements of planets) and quantum mechanics (which deals with the activity of tiny particles). " http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/201349/the_elegant_universe_pbs_delivers_a.html
Searching along such lessor traveled pathways in the attempt to explain the unexplainable nevertheless has the the attention of both well qualified believers as well as equally qualified non-believers, those who must forever be looking over their shoulders just in case they might actually miss something notable. Various viewpoints may thus take altogether different, seemingly evermore uphill paths which as yet attempt to remain in keeping within the structured parameters of Pure science. Humanity and the history thereof being what it is, however, some researchers bearing strongly biased opinions strive (even if subconsciously) to remain within their own closely defined parameters, possibly keeping in lockstep with a specific belief or system thereof as they seek to navigate between their predefined starting point and/or an already determined ultimate goal.
While all human thought is subject to Bias of some sort, there are different schools of thought as to whether any particular bias would actually represent either an advantage or a hinderance to the study of anything that is in any event essentially unprovable or undeterminable at least as to any final analysis (refer back to Asimov's quote given earlier). Special difficulty comes about when scientists actually constrain their thought processes while still trying to fit scientific observations into an existing Dogma. This situation may be almost as common in purely scientific circles as well as religious ones. That said, there does exist some well respected and fruitful mathematics which rely on such principles as trying to work backwards from a predetermined answer towards an undefined question. Still there's the "E" rush to consider.
One actual advantage to having many different dogmatic persuasions, at least in my opinion, is that a greater pool of knowledge seekers cover more avenues and are available and for the most part eager to explain to us laymen passersby the various "possibilities of impossibilities". Some serious friction between the various qualified parties is inevitable. More competing ideas in activity also equates to more available "brain strain" if one actually elects to examine numerous paths rather than following only a few through some narrow constraints of bias/dogma.
There is a unique kind of pleasure that can be derived from reading through a certain kind of well written religious bias which is often well hidden as in the following scientific opinion. A known bias in science doesn't necessarily make it any less interesting or more unreasonable to contemplate as some competing experts might think:
"The Special Theory of Relativity apparently robs time of its independence, relegating it as an integral part of a four-dimensional space-time continuum. Putting it most simply: Newton's time is absolute, whereas Einstein's SRT time is relative.
Does this mean that there is no absolute time at all? An affirmative reply to this question conflicts with our intuitive perception of time. The first chapter of the second volume of the theoretical physics textbook by Lev Landau and Eugene Lifshits used in universities around the world presents Einstein's Theory of Special Relativity. The final chapter of the same volume entitled "Relativistic Cosmology," however, states: "The homogeneity and isotropy of space mean that we can choose a world time so that at each moment the metric of space is the same at all points and in all directions." Thus, the current view of physics is that local time, which seems different if viewed by a passenger in a moving train or by an observer on the platform, co-exists with a certain unified world time! The branch of physics that deals with this type of time is called cosmology. So even physicists are not always logically consistent! Sometimes they refer to one physics-relativistic mechanics; and sometimes, to another physics-cosmology, representing the scope of General Relativity Theory (GRT). Thus, a certain dissonance has arisen."
http://www.ldolphin.org/jtime.html
In short, it is apparent that all the gates to heaven, hell and points in between are pretty wide open whether a human mind seeks to journey into the unknown in the manner of a mystic as mentioned in a previous posting on "Contemplation" or as a would-be brilliant scientist attempting to understand and even help explain our universe within the structured confines of peer reviewed science. Either task sets impossible goals, but fortunately it is our perceived acheivements found along the endless and sometimes hopeless way that counts towards an individual's satisfaction. The arrival at any number of even false "absolute" truths (which never seem to last) will nevertheless work just fine at least for a little while as the carrot of satisfaction which motivates us to continue pulling such a burden, so to speak. And so as Hubble reported for his measurement of shadows... in realization that he's very likely wrong on many things, we continue the journey and we continue to progress (hopefully achieving many eureka moments along the way).
This is undoubtedly a journey without end but it is not without rewards along the way. So what is the difference between a serious adherent to meditation's long contemplation of either "all" or "nothing" in seeking a trip to nirvana and an equally serious scientist's contemplation of the vast and mysterious universe through the "all" of cosmology or the "nothing" of quantum theory? As benefits the human brain through the release of endorphins or their like, the effect is the same in either case. A "reward" of delight and a sense of well being and purposefulness is "given" for any discovery of "truth" whether actual or perceived. This is a very human thing. It also happens to provide good exercise for our brains and promotes development of cognitive skills - and has done so for all of our generations, one way or another.
Endorphins represent a powerful and quite addictive drug release which originates within us and has pretty much controlled most of our motivations and actions for all of our evolutionary history. As such we may even sometimes subconsciously lie to ourselves as necessary to receive our own internal "fix"if it is otherwise not forthcoming. Achieved with either the discovery of some truth or just utilizing a big lie to ourselves in masquerade as might sometimes be necessary, the endorphin rush waiting within to be released is nevertheless a quite sufficient reward for any particular leg of our journey to find truth.
By way of a warning though, serious problems can also develop with the absence of sleep, another thing we don't completely understand the need for. So an otherwise healthy human being who is under a great deal of stress or other compulsion shall always find the necessary truth (or lie) that allows relief, peace and sleep to come at some point unless some artificial drug is extending this process well beyond what is actually healthy (caffeine, for example). We seek, we find, we sleep, we wake up and then our journey goes on to seek again. Besides, the greatest of all mankind's discoveries have often come after the conscious mind goes to rest and the subconcious mind has a chance to collect and process all that hard fought data. Often as not such eureka moments come along during the wee hours of the morning, but what a way to start the day! Know when to quit, and you'll be ahead when you wake up.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-04/afps-aft040506.php
"Does the harmony which human intelligence thinks it discovers in Nature exist apart from such intelligence? Assuredly no. A reality completely independent of the spirit that conceives it, sees it or feels it, is an impossibility. A world so external as that, even if it existed, would be for ever inaccessible to us. What we call "objective reality" is, strictly speaking, that which is common to several thinking beings and might be common to all; this common part, we shall see, can only be the harmony expressed by mathematical laws." - Poincare' The Value of Science

Required Reading for Wannabe Physical Scientists

2009-10-10T09:40:00.000-07:00

These books are presented in the order of their suggested reading, beginning with the least technical and progressing to the more technological, but none are intended to be beyond the understanding of a high school student.

The Search for Solutions by Horace Freeland Judson

New Pathways in Science by Sir Arthur Eddington

A Brief History of Time by Stephen W. Hawking

The Emperor's New Mind by Roger Penrose

Digression

2009-09-25T20:34:00.000-07:00

If regression of that limited information which has been perceived and contemplated upon leads us to a big bang theory for the beginning of everything which has evolved therefrom, would progression of the same material ultimately find God?

