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archives push me to post webmail :: xenii mail the hive :: for trading and raiding polymorph :: a cosmographia universalis chrisnelson.ca :: chiefwagonburner has a blog fortune cookie distro :: x's distro
"Hey Ma! I don't wanna fight no more!" Here's a Yahoo article: Thousands Worldwide Protest War in Iraq Sad to say, with this USA administration, it might not make any difference. Many protests are in other countries, not America. But the protests here should be sending a message directly to Bush. They are galvanizing the American public against a leader, who doesn't listen to the people! Now if only we could get people to speakup against most of the other programs being pushed upon the public by Bush and the Republican Christian corporate wealth machine [sic}! I don't mean that all Cristians are guilty of the abuses of this administration. And for that matter some corporations, wealthy and, or Republicans may not be as guilty as the rest. But, aw, you guys know what I mean. I hope that if Bush does go on with his warmaking, that the American public will get the message that it was never about what the people want. It was always whatever was in the best interests of this administration's special interests; an elite few wealth and power brokers. Here's an idea, make a series of "Spring Break" videos. Only don't feature young women flashing their assets. Feature bigwig corporate CEO's and CFO's, flashing their accesses. Call it "Money Gone Wild!" HA! Peace for the Planet! Awwa \A/
Aw the floaters are little tiny organisms on your eye and they're harmless. You can get rid of them by taking bilberry herbal stuff. Oh, and Lakshmi is the goddess of wealth. I like that name. It fills up your whole mouth. Sometimes I see shapes and shadows out of the corner of my eye. I never know what it is either because my vision is so bad that my peripheral vision is REALLY blurry with my glasses on. So I've learned to ignore it, even if I have my contacts in... So those shadowy shapes and people and tree branches and the corners of walls are always sneaking up or past me. Ah well. But that doesn't bother me so much because I have a reasonable explanation for a lot of the world sliding by in my peripheral vision. What kind of bugs me is when I think I hear people calling my name. yeesh. Does that happen to you people? You hear it really clearly, but there's no one there. Sometimes even when I'm lying in bed falling asleep I'll think that I hear someone saying my name and it will wake me up. Then I'll lie awake wondering if I'm going crazy... Um, and if none of you know what I'm talking about then ah, yeah, then I was just kidding and I don't really hear voices that aren't there. egads.
Miss Speck and the Giant Librarians i have had floaters like that since my early 30's. they're harmless but a pain in the keester. i can make them appear by shaking my head a little and then watching them lazily float across my screen of vision. talk about being bored enough to watch my own floaters! ha. listen, we are so snowed in, or are about to be, here by the beltway. any of you lucky enough to be in sunshine, please to beam some sunny thoughts my way! vicki
Vicki > Recently I have been seeing things from the corner of my eye. Always the left eye. A small dark shape that flits across and no matter how fast I snap my head towards the left it is gone. A few things come to mind, Ashok (you do have a cool name!). But about the flittering shadows, one possibility are "floaters." Floaters are little particles that float in the fluid of your eyeball, between the lens and the retina. I'm not sure their cause, but they appear like little hazy shapes, sometimes they look like like little strings or blobs, almost like microscopic organisms (which they may be), that you can't quite focus on. They float in relation to the movement of your eyeball. Thus if you move your eye to the side quickly, they seem to dart off in the same direction. But sometimes, especially while reading, you can catch one, drifting down as you scan a page (or on a PC, as you read the sreen). There is a technique (it may involve laser-scopy (sp?), the use of lasrs to burn away the particles), which can remove or alter them such that they don't become a problem. A problem that I have dealt with on and off, living in lower rent housing are pests. I'm not suggesting that you have this problem. But there were times when I've had a mouse, break-in to escape the winter weather (they usually stay outsuide during spring and summer). They can be amazingly fast, darting so quickly to only leave the impression of movement. They are also very accomplished jumpers. I've seen one jump from floor level to a mantelpiece, four or five feet above the floor. Mousetraps baited with peanut butter have worked wonders for me. But of course getting rid of the poor, cute, dead little bodies, is best done with absolute emotional detachment. And don't get me started on roaches! I'll just leave it at there are times when I do a lot of doulbe-takes. Then I reach for a swatter or a shoe! Then there's the more New Age type ideas (funny how they call them "New Age", for mostly old ideas), of Aliens, Ghosts or Spirits, Little People/Pixies or Fairies, Nexus(ii) or Time Holes, Mirages, Wormholes, Magnetism, Miracles, Omens, Psychic or other unexplained phenomena. Hey, there's a lot we don't know yet, not to mention the stuff we may never know. I was having a conversation with a friend recently about the possible need for a new, supra-science paradigm, one which goes beyond the basics of the scientific method, one which is broader and thus may encompass concepts which conventional (Western) science is unable. In any case any or all of these may have some contribution to the darting shadows. Then there's my, "Beginning of Time Exhibit" presentation. Back in the days of the Dinosaurs, other creatures existed, including early mammals. But being the Physical Giants of the Earth, they ruled with impunity. Nevertheless around their feet, darting here and there, grabbing bits of meat from the Dinosaurs' kills; were these prehistoric mammalian mice (perhaps actually more closely related to shrews, but mouse-like in appearance). Then due to one or another extinction, many of the larger creatures, including the Dinosaurs, died out. This gave mammals a chance to develop into the now vacanted ecosphere. They grew in size, but also developed a greated mental capacity. Mammals, with humans at the pennicle, became the Mental Giants of the Earth. Then what might be darting at our feet, picking at the thought craps of our mental feasting? And what will be the next regime? Being inside of the equation, we may not have the facility to see these other beings, oh but for a fleeting glimpse, half seen in the corners of our eye! Heh! Now about the bird, sounds like a Heron, Egret, Stork, Flamingo, or other long legged bird. Some can get rather large with a 4 or 5 foot wing span. Jimmy's and your explaination of some sort of territoral reaction is likely the case as not. But why your eye was drawn as it was, why you experienced that sight, what it might mean to you, in frame of mind, is anyone's guess. Sure I believe that there are spiritual (for lack of a better word) beings all around us, all of the time. I believe that sometimes they can materialize to some extent, or at least that they can affect physical objects. I don't believe that I am crazy. But it's kinda like watching for something, that most folks don't take or have the time to notice. Like sitting in a sugar plumb tree, in the middle of a forest, and not making any big movements or making any loud sounds. The forest will show its abundance of life, that otherwise is too shy to be observed. That is a real cool experience. Now all you got to do is decide if the little boogies that you are seeing mean any harm. I'd guess not, but if real, they may cause occassional mischief. That's been my experience. Heh! Quick! Get the Nets! HA! HA! HA! Peaceful Thoughts! Awwa \A/
Aw It looks like the protests have started with excellent results.
