Coconuts in Wyoming? (and misled EcoNazis in DC) - FoxNews.com, June 2004

I knew there was clear and concise data about this global warming crapola. I just had to hunt for it. Funny how the articles of truth get so deeply buried under more sensational news, like people whining from ignorance or trying to put the fear of God and combustion engines into folks' hearts.

I love Fox's characterization: "Though temperatures obviously rise due to natural causes during the summer, global-warming activists like to take advantage of this time to dramatize their cause."

Man, these alarmists (oh, activists, yeah) really like to skew the facts. No, 'skew' is not a strong enough word. They blow it all so far out of proportion that it's a wonder their hot air isn't affecting global climate. I'm not sure what the motivation is for EcoNazis. Might just be a combination of Chicken Little Syndrome and phenomenal arrogance? How ironic that such misguided chickens think humanity is powerful enough to make a dent in the natural processes of this planet.

Yes, we are experiencing global warming, but we are not causing it.

FACTS, chickynoodleheads, look at the FACTS:

About 95% of the greenhouse effect is due to water vapor, 99.999% of which is of natural origin. (Incidentally, we need the greenhouse effect, else we'd be popsicles. It's the supposed 'runaway' effect that is a problem. Too much of a good thing.)

The other 5% of the greenhouse effect is due to carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and other miscellaneous gases.

Carbon dioxide, is responsible for roughly 3.6% of the greenhouse effect. About 97% of atmospheric carbon dioxide is natural; only about 3% is from human activity.

That means that only about 0.11% of the greenhouse effect (that is, 3% of 3.6%) is due to human releases of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

Put another way, about 99.89% of the greenhouse effect has nothing to do with carbon-dioxide emissions from human activity.

Factoring in the other greenhouse gases, the total human contribution to the greenhouse effect is about 0.3%. In other words, about 99.7% of the greenhouse effect is due entirely to nature.

So, like, I really suck at math, but even I can see that it's not what we do, it's just how the planet is.

Yes, we should look for ways to reduce our use of fossil fuels, because 1) we're entirely too dependent on some hot heads in the Middle East as well as greedy oil barons in our own country and 2) while our CO2 production isn't hurting the planet, it's making us sick physically and financially, so it would be nice to find cleaner and cheaper ways to motor around.

Yes, cyclical changes are underway which are wreaking havoc with our weather and making it more hazardous to live on coastlines and in view of gorgeous [volcanic] mountains and on other desireable but seismically active terrains. But, shouting 'The sky is falling!" isn't going to change that. We have chosen where to live. If we want to continue living, we need to re-evaluate our choices.

BTW, to understand the 'Coconuts in Wyoming' reference, you'll have to read the FoxNews.com article. It's not really critical to the discussion, but it was an interesting headline. :)

Thankfully, Rita didn't get a chance to stall over Texarkana as originally forecast. A front from the west scattered it into a north-south line to be pushed off the east coast. So, it appears we dodged the Mississippi and Ohio valley flooding for now.

I'm still watching the climate and geologic factors. I wouldn't be surprised to see another major hurricane develop before the season ends officially in November.

Some potentiality is still brewing for around October 8th. I'm still not sure what, but part of me feels like I am 'bracing' for it (though not for me personally). The rest of me is simply sure that there will be (Earth) work to do at that time, and frankly, it's exciting to help with it.

Three independent sources have brought a new report to my attention concerning statistics on melting polar ice. In reference to the amount of ice: "In 2005, it's the lowest on record. We've watched it retreat year after year." "New satellite photos show that the ice pack has shrunk by 30% since 1978 ((when we started satellite monitoring)) and the melting is speeding up causing the warmest summer in 400 years." "With studies showing increasing hurricane intensity over the past 30 years linked to rising sea temperatures, and recent record heat waves in North America, a growing number of scientists say it's all interconnected." phht Yes, of course it's all connected.

"[The melting] has the potential for raising sea level very significantly. We're not talking about sea level rise just in the Arctic. We're talking about sea level rise around the globe, so everybody is going to experience it, particularly regions that have low lying areas."