The Mixing of Messages

2009-07-18T08:06:00.000-07:00

Somewhere the very certain message that God's grace is limitless and that He forgives unconditionally apparently got mixed into another message saying that because God "loves" us He will ultimately accept all of us unconditionally. Such rationalizations are common in religion, however, if we are dealing with message(s) found within the Holy Bible which forms at least the common starting point for those who claim to be followers of the "God of Abraham", then within it's pages are contained only two choices which God appears to be willing to make for those creations such as the we few who are actually possessed of mature and able minds. One is for certain condemnation of the wicked while the other is for redemption by blood.

Some opinions exist that there has never been a actual need for any such thing as redemption in God's eyes and others question whether God exists at all while (through some miracle of human genius) still others will flatly deny that such a thing as "God" even can exist. Yet with the properties of faith riding high although limited to various levels of understanding it is a case of "all or nothing" that we are faced with when reading the Bible, a fact which many people fail to appreciate. "The Scarlet Thread of Redemption" is a famous and popular title having gained widespread use for many works in Christian circles. This is a theme ties the concept of redemption by blood throughout the Bible beginning in the Book of Genesis with God's dietary instructions not to eat blood as well as Able's making of a blood sacrifice to God which was accepted while his brother Cain’s grain sacrifice was not.

Jewish priests even in the day of Jesus practiced blood sacrifices of such "clean" animals as doves, sheep and cattle at their temples as being necessary for the worship of God and the redemption of sin. Correspondingly the human consumption of blood has always been forbidden within this religion because as God says, "life is in the blood... and I shall have it". This holding of the special nature of blood is also seen with "your brother’s blood cries out to me" being what God says regarding Cain's murder of his brother Able.

When Jesus was declared "the Lamb of God" by John the Baptist as opposed to publicly being declared "the son of God" he was saying in his own role as a prophet that Jesus came forth as the living perfect blood sacrifice which God Himself has provided for the redemption of man's sin. This has parallel in that God had earlier provided Abraham with a suitable sacrifice in lieu of having to make a sacrifice of his and Sarai's own long promised son Isaac. God thus afforded his own son Jesus as a living sacrifice while sparing the ever faithful Abraham (and perhaps Sarai even moreso) such a loss.

By reason of this story, there is no sacrifice of any kind which is now able to offer anything like that which has already been made by God Himself. Such efforts are deemed "as filthy rags", and because the full price of redemption has already been paid forever no further sacrifice is ever necessary - just take your share of the unconditional, limitless grace which has already been provided for through Jesus as Christ. Unfortunately, however, something even as simple as believing in this much or even in holding to the basics of the ten commandments are considered totally unreasonable to many people today, so the numerous prophets of doom and gloom are still right on target with the (very) warm alternative yet to come.

As reasoned by Paul, the death of animals by sacrifice, a staple of Old Testament worship, was not sufficient payment for such a debt. “For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins” (Hebrews 10:4). But, the Christ, in his perfection, could die on our behalf, thus purchasing our pardon. In that same chapter, the Hebrew writer noted, “And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified” (Hebrews 10:11-15).

http://www.rlhymersjr.com/Online_Sermons/02-17-02AM_TheScarletThreadThroughTheBible.html

It is not a matter that any individual can or even should "dictate" to others what is truth regarding anything divine, but I will grant full credit, perhaps even due to the historical "survival of the fittest" thing, that even animals can detect/perceive rather quickly whether that which their collective senses, intellect and instinct are currently processing represents a threat, an advantage or something that at least may be safely ignored. All worldly things, yourself, family, others, and all churches will be found to fall far short of divinity but all is put before you as yours to either partake or forego. The key here is to be atuned to those senses which in many people today have been deafened by various forms of noise or pollution.

As told by Jesus to his followers concerning the appearence of a "helper" towards understanding the truth and the way, the Holy Spirit is a whisper to those who will listen, it is not boisterous or proud in its power. It could misunderstandingly be termed "shy". It does not appear as a result of any repeated loud thumps on the Holy Bible that so many preachers are favored of. To the faithful, the Spirit has nothing else to prove when it visits. But visit it does as millions will testify to even as millions more will pointedly ignore same. Tip: To perceive it, don’t grieve it.

Too often today with religion it’s become a matter of many being willing to throw the baby out with the bath water, and as I for one would testify that the water has definitely become polluted. Some teach that this pollution is the work of the "enemy" while others don’t really believe in such active agents. I would just say that perhaps nothing really good comes easily (unless you're childlike) and leave it at that. Nevertheless, it is left to us that one must sometimes fish through such pollution to eventually pull out your particular baby. Experience is what tells us that our perceptions will continue to change as the proper lessons are learned.

Seeking and then finding the wrong churches perhaps? There are many wrong churches and only one right one for anyone anywhere. Keep looking (seek and you shall find). When you see "crap" feel free to quickly leave and don’t hesitate to say why or even give your own testimony about them and their practices to others and hopefully save the next guy some wasted time. I can mention numerous very popular and leading religious organizations who profess Christianity, sware by the Bible, and then proceed to ignore most of what it actually says. Jesus still has a special place for hippocrites which is what he called the existing church leaders of his own time here on Earth. Many end up forming home bible study and prayer groups when everything else seems lacking.

Every church has at least one demon skulking around, sometimes even behind the pulpit. That said, I personally have met many people in church settings who are truly trying to help others with their daily walk in life as well as the drug, broken home, prison problems, etc. In my own particular church experiences "healing" is one of the things certainly prayed for with great faith but no one I know personally professes to (in and of him or herself) have any special connection with the Divine for healing such as Jesus or his 12 apostles did which might be described as being by supernaturally altering existing conditions in the physical universe (by the power of God) or could it more simply be called "magic".

Perhaps it is that the time of that specific healing "gift" being wielded by individuals is long past, but I believe that God can do whatever He wants and have heard or read testimony many times regarding what certainly seems like miracle cures received from prayers given by quite sane, real people who do not at the same time have their hand out for anyone’s money and are not looking to better their reputation or position in any church organization. If anything these people are believers who work hard for the Lord while attending the church of their own choice and faith, according to their own beliefs, giving their tithes and offerings plus much of their time to that cause.

I’m in no way inclined to criticize anyone for having strong religious beliefs of any kind because personally I often fall quite short in such regard even though I truly know better. That said, if one looks past his own pacifier hard enough he can always find something else out there that looks more interesting. It is not, however, for us to be rewriting or ignoring any scriptures which anyone holds to be sacred, particularly when such is being done for the most part because it is not being understood in the first place. It is best to move along from what you can't understand as of yet and if it is God's will then all of it it will come back to you in His own time.

Seeking truth after truth is like a drawing a line on a mobius strip because after going through everything the line eventually comes back to it's own starting point. If one mystic can say that "All paths lead to the same place and that is nowhere", I might as well tell you now that he is at least half right. Keep drawing that line and see where it brings you.

The Endorphin Rush of Contemplation

2009-07-14T09:46:00.000-07:00

What can be made of a process whereby the human mind automatically seeks it's own interpretation of various perceptions, even those which would logically be determined as being totally meaningless? The Rorschach inkblot test for example is a psychological test in which a subject's perceptions of nothing more than simple inkblots are analyzed by a trained psychologist in an attempt to better understand the inner workings of the subject's mind. This same phenomenon of the mind's ability to create something out of nothing can be also witnessed almost any time a human brain is confronted with a challenge to it's ability to comprehend something regardless of whether the sensory input is visual such as with an inkblot or something much more complex.