chiefwagonburner Ashok, I had always thought your name sounded like that of a god. Now with your daughter as Lakshmi, I am detecting a pantheon of sorts! Do you call her 'Shri' as well? And the rest of your post, it sounded like the letters we wrote in tcint come to life! How bizarre! When corbine are in the midsts, or hawks especially (again like the letters), I've seen the rest of the birds work together to protest their presence. Who knows who your dark visitor was, but sheesh. I've never actually seen sea gulls do anything that wasn't sociopathic; they're bastards! The little birds usually work well together though. I'm definitely up for math discussion. Maybe we can trade emails.
jimmy Saw a strange sight the other day. Recently I have been seeing things from the corner of my eye. Always the left eye. A small dark shape that flits across and no matter how fast I snap my head towards the left it is gone. Normally I wouldn’t take any notice but my daughter mentioned that she has been seeing a dark shape also. An affliction that affects fathers and daughters only? Lakshmi, my daughter, is nearly 15 years old. Lakshmi’s mind is some kind of marvel. Many times she has surprised me with her intuitive leaps and perceptive questions. Things that struck and amazed me only after 40 she mentions casually while we’re discussing some thing or other. But to get back to the strange sight. I was sitting at my usual place at the dinner table. This is with its back to the patio door leading to the garden. The kitchen/dinning area is the lightest part of the house. We tend to spend a lot of time there. Sitting there reading a book I saw a shape to my left. Again nothing. A moment later I nearly jumped out of the chair. Reflected in my glasses I had glimpsed a dark shape in the sky behind me. Looking out I saw a huge bird gliding majestically towards the east. Its feet must have been sticking out at least 3 feet straight behind its body. What made it strange was that suddenly the whole sky was full of birds. Pigeons, crows, starlings, seagulls and all the other birds that one normally sees in this neck of the woods. The birds were not making any noise, they were just flying around randomly. Normally the pigeons fly with the pigeons and the seagulls with the seagulls. But the passage of this bird seemed to have stirred the whole cauldron of different birds together. Without once having flapped its wings the big bird passed from my sight behind the roof of houses two streets away and about 30 seconds later the sky was clear of birds. I wonder who this stranger was to these skies that caused such excitement among the local birds. Putting this down reminds me of another time when I witnessed a council of cats. About two years ago (I think), looking out of my bedroom window into the neighbours garden I saw five cats sitting in a circle. Another cat was in the centre. The cat in the centre turned around a couple of times looking at its judges(?). I was too far away and behind double glazing to hear any sound if they made any. After about a minute the cats broke up their convention and went their own ways. I wonder that was all about. Sometimes I wish I had a witch for a friend. Jimmy any discussion we had about mathematics I would get more out of. My maths is not in the same league as yours. The vedic maths class I’m attending is very basic. We’re learning multiplication and division using the sixteen sutras vedic maths is based on although I understand that the same sutras (and sixteen sub-sutras) can be applied to higher maths.
Ashok  There is something in these songs which I think is the ember behind every 'serious' song I've ever written. It's weird when you realize only really have one thing to say about the world. What the hell else am I here for? Fertilizer? Queen - We Are the Champions, We Will Rock You radiohead - Karma Police, You and Whose Army Bowie - All the Young Dudes, Quicksand (acoustic) (oh there are tons more from Him) Pink Floyd - Us and Them, Shine On You Crazy Diamond, Waiting for the Worms, the Trial the Clash - Spanish Bombs There's this thread in them, expressed perfectly in song or painting or photo, which text could not possibly do without the burden of reason. I think. Anyhow, I think the picture above expresses it too.
jimmy Yo, an aside to Awwa's In Cold Blood link. I'd recommend the book to anyone, especially before you read the link or anything about the story. It is an AMAZING book, a monumental piece of nonfiction. Truman Capote single-handedly invented the true-crime genre. It's the sort of book that'll give you nightmares. In case the world geo-political sitiuation already didn't do that.