Their predictions on when we might see significant rise vary from 25 to 100 yrs, but I'm thinking it will become consistently problematic much sooner. I hate to jump on the 2012 bandwagon, but the marker is somewhere between here and there, imo. I would expect big changes in the shape of North America to occur -by- 2012. The Earth is rebalancing and that means a lot of moving and shaking to get there.

It's a sign. Katrina and Rita are saying, "Don't live in the delta of the Mississippi." It has always been a hazard waiting to happen... well... it is now happening. So, move, permanently. The hurricane season lasts through November. Katrina and Rita may not be the end of the message. Listen. Hear. Act.

Rita's legacy does not end with landfall. The storm is expected to sit for a while over Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Arkansas. Besides the tornado activity that area will see, the rivers in that region feed the Mississippi River. Gulf waters and lakes have been instrumental in the flooding so far, but when all that rain falls over those states and flows into the Mississippi, there will be river flooding too. And, when the southern section of the Mississippi floods, it backs up to the north, flooding that area, even up into the Ohio River.

Water. We are going to see more water and it isn't going to just drain away anymore. The shape of the Mississippi River Valley is changing. It will broaden from the delta northward almost to St Louis. The Mississippi Embayment will eventually be a northern extension of the Gulf of Mexico. People who stubbornly choose to stay in that area, or move back there, will ultimately be lost. The messages are clear already but they will get louder and stronger until there is no longer a choice. This is what I see.

I'm not the only one who sees the water rising. Although the EPA and IPCC want to blame it all on global warming, and I don't, they are at least looking at the impact. Regardless of why it happens, it is going to happen, it IS happening.



"Melting of polar ice and land-based glaciers is expected to contribute to a 1/2 ft to 3ft sea level rise within this century. Shrinking ice caps also cause changes in ocean circulation and storm tracks. To be sure, not all of the melting currently occurring is due to global warming." (Correct, it's just adding to a natural cycle.)

Incidentally, I think that map and the guesstimates on sea level rise are very conservative.

People who choose to live in those red zones are choosing to be flooded out, year after year, until they move or drown. That's just how it is. I guess we should reserve some posthumous Darwin awards for them.

Things I am watching:
~ solar activity, ie, flares and CMEs
~ the 'slow slip' of the Juan de Fuca plate in a reverse direction from its usual creep
~ other seismic activity worldwide, esp So Cal and the NMSZ, plus events in unusual places
~ a curious 100 sq mi bulge beneath Oregon near South Sister mountain in the Cascades
~ Mount St Helens activity
~ in fact, the whole Cascade range
~ the magma bubble beneath Yellowstone Lake
~ the unfolding of the rest of the hurricane season

Thank you. All my questions aren't answered yet, but I did get a lot more puzzle pieces and I appreciate that.
With Gratitude, Griffen
PS - Keep it comin' ;) You know I am mortally curious.

Dear Universe,
Clues are very interesting. Now how about some reasons, some explanations, some clearly detailed messages? I know I'm generally allergic to reading the directions, but honestly, I'd make an effort on this stuff. :) So like, so like, so like... just exactly what's supposed to be on my agenda for October, hm?
Thank You
Your pal, Griffen

Rant Mode ON
Rumors are very often lies. I saw an interview today with an NOPD officer who was in the Superdome for the duration. He said they had officers and troops roaming the place continually, even sleeping with one eye open, when they slept at all, and they kept the criminal activity pretty well in check. He is ordinarily in charge of rape crisis reports in New Orleans and he said the rumors about murders, rapes and whatever going on in the Superdome were wrong. He was aware of two attempted rapes and the offenders were soon arrested and detained away from the rest of the population. Yeah, he could have been lying to cover his ass, but I think I read people pretty well and the man seemed sincere, truthful, and justifiably a little annoyed that wild stories were circulating when he and his comrades had worked damned hard to make sure none of that shit happened. Not only that, but he was rather proud of the 25,000 or so citizens who were in horrible circumstances but managed to behave.