A certain level of expectation would seem to be a major factor in how much time and effort will be willingly spent in any attempt to "comprehend the incomprehensible" with again the inkblot test being but the most simple of examples. While the attending psychologist is fully aware that the ink blots being shown have no inherent design other than to draw an inference from the test subject, there remains for the test subject some doubt for his own mind to work with, perhaps in thinking that a trick is being played to test his ability to recognize the "picture". An active mind naturally carries a strong desire and/or expectation to find the "answer" to such a puzzle as opposed to abandoning a project as futile or meaningless (which in this case it actually is) but what is the motive for doing so?

Perhaps one motivation factor involved with this special type of creativity is the human brain's ability to "reward" itself with a pleasurable release of endorphins upon achieving a satisfactory conclusion to the effort at hand. Endorphin literally means "a morphine-like substance originating from within the body" which gives both relief from pain and a sense of well-being. To regularly seek such a natural reward is apparently programed within the DNA of both man and animals with the drive for sex perhaps being the most easily recognized of endorphin driven "instincts", but could it also be that along with the development of cognition, evolution has put humans into a cycle of endorphin driven mental "exercises" having the potential to drive cognitive abilities ever further?

So how do humans feel upon reading a story or some scripture or poetry wherein is found some new meaning or insight? The experience could be described as that of pleasure, and albeit most often more subtle than sex it nevertheless represents the same system of reward being given by the brain. Some natural and artifical substances can mimic or release endorphins and can enhance the human characteristic of seeking important meaning even in things mundane. Used as recreational drugs, these substances have the potential to turn an otherwise boring evening into a truly religious experience but for some reason the authorities have made most of them illegal, perhaps because given the choice many humans would do nothing else.

The power of suggestion, amplified? Will your future be like, "Your Jedi mind tricks will not work on me" - Jabba the Hutt (strong minded) or "These are not the droids we're looking for" Storm Trooper (weak minded)? Could the science fictional "Jedi mind trick" actually be made to work by manipulating a release of endorphins to generate a feeling of wellbeing and trust? These are nothing less than powerful drugs which have already been generated within a person's body which are ever ready and waiting for release. Watch out for that wave of the telekinetic hand! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzcWPKAv2Ow

Of course a little flattery or even flirtation can also sometimes do wonders.

On the road to Nirvana?

Will the Illustrious One hear me a little longer? Silently the Buddha nodded his consent... according to your teachings, this unity and logical consequence of all things is broken in one place... that is your doctrine of rising above the world, of salvation... not to explain the world to those who are thirsty for knowledge... its goal is salvation from suffering... nothing else... you have done so by your own seeking... you have learned nothing through teachings...nobody finds salvation through teachings... this clear, worthy instruction does not contain... the secret of what the Illustrious One himself experienced. - Siddhartha (H. Hesse)

The "unity and logical consequence of all things" pretty well sums up a maximum overdose of cognitive exercises for a human brain, and perhaps we are back to trying to "comprehend the incomprehensible", the difference being only that in the first case (the ink blots) there was nothing real while with "all things" being considered we know for sure that there is something which in scientific circles is called the "Theory of Everything", the holy grail of science. How would finding such make you "feel"?

Heisse in the above passage supposes that the Buddah offers as the ultimate goal for his followers a "salvation from suffering" (nothing else) which can apparently sometimes be found through lengthy contemplation of "the unity of all things" which (at least to this one) is a truly impossible puzzle. As it happens, the apparent purpose of our natural endorphins is to "ease suffering" as well as to "reward actions deemed good". Yes, Virginia, Nirvana would seem to be the ultimate natural high, but are there other paths, other destinations offering the same reward? I suspect this mystic was right with, "All paths are the same: they lead nowhere." --Don Juan
http://peacefulrivers.homestead.com/donJuan.html

"Salvation from suffering" derived from contemplation of how everything ties together? My current thought is that human activity is primarly endorphin driven, that the internal, eternal, infernal natural morphine juice drives us to the point of addiction whether it’s for sex, internet games or even religious ferver. It gives reward, a sense of wellbeing, freedom from suffering and so much more. But the secret to success with contemplation lies in the journey, the effort, the striving moreso than actually reaching the intended goal. It's not for "knowledge" that we contemplate, it's for the reward that tells us the lie that we've reached the goal, even the most impossible ones.

I’m trying to compose a synopsis of these thoughts but it keeps trying to include more and more material.. "everything" - I’m falling into the very "trap" upon which I hope to report... working and waiting for the eureka rush. Surrender brain, or I’ll strain you and starve you until you give me what I want! Ahh, there is is.. I AM one with the universe.. for a little while. It was great, let me tell you... ah, that’s the rub, it’s only to be experienced, not explained or taught. Good luck getting yours.

Next, "The Endorphin Rush of Scientific Discovery".

The Force Baptist Church?

2009-04-25T06:22:00.000-07:00

Is Star Wars a religious flick? This now classic sci-fi thriller series is a classic example that one should never underestimate any source of spiritual perceptions. Spirituality as depicted in those movies presents the endless battle between the forces of "light" and "dark" which has long been a central theme in the social development of all human societies. Should we now be on watch for a religious cult following to come in the wake of the tremendous sci-fi one?

One of the prominent elements of Star Wars is the "Force", which is an omnipresent form of energy which can be harnessed by those with that ability. It is described in the first produced film as "an energy field created by all living things [that] surrounds us, penetrates us, [and] binds the galaxy together." (Wikipedia) The Force appears to favor or disfavor (depending on which side you're on) a set of rules and sense of morality and is depicted as having both a creative Light side of the Force as well as a distructive Dark side of the Force.

This is a most basic element in the concept of religion which dates from long before any historical records. Oddly enough, while humans tend to anthropomorphize their God(s) even to the point of exhibiting human emotions, there seems to always remain that "beyond our understanding" part as to why certain things happen assuming an omnipotent and omnisicient nature of such an entity. One often asked question about the Christian God in particular is why such an "all good and loving God" allows bad things to happen, but this question itself is in error since the Old Testament speaks of God as being Lord of both light and dark (there are those words again). Those scriptures describe many seemingly bad things which happened to even the "chosen people", for all of which God is given full credit.

From the other side of the world we have also been given the Yin/Yang symbol which is used by some Eastern religions and philosophies to illustrate how the light and dark sides fit together to depict a balanced relational concept for the whole nature of things: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yin_and_yang

Perhaps it is that spirituality can be reduced to a system of simple binary decisions, either choosing to take a stand on the side of things positive, supportive of procreation and order, or things negative, destructive and chaotic. It may also be viewed that the word "evil" does not actually apply anywhere for such a concept as it might imply some bias when choosing between otherwise equal parts. In truth we exist in such a balance, just as nature and perhaps even God does.