jeffron x Awwa, I am very interested in any ideas about how we are being manipulated, mangled, manoeuvred, etc, by the powers that be. I need, we all need, illumination. Speck, I neglected to mention that recently I saw an episode of Star Trek, TOS (yes, for those of you with a life TOS means The Original Series). Anyway, in this episode, Mr. Spock meets this sexy Romulan commander and tries to seduce her (albeit in his understated, Vulcan way). Anyway, her outfits were less fashionable than some of the pieces you showed. You totally could have ruled 1960's fashion. Hindsight....perhaps..... This evening, I went to a bar, where a girl I was previous involved with dumped a beer over my head after I offered to buy her a beer. It's the first time anyone's dumped a beverage over my head since Racquel Bragdon did, which was milk, in 7th grade (which, in my opinion, I also didn't deserve).... There is no progress.
jeffron x Thanks Jeffron, for that direct reply to my festering Manifesto, Heh! And I definitely agree, we are a consumer based society! But I believe that there may be other, darker designs upon humanity. Even some designs deeper and darker than your society opiated/placated by consumerism. In any case, talking out about this stuff, is a way to go about discovering alternatives. There is a great article at the web's own  "Hoggaaannnn....!"I'm not sure that pic link will work, but goto the Bob Crane article (Hogan's Hero). And of course The Murder of JonBenét Ramsey. Well most of it is morbid. And it's kinda strange to be that interested in the darker side of people. But I believe that understanding this aspect of humanity, and through these eyes, we understand ourselves better. Hey, it's info. I'm just the messenger, Heh! ================================================================================== So now I'm thinking, what's the next most important aspect to expound in the Magnificent Manifesto? Hhhmmm, economics, leadership, education, medical coverage, population, resource conservation, future focus, science or a new, more inclusive paradigm? I'm thinking that leadership is a very important issue; right next to economics and education. Hhhmm... which came first, the chicken or the bully goat? Awwa \A/
Aw I love Adbusters. sigh. culture jamming. such endless possibilites. during the height of the dot com mania here in SF, Josh and I were going to make huge posters of that scene in The Shining where the little boy has the knife and writes REDRUM on the wall so that the reflection in the mirror says MURDER, but we were going to change it so that he was writing MOCTOD. Being the slackers that we were we talked about it a lot and never did it, but then I heard a few months later that some movie website was using THAT EXACT SAME THING for an ad for their site! they even had him spelling moctod. So either we weren't as original as we thought or else somebody overheard us talking about it and stole our idea. I like to think it was the latter. After all I am paranoid.
Miss Speck and the Giant Librarians Thanks. It looks interesting, I ordered it.
chiefwagonburner I have not read that book. But wow, it's only 15 dollars! Joking aside, it looks cool. I found some excerpts here.
jeffron x Excellent posts. This seems to be the crowd to ask, has anyone read Culture Jam (by Kalle Lasn, editor of Adbusters)? I enjoy the mag, and was thinking of getting the book.
chiefwagonburner Ten Thoughts on The Magnificent Manifesto 1. The goal of our society, whose main manifestation is the capitalist economic system, is total consumption. 2. This is the society we were born into, exist in, and participate in. 3. The desires and personalities of the people who surround us, and our selves, are formed by this society. 4. These desires and personalities are formed and shaped by images generated by the capitalistic economic system, i.e., the total and permeating media culture. 4. 1. Is there any one of us who can’t quote Star Wars, or The Simpsons, or remember a funny situation involving Jerry, George, Elaine, and Kramer? What does that really mean? How does that really effect who we are, and how we think? 5. Having fulfilled our essential needs for food, shelter, etc., the vast resources of this society are bent on producing new products for us to consume. 6. New products thus become by necessity non-essential. 6. 1. Thus we are surrounded with a myriad of products that have little or no practical use, such as Hummel figurines, collectible “action figures”, i.e., toys marketed to adults, more models of automobiles that have no discernible difference or use, four-thousand dollar handbags, etc. 7. Per (4), society thus creates psuedo-desires for (6), psuedo-necessities. 7.1. The economic system thus is forced to constantly be releasing new psuedo-products that are little different from the ones that already exist. As soon as you by a new computer, it is obsolete. New car models are released each year that are little different from the previous year. You must have the new 2003 Air Jordans – they are superior footwear – I know, because I saw the Superbowl commercial. 7.2. An aside, but isn’t in interesting that Enron, WorldCom, etc, were pseudo-companies with psuedo-products that had huge pseudo-revenues? And we were all shocked when they collapsed like the vapor they were? 8. Thus society is built on generating the illusion of need, and thus leads to a nagging feeling of disillusionment. 8.1. This disillusionment leads one to make long lists of ideas in internet blogs. 9. Thus we, the individuals, are in the core of our being confronted with our desires for pseudo-commodities, and identify our desires and personalities with celebrities, movie stars, sports teams, and athletes, in an attempt to compensate for the emptiness and loss we feel because, at the very core of our being as human beings, we realize our desires, and ourselves, are based in illusion. 9.1. Our society, rather than allowing us to relate to each other as individuals, pushes us apart. 9.2. We, as individuals, are pushed to the margins of existence. 9.3. On the margins of existence, we realize our society regards us, as an individual, as a pseudo-person. 10. It is on the margins of existence that the individual will realize himself, and the revolution will be born.