There are apparently true horror stories being relayed about the Convention Center in New Orleans, but as far as I know that was not a designated shelter like the Superdome. So, assumptions were made, erroneous assumptions. People went there on their own and had to wait for help that was very slow in coming, leaving them without police support and so on. Maybe FEMA etc should have realized people would go there, but I don't think that oversight is justification for condemning the agencies. It's something they need to look at in future, ie, not only where they tell people to go, but likely locations where people may take refuge. Seems to me that most of the people who ended up at the Convention Center are the ones who slip through the cracks even under ordinary circumstances. This event just took that to a new level. Even so, if 20,000 or 15,000 or even 10,000 people ended up at the Convention Center and they can only find a few really gruesome stories, that's a pretty impressive percentage, especially without official support.

It's rather aggravating to me that people seem to be ignoring the fact that about 350,000, more than 75% of folks in New Orleans, followed the evacuation order. There's an estimated 100,000 who couldn't or wouldn't. The good does outweigh the bad, 3 to 1. Also, the media doesn't seem to have time to report the progress being made in Mississippi and Alabama. But hey, it's not as dramatic. Bad news makes news.

I saw a program on Arkansas Educational Television, Arkansans KARE (Katrina Assistance and Relief Effort). They interviewed some of the evacuees and two men in particular, a couple of middle aged black men, expressed their thanks for Arkansans' support and relocation opportunities. They were asked if they wanted to go back to New Orleans. They said no, that honestly they had not lived well there, and knew that this day would eventually come, but in the 40 or so years of their lives, they just never could afford to get out. They plan to be citizens of Arkansas now, pulling their own weight, not wanting to burden anyone. They plan to build a small business, apparently lawncare, because they said a fellow had already helped them by offering the loan of a truck, trailer, and needed equipment until they could afford their own.

These fellows are not the only ones who plan to leave the disaster zone for good.
The Australian "Evacuees vow not to return to broken city"

Truly, the majority of those who have been hit the hardest are, yes, black, and yes, poor. This disaster isn't how anyone would've wanted to help them out, but it WILL help them... out of a hazard zone, out of generations of poverty, and hopefully out of some remaining racial stigmas. Yes, dammit, I believe they will be better off.

Oh, and I caught Paula Zahn on CNN trying to get reporters and other interviewees to say things were and are dramatically nasty, how authories failed, how citizens were being criminal, how cops plan to go in and run people out of New Orleans at gun point.... She was surely unsatisfied. She had to keep re-spinning her spiel (Yeah, but isn't it so that... Not really... But aren't there reports of... Not so many....). The reporters just kept telling her, No, it's just not that way. The police, troops, and other helpers are trying to do their jobs. The citizens are trying to make the best of a bad situation. Sorry, Paula, hate to disappoint you and all the other media ghouls who seem unable to recognize that humans, especially Americans, are basically good, and even better in a crisis.

Incidentally, NOPD officials insisted today, compassionately, that they would use absolute minimal force necessary to remove the remaining citizens from New Orleans. Why must they leave, you say? I finally heard why. We already know the water is toxic, but the toxins are getting more concentrated and more deadly as the water is being pumped out or evaporating. Plus, the chemicals they will have to use for cleaning up the toxins are, in many cases, also poisonous until they've done their job, ie, the initial combination may be even more toxic. The water and the air may be deadly to anyone not properly outfitted. In addition, all repairs to infrastructure will be unnecessarily slowed if the crews have to be concerned with the welfare of stragglers. (Not to mention the waste of manpower if they had to make sure the stubborn continued to get clean water and food delivered.) There's a massive amount of debris that has to be removed and workers must pick through it now for survivors and bodies. The bulldozers sure won't be able to do it. While gas and electricity are being repaired or demolished, all those firefighters from NYC and other places as well as locals are going to be plenty busy. They should not have to risk their lives to save stupid people.

Assumptions are just as bad as rumors. People assume we should have been able to handle this because we have handled other hurricanes, other floods, other natural and unnatural disasters. That is bullshit. We have never had to deal with anything on this scale. We're talking about 450,000 people in New Orleans alone. We're talking about 90,000 square miles of damage from Hurricane Katrina along the Gulf coast. 90,000 square freakin miles. That's an area about the size of New England. It's not going to be repaired in weeks, or even months, if ever. The population is not going to be able to move back in and carry on, not for months, if ever. And why would they want to? So they can continue to duck and cover every year when this could happen again?