Apparently an actual word meaning "evil" as currently applied and understood was not available in the ancient Hebrew in which Moses wrote. The closest they reportedly could come to "evil" may be translated simply as "bad" or "disfunctional", yet I have to wonder if Darth Vader would have appeared quite as ominous if refered to as being simply "disfunctional".

Going back to binary, if each decision one makes in life can ultimately be weighed on one side or another of a cosmic "morality" scale, this might explain the ancient Egyptian development of the basic concept of Ma'at. As the forerunner of our current understanding of the timeless Christian "God" through the writings of Moses initially, such Egyptian concepts of theology are also something that Moses understood very well having been raised as an Egyptian royal housemember. This relationship of ideas can be recognized as a major part of the evolving process in the history of theology.

Such knowledge of anything does not simply pop up out of the void even if science has determined that we ourselves apparently did (as in "let there be light"). There is a definite on-going learning process involved here with many gaps yet to fill. Fortunately this kind of thing is what humans themselves have evolved to do best.

The current trend as exemplified in Star Wars with the Force as well as much of the new age movement in general seems to be to de-anthropomorphize the mystical powers that many people nevertheless choose to believe in. Whether such beliefs are merely delusional, apparently only time will tell but on the other hand, if there actually exists a God "in our own image" perhaps it is also one that is (as earlier reported) Lord of both Light and Dark even if many existing doctrines choose to not believe or understand it. We might add that in the story of Job, for example, Satan does nothing that God himself does not allow.

Quoteth the Raven

2009-04-15T10:41:00.001-07:00

"All paths are the same: they lead nowhere." --Don Juan

http://peacefulrivers.homestead.com/donJuan.html

Winks Lie Here

2009-03-31T08:18:00.000-07:00

red sprites cast against heaven

blue jets practiced unleven

such kings of fashon

now torn and ashen

would hide their mountain

within a fountain

such hearty delight

their points of light

break each new moon

to take the name loon

O-Ee-Yah! Eoh-Ah

http://winkieslol.ytmnd.com/

What's in a Name?

2009-03-18T12:40:00.000-07:00

Morticia Addams
"Morticia", implying "death" (derived from "mors mortis", the Latin word for "death", and perhaps also from "mortician").

Yah "God", also the correct, but often derided, spelling of a synonym for "yes."

Is Ra El (Israel ) "he who wrestles with God" (Hebrew).
Isis was a goddess in Egyptian mythology.
Ra, the Sun-god of Ancient Egypt, also "bad" or "disfunctional" (Hebrew).
El (god), a Semitic word for "god"

Azrael "help of God" is the traditional name of the angel of death in many religions

Found: The Origin of Sinister Life

2009-03-18T12:00:00.000-07:00

http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/news/topstory/2009/left_hand_life.html

The Spring of Discontent

2009-03-17T12:57:00.000-07:00

Baggage carried forward

best left unclaimed,

a premise to aforethought

so sticky as to be genetic

hours dripping by...

it's morning -watch the earth revolve

the sun evolve

death to stars

lost connections never made

and dry glances

agents of mortality

programed self-destruction via random generations

mutants all

care not, want not

this tunnel must end somewhere

The Truth About Tarot Cards

2009-02-22T13:21:00.000-08:00

http://www.yhwh.com/Tarot/TarotInt.htm

A Mystic's "Happy Place"

2009-02-07T06:29:00.000-08:00

Patmos (follow link)

By Edith Matilda Thomas

The Emergent Superorganism

2009-02-04T07:03:00.000-08:00

The term for the day is "Emergent Superorganism" with the question being whether higher evolved life forms (including humans by some opinions) fit into such a category following close investigation of part and parcel. Many complex life processes necessary to the workings of any body can be viewed as the result of gradual and continuing evolution or emergence when viewed at the cellular to organ levels which leads to increasing diversity and perhaps at some point the categorization of a new species.

Considering the possible interpretations of evolutionary paths, at what point does that which was once considered a colony animal become an individual, and then where does a new combination of individuals become a superorganism which is basically a colony all over again? Symbiogenesis might even become evident if still another such cycle can be recognized through the study of such things in modern evolutionary synthesis .

Our existing period of actual scientific observation for such processes has been very limited, but this should not dismiss the growing evidence of apparent cross-biosomes throughout the animal kingdom. Evolution in simple organisms is easily observed and accepted in science and this has been extrapolated with the aid of paleontology for higher life-forms. The range of diversity possible in the short term may be seen due to the "unnatural selection" process by comparing a Toy Dog to its Wolf ancestor. In actual practice, this particular "laboratory" has been running for several thousand million (a.k.a. billion) years here on Earth and yet even at this we might be considered young within the scope of our universe.

So-called "lower" life-forms than human often exhibit extraordinary and enhanced abilities and/or senses compared to those of humans. How long will it be before our genetic engineers can make available to us some night-vision eyes, geomagnetic directional senses, a "super-sense" of smell, or echo location, all having been recognized in various animals? According to evolutionists, if there is some tangible advantage in actually having these abilities it's quite possible that they could develop naturally in humans given enough time. In the mean time, however, technology has provided for us at least some degree of each of these special abilities even if we are still often behind nature in the finer points of each.

Evolution in human kind shows "brain-power" to be where we have surpassed all other species as well as the path along which we are most likely to continue doing the same. Since we now have technology which permits Non-invasive monitoring of the brain, it is also possible that we will begin to notice some accelerated physical changes to the brain within our population even as we have already noticed and documented behavioral changes. Evolution is deemed to occur slowly, however, what accelerates a change in anything quicker than the incorporation of radically new material into the equation?

Regarding human evolution and to what extent the term "superorganism" actually describes what human beings might even now already consist of, the linked Wikipedia article for that word mentions "Some scientists have suggested that individual human beings can be thought of as "superorganisms"; as a typical human digestive system contains 1013 to 1014 microorganisms whose collective genome ("microbiome") contains at least 100 times as many genes as our own." Healthful bacteria which aid in digestion exist in endosymbiosis with humans, "infecting" the intestines very soon after birth and changing over time with changes in diet.

Long considered a vestigial organ, the human appendix is currently gaining new respect as a team of surgeons and immunologists at Duke University proposed a reason for the appendix, declaring it a “safe house” for beneficial bacteria. Such vestigal features have also been held indicative of organisms having had a Common descent... where they are seen in common, sometimes appearing only in the embryonic stage of development where much of Human vestigiality itself is best evident. Apparently the appendix serves our digestive bacteria quite well whether by accident or (dare I say) design and so it remains a part of our system, vestigial or not.