jeffron x Chris, that article was refreshing to read. It was a contrast to the usual "oil corporations lobby against natural eco-safe fuel source" articles that make me want to drive my car through the nearest Esson building. It's nice to see them coming around, if only to ensure their own survival. One of the major goals of Green groups should be not to turn just people around but to make green solutions attractive to large corporations by appealing to their greed and competiveness. This sounds gross, and I know too little about the activity of environmental groups to claim that they are not doing that, however I've never encountered any literature on the subject of intelligent solutions which also fill the greed factor for the corps.. Until recently, there wasn't enough research money being granted to groups for this research, at least not enough to fund the massive bills that must have been needed initially to fulfill it. They have been working on it a long time though. I am glad it is finally becoming "competitive", as freedom from the binds of Oil as a resource will prevent our pig headed leaders from raping small nations so readily or starting big wars fervently. The 'hydrogen' solution has been around for a long time, but industry and standards are such massive and complex structures that they suffer from an immobilizing inertia. Usually (especially in the early days of the automobile industry), environmentally sound solutions threaten to dislodge automobile manufacturers and oil giants or even threaten the economy, so the corporations end up becoming the enemy of the people; preventing the construction or advancement of mass public transit in major cities and such. You can't beat them by facing them head-on (the western boxing solution), they have to be guided by their own greed into your net (the eastern Aikido solution), like a man who dodges a punch and uses the thrower's momentum / inertia to drive them right where he wants them. (And now with Anagram's news that it will be illegal to boycott a large corporation!) The system is already in place; there are no first order changes (from within the system) that can help. A change of the second order needs to be made, like something to replace our entire economic system. When looking at something like Orwell's 1984, one thinks to themselves, "damn, what a genius to have foreseen so much!", but that isn't it at all. Dystopia authors were just privy to the clues they saw everywhere at the time. Everything going on now was predictable and could be deduced by looking at the ground rules that were layed down. The Kung! San of the Kalahari's affairs of the last few hundred years was predictable by analyzing their initial state. The same is true for us. History doesn't repeat itself. I think that's absurd. History is always analyzed and reviewed and discussed according to the 'values' of the current day; that is why 100 years ago, Lincoln was a radical humanist and liberator of the slaves, and today he is a racist. History is a juggernaut, sturdy but always moving and never the same. "We don't know who first dicovered water, but we are certain it wasn't a fish." Personally, I'm waiting for a comet to hit the earth. _________________________________________ Chris, the Strange Beans are waiting for jimmy to set up his real equipment instead of recording through a mic port in the back of his computer. Yech. Until then, all of the music I throw up here is only well articulated in headphones (they were mixed using headphones) and is degraded by speakers. _________________________________________ Man enters burning building to rescue solid platinum baby! In an unbelievable display of heroic altruism, area man Mark Davis charged into a burning building to rescue a baby made of solid pla...
jimmy Score one for the dogs. Jimmy, remind me not to borrow your pen. Strange beans is pretty catchy, when does the production and sale of these Strange Beans(TM) begin? Living without oil - Found it an interesting read.
chiefwagonburner Vedic mathematics is absolutely fascinating. My art teacher in Trinidad let me borrow a book on Vedic mathematics. I was hooked, but I didn't understand it completely. The fellow who translated it from the Vedas did a smashing job, actually, but it's still a little difficult to understand at times. Where can you take such a class, Ashok? Eventually, when I left Trinidad, and came to the United States, I forgot about the book. When mathematics became my focus later, it took me years to find it. I ordered it from the University of California in San Diego and it took 6 months to arrive from god knows where; India? I would love to discuss it with you sometime, Ashok.
jimmy Phew! Survived that re-organisation! Evolution is alive and well and ensuring survival of the fittest in corporations all over the world. Only problem is how fitness is defined nowadays in said corporations. During my career, if with your indulgence I may call my gentle meandering that, I have been made redundant twice. The second time was personal. But both times, looking back, the break came at the right time and bearing gifts too (apart from the redundancy cheque!). A major issue was laid to rest during the first break and another major issue laid to rest during the second. Also some travel. One is almost looking forward to the third time! But let us not tempt fate. Although it is only when sufficient time has passed and one gets ones perspective back that we can appreciate the strange ways of the Power that moves us all. In these last few months, but it has been building for a few years, I find my viewpoint changing. I find myself more and more taking a more detached and longer term view. Issues that I felt strongly about and despaired, now I tend to see against a background of history. Maybe the onset of old age! Oh and also I no longer fear mathematics! Am halfway through a 10 evenings class in Vedic Mathematics (and according to my newly acquired abilities this makes it the 5th week! See!). I have been reading most of the posts in here. Am conscious that I have not contributed for some time. Excuse my selfish behaviour – consuming more than contributing. But what can I say – I no longer feel guilty! I’m off to reread some books. Life really is beautiful.