Rant Mode... I think I'll just leave it idling for a bit.

Hurricane Katrina: Best and worst. Fortunately, most people show their best side when such events occur. Unfortunately, some show their worst (looters and snipers?!? sheesh) and the media loves to focus on the ugly dramas. Still, I will give the media credit for helping with infomation when few other communication options were available. There have been many cases in which only the news people seemed to know about stranded folks, and while they were not equipped to rescue them, they've alerted the rescue crews.

There has been a lot of criticism about the way this thing has been handled, but I think the nature and scope of it is just something we haven't faced before. The affected area is not one or two counties in Florida, it's a huge chunk of the Gulf coast. While the usual recovery might have worked for affected areas, individually, there's just too much area to be dealt with all at once. Also, when monster hurricanes have hit in the past, the water usually receded immediately and made it possible to get help in there right away. Of course this is just not true in New Orleans especially.

Thumbs Up: Major kudos to the folks who accurately predicted the hurricane's path, got the warning out in time, and seriously enough, to save hundreds of thousands of people. It's wonderful that neighboring regions (especially Houston TX) have stepped up to offer unprecedented assistance with relocation, etc. It's terrific to see other countries actually offering aid to the US (seeing as how we seem to bail out everyone else when they need it). I also applaud the decision to cut off water and food drops to people who are still refusing to be evacuated from the cesspool that still exists in New Orleans. Cheers to those people who have wisely realized they should relocate permanently.

Thumbs Down: I have no pity for people who could have evacuated but chose not to. I have no pity for people who still won't leave when rescuers have gone through so much trouble to find them. I have absolutely no pity or tolerance for the criminals who have jeopardized the relief effort by taking pot shots at rescue workers. IMO, the authorities should be allowed to kill them on sight because they jeopardize many innocent lives with their idiocy.

We will learn a lot from this event and, as I've stated, I think we will need that knowledge. I'm sure there will be endless debates about what could have or should have been done. However, the powers seem to have had their priorities fairly well in order: save lives, then deal with the rest. That's the best thing we can do.

I want to be wrong. I sincerely want to be wrong. However, events keep occurring which suggest I may be right. I don't want to be a doomsayer, but I cannot paint a rosey future for humanity with what I am 'seeing' on the horizon in regards to Earth changes.

A series of hurricanes a year ago; the quakes and tsunamis in the Indian Ocean; increases in other earthquake activity, especially in unusual places; awakening volcanic activity; and now Katrina trying to reshape the Gulf of Mexico coastline... These things feel like we are gearing up for more troubled times ahead.

I have 'seen' drastic Earth changes, but without details. I believe the ultimate impact is as yet unwritten. However, I also believe that like a bruise it will get worse before it gets better.

I have actually thought the changes might be from one or two monster global events, but it's also possible that it is happening by way of a series of regional events like unusually large and damaging hurricanes and tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanic activity, etc. Not sure if that's better or worse. While it would get increasingly difficult to recover from a series of events, we may at least have a little breathing room in between, versus one or two totally devastating blows. These early events may also be prompting people to move out of dangerous areas that will eventually be permanently destroyed.

Though I have not seen a lot of specifics, I feel that ultimately the entire world will be involved. Water levels will rise and/or land will sink. For instance, the ocean may overrun low edges of the California coastline and fill in the caldera, creating a huge bay or inland sea. Melting of polar ice, volcanic ash in the air (Yellowstone looms in my mind), and such, will make significant climate changes. I can see the frost line moving southward in the US.

Here are other results I'm 'seeing'...
The west coast of the US will be cut back significantly; the Gulf of Mexico will reach up the Mississippi River to St Louis, Missouri, effectively splitting the US; most of Florida may disappear as well as a good portion of the eastern US coastline. There may be very little left of Europe between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean, only the highest points, and those will be much colder, perhaps too cold for habitation. Not sure about the rest of the world, although it is strangely possible that the South Pacific will actually rise and be more solid land instead of strips of islands. During the process though, most of those people may be lost.