It can also be observed through Evolutionary developmental biology that from the point of conception onwards the development of a human being actually appears to traverse through an easily conceptualized path of evolution starting with a single celled organism which rapidly progresses onwards to become the miracle that is called a human infant. This development with regards to the brain continues well beyond birth, lending credence to the human brain as being the ultimate end product of evolution thus far considered (at least as humans figure things).
If humans and the human brain is the ultimate in evolution, we nevertheless do not stand immune to inhabitation by a long List of parasites (human) including those such as Toxoplas ma, considered to be a "mind controlling parasite" in that it somehow can seriously affect the behaviour of its host. If such an infected person's behaviour is altered by parasitic creatures and if at least a degree of such brain "control" is what determines alpha taxonomy, is this particular host/parasite superorganism something that should still be considered "human" in a strictly defined sense? Before you decide, read this taken from Toxoplasmosis:

"There has been speculation that human behavior may also be affected in some ways, and correlations have been found between latent Toxoplasma infections and various characteristics such as decreased novelty-seeking behavior, slower reactions, feelings of insecurity, and neuroticism.[9]
Several independent pieces of evidence point towards a possible role of Toxoplasma infection in some cases of schizophrenia and paranoia, but this theory does not seem to account for many cases.[10] A recent study has indicated toxoplasmosis is also correlated strongly with an increase in boy births in humans, leading to an alteration of the human sex ratio.[11] According to the researchers, "depending on the antibody concentration, the probability of the birth of a boy can increase up to a value of 0.72 " The study also notes a mean rate of 0.60 to 0.65 (as opposed to the normal 0.51) for Toxoplasma positive mothers.
One study suggests that a possible behavior modification is that people not infected with the parasite found women with toxoplasma more attractive than women who don't have toxoplasma.[12] Another study performed in the Czech Republic suggests individuals with latent toxoplasmosis had a 2.65 times higher risk of traffic accidents than noninfected subjects; and concludes "that 'asymptomatic' acquired toxoplasmosis might in fact represent a serious and highly underestimated public health problem, as well as an economic problem."[13]

On the other hand, is there yet to be discovered any possible benefits from harboring such a "mind controlling" organism making it less a parasite and more of a Symbiote? Could it ever be appreciated like the "healthful" bacteria living within our gut? We can only speculate as to this particular "bug" given the above somewhat scary details, but at the same time we must also suspect it very likely that there are other potential superorganism "partners" we don't even know about yet.

Epilogue:

The study of biology usually begins with that of the most simple of organisms and proceeds through the system of Linnaean taxonomy to end with the ultimate lifeform, Homo sapiens, but it should be noted that this is perhaps a somewhat biased and maybe even a temporary view. Current theories suggest that biological evolution appears to be an emergent process which might eventually lend itself to a mathmatical analysis much the same as is currently utilized in the development of artificial life and intelligence studies.

I wonder... if a unbiased summary of the total component parts of a real live human being was made available - inclusive of all the various forms found therein whether actually labeled as "human" or not - how strange we might then seem to ourselves. Heinlein's The Puppet Masters also comes to mind... as well as the Goa'uld.

Genocide, Why?

2009-02-02T22:03:00.000-08:00

Germ

How does it start? If anything, a protoplasmic contemplation growing exponentially like melons in a pumpkin patch in furrows until bursting forth on sleeping giants projected on each wall that separates. Help us please! Can we but guess what motives Jung or Freud ascribe? Sein oder Nichtsein, Gott - können wir verstehen?
Contagious aspiration blooms, humanity defined anew, groomed in a fire of long desire, collective mind of National.
Vermächtnis des Vaters und Brust der Mutter, father's bequest and mother's breast, defines the quest, put's all to test.
Zeugen Sie die Supermenschen! Verrücktheit tankte durch Blut und Tod. Selected seed, madness indeed, blood and death to all the rest, upon a pyre, within a pit go "problems" and all witnesses.
Infektion in der Tat, eine Pest von Art. A simple diagnosis, infection indeed, a plague of sorts, hatred of the masses, by the masses. Til Death takes all, the large and small, his laughter rides the wind.
(least we forget)
http://www.ushmm.org/
http://www.yadvashem.org/

Lost?

2009-02-02T21:59:00.000-08:00

The kingdom of heaven is not easy to find, but it is simply given to us if we can but pay attention. The Lord Jesus tells why he speaks in parables before the multitude:
Mat 13:9-17 (KJV)Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: For this people's heart is waxed gross, and [their] ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with [their] eyes, and hear with [their] ears, and should understand with [their] heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. But blessed [are] your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous [men] have desired to see [those things] which ye see, and have not seen [them]; and to hear [those things] which ye hear, and have not heard [them].

Sit at the Master's feet by continuing to read His words, keeping your eyes, ears and heart open. Both the parables and the way are made clear.

The Wisdom of Men

2009-02-02T21:46:00.000-08:00

What is it about entropy,

that it must be increased?

If this is so, we must agree,

that mankind is the least!

That evolution's past it's prime,

we're going the other way.
Time to return to be the slime,

to hear the wise men say.

Mobius Trip

2009-02-02T21:40:00.000-08:00

Some day we'll take a curious trip
to tread upon a Mobius strip
where bottom's top and right is left
yet walking it requires no deft

Ironic how a great divide
were we to split this side to side
our roads would part not company
but ever longer it would be

A doubter in amongst the crowd?
be thee too sober - not allowed
on magic secrets thoughts do dwell
all in the twist - I didn't tell

Such parlor trick of math inclines
to sometimes mess with people's minds
unseeming knowledge dost perverse
the flip that rules this universe

Imagination fuels the fire
for knowledge is our own desire
what lies beyond we cannot see
that which controls our destiny

So children exercise your mind
you never know what you might find
that teacher simple tricks can make
you someday soon can overtake

The toys of yesteryear now soar
across the atmosphere a roar
while haunting new dimensions peek
behind string curtains yours to seek.

tags science poetry, mobius strip

How Big is Your Scroll?

2009-02-02T21:35:00.000-08:00

Like a scroll unrolling in both directions, the Earth's basalt crust spreads away from the Mid-ocean ridges while faithfully recording within the rock mirror images of the historic reversals of the Earth's magnetic poles.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_floor_spreading

Children of God, who among you are ready to eat meat? It does not yield easily and can only be appreciated by chewing with one's own teeth. However, such meat cannot be savored by the multitudes. Fear not, for in the eyes of the Lord the knowing of the world always takes second place to faith in Him alone. Even the blind and deaf can get this one...

On the day of the Lord, consider what the prophets said:

Joe 2:10 The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining:

Joe 2:31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.

Joe 3:15 The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining.

Joe 2:31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.

Amo 5:18 Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! to what end [is] it for you? the day of the LORD [is] darkness, and not light.

Amo 5:20 [Shall] not the day of the LORD [be] darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it?

Mat 24:29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:

Mar 13:24 But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light,

Mar 13:25 And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken.

Act 2:20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come:

1Th 5:2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.

Pe 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

Rev 6:12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;

Rev 8:12 And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.

Darkness, Darkness, Darkness...

If by being under the direction of God true prophets cannot lie and even as science itself always seeks truth by it's own proofs, how much more so does Jesus, the Son of God always speak the truth?

Mat 19:30 But many [that are] first shall be last; and the last [shall be] first.

Mat 20:16 So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.

Mat 24:34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.

Mar 13:30 Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done.

Mat 24:36 But of that day and hour knoweth no [man], no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.