Ashok Wow, check out the forum today! You guys are so right on. I heard on Pacifica radio that the Homeland Security Act makes it ILLEGAL to boycott a major corporation. WHAT THE. I wish I could attend the peace march this weekend, but I am flying out to see my love tomorrow and will be far, far away from home until Monday. Anyway, it's almost 2am and I have to get up at 7am, so I can't ramble on much. But I wanted to say that it's heartening to hear all of your thoughts about this crazy stuff that's going on. Stand up for peace! (and read Randolph Bourne while you're at it!) May we find unity amid diversity. -a graham
Anna Okay, forgive this. I mean well and though posted at my Yahoo group, "Awwaisms", this is the second place to ever see this post. I feel like I'm in good compnay here! Jeez Jimmy, Coop, Jeff, Speck, X, Sprog(where are you, Heh), gosh and everyone! I have a very thoroughly defined idea of where humanity should go toward. Mainly that, "we need everyone to join our search for unity." I may be starting a grand manifesto of precpets, concepts and positions. I call them the "Magnificent Manifesto." Here's the previously posted thought: ================================================ Magnificent Manifesto, Part I The first and foremost position is, all people are equal; and as such, should always be treated equally. There are many theories, beliefs, thoughts, ideas and positions regarding this issue. Some people would say that certain people are better in some ways than other people(s). Because the better people are financially enhanced, intellectually bright, religiously devoted, ethnically enriched, racially beautiful, gendered, or otherwise differentiated people(s). Others would say that the diversity of humans is an important survival factor. We find that commercial, politiacl, religions, ethninticity, cultural or belief backgrounds, are the main reason that humans fight humans. We find that this diversity, causes and presupposes its own disatisfied results. A human baby is the most unprejudiced being on the Earth. That baby would embrace many, if not all other human variations, were it given that chance to see the positive aspects of each. And who, clear thinking being, could deny the beauty, inherent to each and every human being? It is only after years of close competition, embattlements, do we develop a prejudice. And then it is an "us or them" mentality, that we deny the other side's validity. Fashion, commercialism, religions, government, peers attempt to tell us what we should strive for in a sexual partner, mate, spouse. And they tell us how we should create and enjoy that partnership. Artists would like to create the new world of humanity; a world reflecting strife and reward, horror and beauty, whim and deliberately determined actions (controlled by the Artist or their ideas), somehow solving all of our/humans' problems, and, or creating new ones. Corporations have only one bottomline: profit. The Media is/are a commercial enterprise. Religions have their own agenda, one of which is to rid the world of all other religions. Not easy to make that work in a world of diverse beings, origins and ideas. The government of any country is subjected to those who are in power to rule or control that government. This is always a problem, no matter the government nor the scope of those who are governed. And many countries have periods of good government. But most have bad or harsh periods as well. The government tells the citizens what must happen. It takes a major civil uprising, to cause change in any given government. Your friends and family are the greatest molders of your opinions, even if many of your ideas and ideals are opposite of theirs. But in your given, "in real life" world of associates, do all human groups or individuals have representation? Could any, one person, have intimate knowledge of the pluses and minuses of each and all cultures, humans? How then to know which to choose, or when, or why? Don't pick one! Nor particularly lean toward a favorite. Sure you will. I will, everyone will! But understand that leaning toward supporting everyone is the way. That is the future of humankind. We are meant to co-exist, to come together, to share and appreciate one another. To see the beauty in each and everyone of us. This is God's message! "Love your fellow man." "Give him the shirt off of your back." Forgive him 99 times." Etc. When we come together without prejudice or preconceptions, there is a much greater chance that we will find the beauty of someone who is different. We can sometimes deny our fear of the unknown. If we could find that path to unilatteral human acceptance, then a world of great ideas and hope for the future may occur. A world of armed confrontive politics, creates a prison of all of the world's peoples. It causes all of us, to be less than we could be, confined. We must find peaceful ways of resolving differences of opinions, sentax misunderstandings, literacy and education issues, the broken and the lost, old blood grudges, and equity of wealth, power and control! We are like pebbles, tossed into a pond, each capable of causing ripples to cross to the far side of the pond. Only we need not throw pebbles. We need only be reflected in the pond. A single person, an individual is the most powerful element of humanity. It is each of these, who are inherently important! ================================================ Awwa \A/ PS: Okay yeah, I didn't correct misspellings or portions which may need cvlarification. So sue me. I'm kinda saying this off the top of my 40 something head. Hey I invite comments and amendments! Let's discuss it! Or whatever, Heh! I'll stop if this becomes too tedious! Peace-Out!)
Aw  strange beans.mp3 -just me and the kid again.
jimmy yeah, registering with the INS - all those people down in LA went and registered and then most of them were arrested for overstaying their visas, but really they were in the process of getting their green cards and were basically in a catch 22. If they didn't go and register they jeopardized their green card applications, but if they did go then they got tossed in jail. The Executive Director of CA's ACLU came to my work last year to talk about the state of our rapidly disappearing civil liberties and that was one scary talk. sheesh. Ya' sure get informed about the dark side of things here at my work. Information is power, but it's purty durn scary too... Oh, and speaking of information. It's not that the media is unaware of things or that they've let their watchdog guard down - it's just that the mass media is owned by the same big corporations that had a vested interest in getting our foolish leader in office and so they don't dish all the dirt on him. I mean shit. The man had a coke habit and got arrested for drunk driving but do you ever hear anything about that? If you want to know what's really going on then ya' gotta dig for the truth. alrighty then. back to work for me.... power to the peaceful
Miss Speck and the Giant Librarians So it seems that finally the NYPD has issued a permit for the NYC Rally this 15th. I'm not sure if I'm going -- I have a place to stay if I wanted to stay the night, but I can't seem to find a ride. It's really frustrating. I guess I could leave Friday night. And yes, for all y'all who can...definitely go to a big rally near you if there is one. If not, start your own! www.unitedforpeace.org One of the most upsetting things for me is also the upcoming war. The night of Bush's state of the union address, I called up my friend and told him "Damn, waiting for the State of the union... it's like Christmas. Except a bad christmas, where you know you're going to get socks or underwear. Ugly underwear." I guess that's really my feeling towards this entire path to war...not to mention the current state of the nation. It's like every time I turn on the radio or watch TV I can't help but feel outraged. My dad, strangely enough, told me that if I felt so outraged at the government and what it's doing, that I should just leave. I told him the fact is that I, in actuality, love this damned country so much that I want to see it become better. The US Patriot Act is pretty sketchy, if that's the word for it. So is the whole FISA thing (it was on This American Life awhile ago, about Jose Padilla, etc). The immigration laws are also cracking down -- this year all those who were born in a certain country (mainly middle eastern) had to go to the INS and "register"...my friend's uncle had to do that and he was pissed. But what can you do? Not register and get deported? March 5th is also student strike day. We're trying to plan a walk out in our school, but...well, we really don't know how that will go. On a really really really randomass side note, we're also writing english sonnets. I did mine about book club & sex, which i find just very amusing: ------ Let's start a book club. i'll be the reader you be the book. we'll have lots of meetings. "when the pussy cat meows you should feed her" that is the latest book we are reading. We can have a book of the month chosen meetings held at the back of a library in winter when i am feeling frozen flip my pages that are coloured cherry I've always loved the smell of books up close their smooth sleek covers bound together hard. receiving books in packages by post. opening the mailbox wide takes me far. you know you hate to read all by yourself. c'mon pretty baby take me off the shelf. ---- yep.