Luk 17:20And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:

Luk 17:21Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

Luk 17:22And he said unto the disciples, The days will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and ye shall not see [it].

Luk 17:23And they shall say to you, See here; or, see there: go not after [them], nor follow [them].

Luk 17:24For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one [part] under heaven, shineth unto the other [part] under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day.

The questions remains, where lies an answer as to how and when all these things shall come to pass? As for the Day of the Lord, only time, or perhaps the absence of time, will tell. Did you ever have your whole life suddenly flash before your eyes? The trick in this is to not die immediately afterwards, and anyway - you already know the answer to this one.

Requiem for Lost Churches

2009-02-02T21:16:00.000-08:00

In the face of ongoing news about the practices of both pedophilia and homosexuality not just by members of a church, but by the very ministers of those organizations who carry the moral and professional obligation of providing for leadership and the keeping of sanctity for the lessons and values given by the Holy Bible, how can we as followers of Christ judge between that which we are to abide and what must be abandoned? It is given that the aforementioned practices are condemed as abominations before the Lord by the very words of the Holy scriptures.

So what does Jesus, the Father and the Holy Spirit, "God" have to do with such a "church"? Obviously any church which condones abomination has abandoned the ways of God as given by the very Bible it otherwise proclaims as the basis for it's own existence. But just because certain churches elect to exist as orphans by holding onto their own many lies, it doesn't mean that God is a lie, it is only further proof that mankind tends to put it's own desires ahead of the divine will and thus they are doomed to fail at that which might have kept them in communion with God.
When has man ever failed to disappoint God? The Bible is a record of one failure after another. It would seem that every church has at least one demon whose job it is to discourage any faith, and what better place for them to be! The Bible is also a record of God's forgiveness even in the face of the most heinous sin. Dwell upon that if you will, there is yet hope.
A relationship with God only has true meaning if it is founded upon a strong, one on one basis, one's being with God alone, a faith not dependent upon the success or failure of other mortals whether they be they laymen or ministers. "Go to your closet" is what Jesus said about prayer. Group worship is for; (1) showing love to one another and (2) sharing the conviction of your real faith with others. These were the only commandments that were given by Jesus.

As for the lessons missed:

Mat 18:6 But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and [that] he were drowned in the depth of the sea.
Mat 18:7Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!
Lev 18:22 Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it [is] abomination.Lev 20:13 If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood [shall be] upon them.
Rom 1:26For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:Rom 1:27And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.Rom 1:28And even as they did not like to retain God in [their] knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;Rom 1:29Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,Rom 1:30Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,Rom 1:31Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:Rom 1:32Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.2Cr 6:14Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?Rev 21:7He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.Rev 21:8But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

So it is written, so it shall be. Such words are for reading by all.

Peer Pressure

2009-02-02T21:08:00.000-08:00

Look at pressure of peers like a bowl full of poop

one might buy without thought to be part of a group
all ideas in concrete wearing fashon in clone

lockstep towards tomorrow and forsake blood and bone

make to the party scene a most compelling throng

there be music and wine just for laugh dance and song
unkind spirits lay waste to what judgement there be

now so dulled not inclined to find philosophy

take a break in pursuit of your place in such game

find some meaning of self ponder from where you came
for to know a real high let your mind sober be

and join those who seek truth if you choose to be free

Depression Kills

2009-02-02T20:51:00.000-08:00

Means To An End

We loved him like a brother but we could not hear his cry,

our own ears full of merryment and singlemindedness,

yet there he was, our soul sibling, making forth to die,

blinded by distractions, we saw not his distress.

Too late we hear the depths to which he fathomed all alone,

who understands, who has not known the darkness which grabs hold?

How many tears have fallen, but how many to condone,

our ignorance and callousness for our friend lying cold.

Don't just sit there, learn and do something... because,

depression kills.

http://search.yahoo.com/search?ei=utf-8&fr=slv8-mdp&p=depression%20kills

Blink

2009-02-02T19:37:00.000-08:00

Believe... in what you see,

and touch, and smell, and taste, and hear

Or is that what you're been taught to believe

How long does it last, will we ever agree

Shift... change focus, glance, turn or blink

Pay attention for a change to those senses you trust

Tricksters dance at the edge, beyond what you know...

quicker by far than mere time can you think

Look closer at anything... can't you see more

Even blankness or randomness -your mind will supply

deeper images, meaning, from whence do you know

Patience, practice, with time builds up your store

The Word of the Day

2009-02-02T17:23:00.001-08:00

The word of the day is Representationalism

False Preachers will be Held Accountable

2009-02-01T09:30:00.000-08:00

What better place for those twin demons - corruption and perversion to flourish than within a Church? Therefore, be on guard for false teachers anywhere, knowing that they shall have their own eternal reward.

2Cr 11:13For such [are] false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.2Cr 11:14And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.2Cr 11:15Therefore [it is] no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.

A Glimpse of Hell's "E" Ticket:

Matthew 13:41-42 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.Matthew 22:13 Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness, there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.Matthew 25:41, 46 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. ... And these shall go away into everlasting punishment.Mark 9:43-48 ... into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.John 5:28-29 The hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.2 Thessalonians 1:8-9 In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction.Revelation 14:10-11 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever.Revelation 20:10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

Think this is harsh? It was always intended to be. Ministers, who do you serve? It is not for you to serve yourselves in your own self-interest, but rather to communicate the glory of God to others. In doing so fear not, His grace is sufficient to all who hold to His Spirit, for thereby you cannot fail:

2Cr 3:2Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men:2Cr 3:3[Forasmuch as ye are] manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.2Cr 3:4¶And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward:2Cr 3:5Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency [is] of God;2Cr 3:6Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.2Cr 3:7¶But if the ministration of death, written [and] engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which [glory] was to be done away:2Cr 3:8How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious?2Cr 3:9For if the ministration of condemnation [be] glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory.

Blessed are all teachers of truth in spirit and deed.

Sects

2009-01-31T11:50:00.000-08:00

we servants of a nameless kind
are summoned out to seek and find
(with maybe some telepathy)
all spoilers of the human youth
and garblers of the sacred truth

deceivers, liers, self-fulfilled
if left to us we'd have you grilled
(and that for an eternity)
on endless grace is what you've bet
but chances are we'll get you yet

pontification is your bent
as if you think you're heaven sent
(with great dilatability)
in truth you're nothing but a cad
your droning's bound to drive us mad

in sects is where you've built your base
a con job on the human race
(preying on gullibility)
in this food chain you've set your sights
you're nothing more than parasites

a curse upon your hated lot
too insignificant to swat
(it's ultraseriousity)
your whiney noises irritate
incessent buzzing we do hate

compelled we are now to devise
a mechanism of demise
(with sheltered obviousity)
to gather fools who congregate
mistaken souls soon to be late

your very nature is profane
so function will design a bane
(with irresistability)
to capture using great appeal
the poison God cares not to heal

it's laced with negativity
a twist of some divinity
(of certain mootability)
a deadend, none will get too far
caught in a bottle or a jar

it's murky by design, this pool
a trap to capture any fool
(with inescapability)
so join with others of your kind
all mired in liquid state of mind

our entranceway that seems so sweet
just disappears beneath your feet
(a lewiscarrollosity)
under the many watchful eye
of Him the greatest dragonfly

and looking back from where you fell
into this mass of teeming hell
(treading such mutability)
heaven yet beckens, far away
but rest assured you're here to stay

The Ballad of the Grey Knight

2009-01-31T11:40:00.000-08:00

The king rides out with banners bold

to conquer distant lands of moors

(while carrying along his whores)

and left behind in much distress

a chastened queen in metal cold.

What justice can we seek for she

who carries such a treasure chest

(and passion deep within her breast)

and yet no key that may release

that grail of highest purity.

Call forth the hero of the day

a nobleman who will not smirk

(yet handy with a slender dirk)

war has called both white and black

consider then the Knight of Gray.

An aged warrior left behind

she beckons through a secret way

(and notices he's truly gray)

"I've never seen so many keys"

grateful for that act most kind.

The years have past without a King
and Saladin remains supreme

(justice perhaps? so it would seem)

A Regent Queen she now does rule

her son's gray eyes are sparkling

The Obscure Light

2009-01-20T22:13:00.000-08:00

"Vortices of pure energy can exist and, if my theories are right, can compose the bodily form of an intelligent species." - William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin

2Cr 11:14
And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. - Paul the Apostle

Eze 1:13
As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance [was] like burning coals of fire, [and] like the appearance of lamps: it went up and down among the living creatures; and the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning. - the prophet Ezekiel

Demonstrably Dangerous Drinks

2009-01-20T08:56:00.000-08:00

Have you heard anything lately about caffeine intoxication misdiagnosis? We thought not.

Caffeine is a bitter white crystalline xanthine that acts as a psychoactive stimulant drug...

An acute overdose of caffeine, usually in excess of about 300 milligrams, dependent on body weight and level of caffeine tolerance, can result in a state of central nervous system over-stimulation called caffeine intoxication,[71] colloquially "caffeine jitters".

The symptoms of caffeine intoxication are not unlike overdoses of other stimulants. It may include restlessness, nervousness, excitement, insomnia, flushing of the face, increased urination, gastrointestinal disturbance, muscle twitching, a rambling flow of thought and speech, irritability, irregular or rapid heart beat, and psychomotor agitation.[69] In cases of much larger overdoses mania, depression, lapses in judgment, disorientation, disinhibition, delusions, hallucinations and psychosis may occur, and rhabdomyolysis (breakdown of skeletal muscle tissue) can be provoked.[72].

Caffeine content in coffee varies widely depending on the type of coffee bean and the method of preparation used;[15] even beans within a given bush can show variations in concentration. In general, one serving of coffee ranges from 40 milligrams, for a single shot (30 milliliters) of arabica-variety espresso, to about 100 milligrams for a cup (120 milliliters) of drip coffee.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caffeine#Caffeine_intoxication

If we do the math, using the above numbers it would seem relatively easy to reach a toxic level of caffeine, expecially considering its new found popularity in "Energy drinks" which some countries have even made illegal following health problems and even deaths associated with them.

Why worry?

Nearly 80% of the world's population uses caffeine, and 25% of the population is diagnosed with a mental disorder. Clinical studies indicate that there may be significant overlap between those figures, and that many people diagnosed as mentally ill are in fact merely suffering from caffeine poisoning.

http://caffeineweb.com/?p=15

Beam My Mind Up, Scotty

2009-01-10T12:05:00.000-08:00

Can we imagine how our intrepid Star Trek hero Capt. James T. Kirk would feel if instead of vanishing in a twinkle to be reformed whole at another location the transporter so famous for bailing him out of precarious situations somehow malfunctioned and transported away only his mind while leaving his body behind? While this might not serve well for a science fiction serial, something very similar actually does seem to be happening in the here and now as reported by medical science exploring the workings of the human brain.

This one of the many interesting things discussed and reported on in The Brain Science Podcast in a program covering a book about Body Maps: (listen to mp3) and a followup interview with author Sandra Blakeslee (follow-up on episode 21): (listen to mp3). Another discription and review of the book is also provided by this link:
The Body Has a Mind of Its Own: How Body Maps Help You Do (almost) Everything Better

If we are searching for possible scientific explanations for what happens when people have an out of body and/or near death experience, as well as a better understanding of what might be interpreted as a mystical or even religious experience, what better way to start than by sticking an electrode into someone's brain? On one side of the brain we can get "out of body" experiences, while on the other we can meet spooky interlopers. Then there are also the other Phantoms in the Brain to consider.

Yes, this all does seem to have some mystical implications, but doesn't it sound quicker and less painful than the ways some people seek a vision (spirituality) such as taking a lengthy Vision quest into the wilderness? In retrospect such trips would seem by accident or design to induce an increased level of mental stress quite like that derived by other mystics who use various methods of systematic physical deprevation until the right mental state is reached. More modern "seekers" have simply resorted to dropping Lsd or another such hallucinogen to find their own "Instant Karma".

No wonder some religious orders actually ban their followers from seeking modern, scientific medical help with the brain research doctors now seemingly invading their territory. Such continued research on how the brain works, however, also promises a better understanding of things like the Placebo effect, Accupuncture and other esoteric faith based healing practices such as faith and/or touch healing, Reiki, and the like. On the down side, such scientific findings are also sure to be fully exploited and even misrepresented by various self-serving quacks whose main plan is to get rich.

But for now, the always logical and pragmatic "Spock" types who can put off getting their bodies transported might still be able to go "where no man has gone before" with at least some remote viewing. Maybe the phrase to be used should be, "Wire me up, Scotty!"

Only Meat, You Say?

2009-01-08T07:09:00.000-08:00

We can only speculate whether the human race might have already been visited and evaluated by visitors from other worlds. Long a theme of science fiction, could it actually be that humans would be deemed as not being ready to learn about such other, presumably advanced beings, or could it instead be that we would not even be deemed worthy of their notice? The following provides links to both a short video as well as the text of a humorous science fiction classic in this regard:

They're Made out of Meat by Terry Bisson

http://www.atom.com/funny_videos/made_meat/?yref=yssp

http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/TheyMade.shtml

Along the same theme of the human race being considered by outside observers, we might assume that such presumably advanced entities would have to possess a moral code or guidelines of some sort, elsewise they might be also be inclined to swoop in and either subjugate all humans to their own purposes or simply annihilate us and inhabit the Earth. Existing paranoias would seem to cover all possible scenarios in this regard, including one that "they" (whoever they might be) are already in control. Oddly enough the phrase, "Take me to your leader" might conceivably be moot.