x I get silly, and everyone else gets serious, sheesh! But seriously folks, yes the Viet Nam era protests did accomplish a lot. Thanks for summing that up, Speck! As for these new protests and the diversity exhibited, it's great! I have a friend that was in DC during that recent (Jan 18th?) twin protest with SF. He said it was amazing how many different people from varied backgrounds were there. I have to believe that a good part of the value of attending such a demonstration is the sharing of ideas. You meet people that you would otherwise never have occassion to meet, and thus would not otherwise have the opportunity to share information and ideas. And it shows that people from such diverse demographics can work together peacefully, and hopefully accomplish something that will long be respected and remembered in the history books! I haven't felt secure ever since this administration started talking Homeland Security! Isn't it actually a disguise for their heavy-handed thuggery? ANd why hasn't there been any peep out of the media about the Presidential coup, Bush(s) winning/steraling the election to begin with? Whatever happened to investigtive reporting? Have the "They" become that much more careful, or rather that much more threatening? Is the press afraid of reporting the truth, or at least something more closely resembling it? Oh well, don't go around in fear of everything. That's another malaise altogether. But staying aware and speaking out, are definitely good ideas. It's sad to say but, we do have to fight for our freedoms. Even when we are fighting against our own Nation and, or its interests! And yea, Republics suck! Rome was a Republic! Not exactly a good example of a humane civilization. On the other hand, can there ever be a true Democracy? Isn't it a bit like true Communism? A good idea on paper, but near impossible to actualize. Still with more and more use of Personal Computers, I'd like to see something set-up through that medium, that'd allow people a closer touch with their government, representative or not. Peace for the People! Awwa \A/
Aw I think I might join them on the 15th. I was at the MLK day one here in SD with Anna, it had a pretty big impact on me. It was very cool to see the huge number of people come out. Yeah the GPS stuff with phones is called e911. Most of the new phones these days already have it. While it was possible before to triangulate a position with existing cell phones, the e911 is always on and makes it pretty easy. That book sounds interesting, I'll hafta check it oot.
chiefwagonburner yo chief! welcome, welcome. I'm glad SD is marching, good news indeed. and on the wireless technology front, I was just reading that in 2001 the European Central Bank was working on embedding RFID tags into currency to make "smart money" that could record where it came from, who has owned it, and what it has bought. They anticapted that they could do this by 2005. Scary, eh? Oh, and here at home the good ol' government has ordered that all phones sold in the US to become location aware (GPS - with an accuracy of 10 to 15 meters) by 2005. Theoretically this is for improving emergency services... I'm reading all of this in a really great book called "Smart Mobs: The Next Social Revolution" by Howard Rheingold. It's fascinating. And a little scary.
Miss Speck and the Giant Librarians More info on the radio tags instead of UPCs: Forbes and a long read, but good. PS Miss Speck, I couldn't agree more. SD will march on the 15th as well: http://www.sdpeaceandjustice.org/
chiefwagonburner And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the full Nelson. __________________ In other news: Habitually wandering company CTO tranquilized and fitted with tracking collar... Fake paper in the works! Still trying to work out html'ian details.
jimmy Ello ello. I am 'chiefwagonburner' aka Chris Nelson. In reference to Jimbo's post: Actually the Citizen Database (data-mining and pattern-matching tools to search databases that track American citizens' purchases, doctor's visits and travel itineraries) is part of the Total Information Awareness part of homeland security. Patriot 2 allows: -Secretly detain citizens. -Access a citizen's credit reports without a subpoena. -Abolish federal court "consent decrees" that limit police surveillance of non-criminal organizations and public events. -Collect DNA from suspected terrorists and indeed from any individual whose DNA might assist terror investigations. The Citizen Database seems to have finally caught the attention of some sane people though: Wired Article. The Total Information Awareness agency (Homepage here) is pretty creepy, just read some of their projects. Something funny: when their page first went up, it had an Orwellian logo and some bios. But they removed them all - info here. More info on the agency here Fun facts like: the head of the agency, Poindexter, was convicted in 1990 of five felony counts of lying to Congress, destroying official documents and obstructing congressional inquiries into the Iran-contra affair. Top notch! chief
chiefwagonburner Welcome to new xeniuses. We have now reached the lucky 13 members on the forum! Do we get a prize? (I like chocolate) The North Korea stuff really gives me chills. Gah. More later.
coop "Silence is Golden." "Children should be seen and not heard." "Do as I say and not as I do." Support the wealthy, so that they can get richer and everyone else get poorer. Think with your brains, not with your heart! "Even the smallest pebble causes ripples that cross the pond." A mine in time, maims nine! Naplaam for Peace! "Nuke the Whales!" Four score and an half minute left to play! Support hose, don't wear socks. Jock support, beat-up nerds and geeks! "Fight for Peace!" I don't believe in the death penalty, and I'll kill anyone who disagrees with me! "Freedom is worth going to jail for." "Out of order? You're out of order, he's out of order, we're all out of order!" "Attica! Attica! Attica!" "You can't handle the truth!" "This is as good as it gets!" "If that'd do it for me, I'd be a very happy man!" "Take your crazy some place else, we're all full up!" "The truth is out there!" "The truth is stranger than fiction." The stranger is stranger than truth. "Steal This Book!" "It the glove don't fit, you must aqquit!" "We shall overcome!" I never had sex with that Bowie! I have dream, a sex dream with Bowie! Cha-Cha-Cha-Changes, turn and face the strange! "Get some strange!" Ask not what your strange can do for you, but rather ask what you can do for your strange! Wow, that really is strange! I don't know what I'm saying, but I know that I really mean it! Peace Y'all! Awwa \A/ (PS: the substitution of the word "slack" for the word "strange" in the above statements, is permissible).
Aw We don't actually live in a deomcracy. We live in a republic.
Miss Speck and the Giant Librarians Sure they've worked. Look at Vietnam. That seems like a strange example since we were there for years, but they worked. They were part of a HUGE social shift here. I think that since we were born in the 70's (or later) that maybe we don't fully appreciate how radical the change was that this country went through in the 60's/70's. We understand that things are different now than they used to be, but I think we fall short on some basic understanding of how pervasive that change was. It wasn't just that there were some hippies out waving flowers and peace signs, but it seems that it was more of a shift in how people viewed the way life should be lived. Old worlds and new worlds colliding in a more obvious way than they have since then. Civil rights, women's rights, the environmental movement, population zero, the peace movement... The new generation of people weren't satisfied to accept the world the way it was and plug away at the same job for 40 years. If they weren't satisfied, they quit. And that in itself was a new concept for some people - that you were more loyal to your own beliefs and desires than to the company you worked for. So that's what protests can do. They give people a chance to raise their voice against a system that often works hard not to hear it. And politicians pay attention. The entire population of San Francisco is only 700,000 - so when 200,000 people take to the streets to object to this war that says something. Granted, those 200,000 people come from all over the bay area, all over california, all over the west coast in some cases - but that says a lot too. That people believe strongly enough to make this a priority. And of course the media slants things and under reports numbers, but there's only so much you can deny. They reported that there were "tens of thousands" of people at the last protest in SF, but when you see a huge sea of people stretching from the Embarcadero to Civic Center and another river of people 6 packed blocks long snaking down Nob Hill to Civic Center (that was the environmentalists for peace parade) to join the main protest, you can't deny that there's more than "tens of thousands". I thought that was great. It was like arteries of poeple all over the city converging for the same reason. The whole city in motion... And when that many diverse people (and they are completely diverse) get together they feel like they can accomplish something. People become more informed about the issues and they learn about other ways that they can take action to stop this and they know that they're not alone. We don't have another option. I vote, but as our last presidential election showed, that doesn't mean that the results will be what the majority wants.... So we need to be vocal and let our government and the rest of the world know that we object. There's never been such a large anti-war movement BEFORE a war has started before. That means something. And even if we don't stop it from happening, at least I'll know that I tried.
Miss Speck and the Giant Librarians Sometimes I find myself laughing at things that really aren't funny. Anti-war protests only aid the enemy. It's important to listen to our leaders. They know what needs to be done more than you or me. We can trust our government because we live in a democracy, and that means our government would never, ever lie to us. The best thing we can do is go about our daily business, assured that we are in safe hands. United we stand. Our silence shows the confidence we have in our leaders. Silence is support. Victory for freedom loving, Bowie fearing, America!
jeffron x The answer to the following question wouldn't prevent me from going to the protest, mind you, but I'm curious: Historically, have anti-war protests been effective? I mean, have they ever really worked? I know that they certainly work to raise the public awareness (some people need to know that it's ok to have anti-war feelings), and that is extremely important. The media though, works extremely hard to misrepresent the numbers of people that attend these anti-war protests, and edits out intelligent commentary by those folks just to put in the occasional freak. Really annoying. Anyhow, I believe in the anti-war protests, I'm just not sure what they do. We had one in San Diego during the M. L. King parade. I was very angry about it, because at least 3,000 people were there behind the anti-war float, according to eyewitnesses. The news quote '100' people and left it at that. BLAH! I'll go to the thing if it happens here. _________________________________________________________ I had an interesting conversation with 'chiefwagonburner', newest xenius and my workmate. He told me about Patriot Act II, the latest pornographic double-penetration of our rights to privacy by pornstar G. W. Bush et al. It all happened when he let me use his Vons card. He told me that in 10 years, it is the technological goal of corporations and government to put tags on sale items which would allow you to just walk out of the store and be charged without ever having to see a teller. They'd have a small radio-beacon which gives each product's information, price, company, what have you, logs it out and charges it to you. Conceivably, he said, savvy thieves could then walk by your car trunk and scan what's inside since the beacons don't die for several years. This was said casually, so I'll try to dig up some links to news items and stuff. Patriot Act II wants to log every monetary transaction made by US citizens into a gigantic database. Along with DNA of suspected terrorists and the right to hold them without bail or the burden of proof indefinitely. Grease it up and bend over, America, this one's gonna smart. I can't wait until the mandatory colonoscopy.
jimmy State Should Serve as Official Distributor of Medical Marijuana To Prevent Federal Prosecutions, Advocates Say Medical marijuana advocates recommended that the state government take responsibility for the oversight of medical marijuana distribution in the California or become the official distributor to help address the legal challenges against Proposition 215 by the federal government. (hold on, I'm back on my soapbox) Yeah, no shit. Okay, so we made it legal here to grow and distribute medical marijuana 7 years ago (and in fact Mendocino county made it legal a few years ago for private individuals to grow up to 25 plants each for personal use.) and yes there were the struggles before, but since Bush has been in office the feds have been all over us busting pot clubs and throwing "criminals" like Ed Rosenthal in jail. sheesh. 'Bout time we looked at having the state step in and do something to protect us from the thugs of our federal government. I'll shut up now.