If the purpose of morality is to provide a basis for judgement, would the human race be judged by any outside observers by the standards of their own moral code, if any, or would such an "advanced" people consider morality as subjective, saying something like, "They know not what they do"? In yet another science fiction classic, "The Day the Earth Stood Still" for which the original 1951 movie was recently redone (the original is, in my opinion, better) a collective of advanced alien races gives Earthlings a last minute reprieve based only on the prospect of us being able to eventually change our evil ways. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Day_the_Earth_Stood_Still_(1951_film)

A principle moral consideration that humans are dealing with today concerns the research and resultant use of embryonic stem cells which shows promise of enabling us to cure a wide range of human maladies and thus end very much suffering. While that could easily appear to be a good and moral thing to do, the question might be asked if whether from an outside observer point of view (those super-smart aliens) there is some definitive determination that can be made as to whether a given human activity is considered advanced medical research (good) or simply some form of high tech cannibilism (perhaps bad).

Could there be a remake of Terry Bisson's classic "They're Made out of Meat" that would go something like, "They're Made out of Meat, and as Proof of this they Eat their Children". Such would obviously be in poor taste.

About the photo: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eskimo_Nebula

Tenents of Science are Subject to Change, but...

2009-01-06T09:49:00.000-08:00

Change is apparently the only thing that's a constant when trying to keep up with the continuing progress of human scientific knowledge. Science by it's very nature must continue to seek the unknown and evolve as new understandings of the physical universe come to light. Unfortunately, even the best of scientists can become entrenched with pet dogma as was the case for Lord Kelvin, probably the leading scientist of his day now ridiculed by some for his many overly far reaching authoritive statements:
http://zapatopi.net/kelvin/quotes/

In hindsight, perhaps the greatest of Lord Kelvin's many scientific achievements was to serve up himself (in addition to much crow) as an abject lesson in the importance of maintaining at least some degree of humility.

Thankfully some inquiring people continue to tackle really tough questions which many consider as having long been put to rest, for example the "speed of light" thing:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090105150837.htm

The sum total of human knowledge now climbs ever higher as it continues to build upon itself with ever more proofs being laid upon seemingly solid foundations of science, however, today even the very process of discovery for any newly found knowledge is subject to peer review. As such it is at least as important for a scientist to be able to show how something new was determined as it is to be able to show the final assertion or demonstration of same regardless of how startling or wonderful the end product might be.

That said, it has been the case in the history of science where relatively (no pun intended) great leaps of knowledge came about seemingly through a sudden spark of genius, intuition or early morning revelation. This "eureka" moment has sometimes been noted as a result of an accident, perhaps only being noticed at all because it was by a (lucky) trained observer having years of study in a given field. Regardless, the end result of any discovery may be that actually explaining the "how" of such a find may become more burdensome than the actual "what" of it.

The problem comes in the presentation of the new information in such a way that at least the appropriate scientific peers can duplicate the effort and thus pass their professional judgement on it. If something new does not readily yield its secrets to peer review, or if such peers simply decide not to believe in something because they already "know" otherwise, it is unlikely that any serious science publications will pick it up or that any books will be modified to reflect same.

Sadly, it has been the case that something very startling and/or out of the mainstream of current thought could not even get a serious peer review regardless of how true and potentially wonderful news it was. Such was the case for the discovery that peptic ulcers where actually caused by bacteria rather than by spicy foods and stress, etc. and could therefore be treated as such. Refer to:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_peptic_ulcer_disease_and_Helicobacter_pylori
As the article states, "an extensive effort was required to convince the medical community of the relevance of their work." The existing dogma in this case was very hard to overcome, but let us hope that the spirit of Lord Kelvin lives on to haunt the haughty.

Of Certain Form

2009-01-03T08:02:00.000-08:00

The Wanderer
By Edwin J. Ellis

AH, Christ, it were enough to know
That brooding on the unborn things
Thou gatherest up the years that go
Like a hen’s brood beneath her wings.

It were enough to know that those,
More evil than the years that fall,
Who heard Thee mocked Thy safe repose
And would not trust Thee at Thy call.

It were enough that Thou hast died,
Because Thyself Thou couldst not save,
Unless by losing from Thy side
Thy sons that drove Thee to Thy grave.

Yet more and more we know and see,
For Golgotha the shade retains
Of Him who died, the Form of Thee,
Of Him who bore Thy fleshly pains.

Nor there alone, this Form shall be
Still seen within us, Thou dost say
Until there shine on earth and sea
Light of the unforeboded Day.

O Christ the Wanderer, marked as Cain,
We know the sign upon Thy brow;
We know the trailing cross, the stain;
The passing footstep whispers now.

It was Thy hand, we learn at last,
That nailed Thee in that far-off year;
Thy hand as now Thou wanderest past,
Drives deep within Thy side the spear.

While evil holds the world in grip
And men revile the eternal powers,
This vision holds Thee lip to lip
Close to our love and makes Thee ours.

Oxymoron of the Day: Death Penalty?

2008-12-29T13:21:00.000-08:00

It seems strange that in a time when many people and even some governments view a quick and painless death as an acceptable escape and/or release from personal pain and problems that others still accept the same as being the ultimate penalty for gross crimes. The question of whether punishment or release is being rendered is apparently a matter of opinion, formed chiefly by one's own faith in what happens (or doesn't) to an individual's soul (if any) after death.

Current governmental practices seem to allow that "the people" are simply polled as to their desires in such matters, with some reliance being given to theology by the thoughtful ones who seek God's approval to justify actions which might otherwise seem morally questionable. By Judeo‑Christian tradition, the text of the Holy Bible is considered God's word with interpretations which may range from literal to allegorical at either extreme.

That Bible is, however, universally accepted as an accurate historical record of ancient Jewish law, which undoubtedly did prescribe the death penalty for a wide range of infractions including murder, adultery, heresy, homosexuality, bestiality and even disobedience to parents. Those death penalties were enforced subject only to the existing power structure and performed regardless of other Holy verses attributed directly to God's own words which are documented as "thou shall not kill", and "vengeance is mine".

As with many societies throughout history, it would have been folly to question the morality of any killings so justified as the "Book" itself is used to define same (remember also the heresy thing). Executions under this (moral) law were, however, generally public and violent events, often specifying participation of the able bodied local population by their group stoning to death of the lawbreaker, reflecting both their collective rejection of the offense and a purification of that society.

Considering the above, how then does quietly and rather privately "putting to sleep" a condemed person equate to any moral action? Does our current method of execution really amount to punishment, or does it just provide for an escape?

Addendum: The biblical prescriptions for the killing of certain lawbreakers no longer being acceptable to modern society, the "humane" alternatives currently in practice cannot be justified on any grounds of serving either justice or retribution and should be stopped immediately. Such is, as they say... immoral.

Your amazing brain: Top 10 articles from 2008

2008-12-29T09:27:00.000-08:00

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16205-your-amazing-brain-top-10-articles-from-2008.html

Appreciating the Range of Science and Non-Science

2008-12-23T10:11:00.000-08:00

The "Scientific" Sales Pitch -

http://www.thewileyprotocol.com/sleep.htm

Science by Divination? -
http://www.divinecosmos.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=84&Itemid=36

The Science of Boundless Ambition -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:PauloHelene

The Science of "Gee, even stars change their minds from time to time!"
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080225133649.htm