Miss Speck and the Giant Librarians puh-leez. It wasn't that idiotic. so you kissed a poster of David Bowie in your drunken ecstasy (ha! and you thought you could just delete your post. well, not with me around, mister...) Big deal. I'm sure you're not alone here in your inherent goofiness. Well, I have a good way for you to redeem yourself from just being a sillly boy. GO TO LA ON SATURDAY AND JOIN THE ANTI-WAR PROTEST. Unless San Diego is having one, but I kinda doubt that since it is quite the military town. It would be nice if SD had one... ah, well. Anyhoo. go to International A.N.S.W.E.R. - LA for all the details. and go to Vote No War to get some more lowdown on protests around the country and on the People's Anti-War Referendum and other stuff like that. So anyhoo, I don't know where all you folks are around the country, but if you're an anti-war person then find your nearest protest and join in! Or start your own! There were 500,000 people at last month's protest in NY and 200,000 last month in SF. They just keep getting bigger and we sure are running out of time... (climbing off soapbox...)
Miss Speck and the Giant Librarians Just deleted an idiotic post, which when one thinks about it, probably served as an excellent deterrent from alcohol for any minds which encountered it.
jimmy Actually, Awwa, that made me laugh. So "kinda dumb like that" is just perfect as far as I'm concerned. Or am I easy? I'm probably easy. I think we will get better at it as we go along. I'm expecting a visitor from Austin, TX today. I'm excited. In what has been called "miraculous proof that God appreciates mixed metaphors and cliches", a baby was born with a silver foot in its mouth in Sunnydale, Wisconsin yesterday. The doctor/priest overseeing the child's birth said of it, "the baby was born to wonderful parents, and what goes around comes around full circle. Today is the first day of the rest of that baby's life, which it will live one day at a time." Yeesh. That was bad. Well. As I said. We'll get better.
jimmy "The Xentillion" is still my vote for paper name. And no, Jimmy, I didn't take your comment as one against my long (or any long) post. I too, tire of my own words. I've a bunch of "would-be/wannabe" story bylines for your fauv paper, that might work best as featured articles, details to be referred to back pages, that never actually get written. Like... Man shoots self in foot, puts foot in mouth, shoots self in other foot, puts other foot in mouth, rolls off cliff. See page G20 for details. Kinda dumb like that. Well Madonna may get the Razzie! She's been nominated before, but this time I believe that she may have really earned it! I've been reading a bunch of crime stories at: Crime Magazine.Com, an online mag with lots of infamous crime stories! Jon-Benet Ramsey, Bob Crane (Hogan Heros murder mystery), George Reeves (who killed Superman?), various serial killers, Frank Sinatra's Mob connections, the "Hurricane" hoax (was Rubin Carter really guilty?), stories about Alcatraz and other prisons, James Earl Ray and Martin Luther King, etc, etc, etc... Well as we prepare for war, I'd just like to take a moment to point out the stupidity of it all. It's really stupid that we are about to go to war! Thank you! Awwa \A/
Aw ___________________________________________________ -member page updated. -now taking submissions for the still unnamed fake newspaper which will be accessible from the welcome page while also having its own sub-domain (i.e., http://paper.xenius.org). Send your submissions to submissions@xenius.org The 'submissions' email address will then forward the submissions to anyone interested in working on the project. Right now, that would be myself and if she meant it, DiscoMamma. Submissions can be written in a word doc, the email itself, or html. You can even just send a description of what you'd like and we'll manage it for you. A link and sub text would appear under your submission's heading on the "front page" of the paper, all of which might look something like: Overeaters Anonymous Members Stunned by Branch Relocation; Now Meeting at Outback Steak House to Regroup Members of the well known "Overeaters Anonymous" group were dumbfounded in San Diego today when their usual meeting place had been taken over by a New Age reading group. "I don't understand it", says OA member Stacy Gross, who lives at 153 Double Tree lane in Santee, "no memo, no phone call, no warning." ...complete text Any photos or files meant to accompany your submissions should be included in the email or linked to. Be careful with copyrighted photos. Since the "In the Slacker's Studio" interview hasn't been uploaded yet, I'll just include it in the paper. Any ideas for the paper's name? Send those too. If you want to be on the crew, even if it just means being included on the submission list, let me (or us) know at either address: submissions@xenius.org jimmy@xenius.org Blagh!
jimmy Oh MAN! They've just turned one of the theaters at my favorite movie house into a giant videogame hall! I am peeing my pants with JOY!!! (...15 seconds later) I got the error you mentioned Coop de Grace, but it still posted fine.
jimmy Greetings chairites, I'm finally getting over my string of colds, but I couldn't get the Bowie quiz to work - took a similar one a while back and came out as 80s Bowie. No surprise there either - is it me, or was Jennifer Connelly completely out of her mind when she turned the Goblin King down?! LOL. OK, if you come into the edit window, you'll see this; Blogger is giving me a 503 error. (unable to load template) This kind of thing is usually fixed on the quickly side. Stick tight. (...less than a minute later) Apparently working again... sheesh!
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