I think this is all being brought about by changes in the Earth's alignment with the Sun and the galactic equator. What I see is electromagnetic forces being adjusted significantly, changing the operation of the Earth's dynamo core, ie, the way in which the Earth receives and uses solar energy through the protective electomagnetic field (our EMF shield). Magnetic north may actually flip, perhaps suddenly, across the geographic north pole (90°lat, 0°lon) to a location over in Siberia, instead of where it is now (north of Canada). These changes will set up (are setting up) greater and different tension in the Earth's crust. Tectonic plates and other weak points (volcanoes, fault lines) will have to make adjustments. The energy shifts and magnetic shifts will affect atmospheric and ocean currents to create big climate changes. Magnetic changes may also cause the Earth to attract more meteor near-misses or even impacts, though I do not see this as being more significant than the other effects, just adding to the mix.

Unlike "The Day After Tomorrow" and other green peace preaching, I do not think human activity is the culprit, although that may exacerbate the climate changes and flooding, since greenhouse gases do seem to be involved in the melting of the polar ice caps. Still, we are not the only cause or even the main cause. I think we're just entering an Earth cycle which we may not have experienced for at least 10,000 to 12,000 years. The fact that our recorded history does not go back to the previous cycle may be an indication of the vast changes we're about to face. But, I suspect we will survive these changes better than we did in the past and so we won't get thrown back to the stone age like before.

I hope I'm wrong, but I see a lot of devastation in humanity's future. Even so, I am not afraid. There are uncountable people working on mitigating the changes through metaphysical means and I don't think we've signed up for total destruction. It's just not going to be pretty. What we can learn from the overzealous doomsayers and green peace missionaries is just that it's prudent to make some preparations and realize that we'll need to know how to survive without all the conveniences we enjoy today.

You know, I'm real damned tired of perimenopause. I want to be PAUSED already. sheesh

I looked charp, felt goot, had phun! *snicker* Fewer people attended the 30th reunion than the 20th, but that's to be expected, I think, as people move further away from high school in the throes of life. However, most of those who did return were very happy to share an evening of nostalgia. I was surprised at how much difference even 10 years makes. It's like someone turned on the weight, turned off the hair and/or applied the bleach... just natural aging effects. The unexpected development was the realization that I had known some of these people long before high school, all the way back to elementary school. Pretty interesting, and even profound, to have a casual and yet such a long term relationship with several folks. Yeah, the dynamics of being human, of social interactions, of tendencies and potentials... it's just all fascinating. I sometimes wish I could remember now what I might have wanted for myself way back when, but then, I surely am where I was meant to be, or I wouldn't be here.

Going home this weekend for high school reunion. I hated high school, but so far the reunions have been lotsa fun. Something nifty about being at a party with loads of people who are the same age and sorta kinda knew each other way back when but really don't know each other at all. It's like a theme party that manages to bring together a broad variety of people. Once went to a Hat Party. The only thing most of us had in common was that each of us had been required to wear a hat, of our choosing. Made for instant topic of conversation. Of course, my classmates and I also share some cultural elements, musical era, etc. So, looking forward to the experience, again.

I'm ENFP - Extraverted iNtuitive Feeling Perceiving
Discoverer Advocate: ENFP
Theme is inspiration, both of themselves and others. Talents lie in grasping profound significance, revealing truths, and motivating others. Very perceptive of others' hidden motives and purposes. Interested in everything about individuals and their stories as long as they are genuine. Contagious enthusiasm for "causes" that further good and develop latent potential and the same zeal for discovering dishonesty and inauthenticity. Frequently moved to enthusiastically communicate their "message."
(http://www.knowyourtype.com/)

ENFPs generally have the following traits:
- Project-oriented
- Bright and capable
- Warmly, genuinely interested in people; great people skills
- Extremely intuitive and perceptive about people
- Able to relate to people on their own level
- Service-oriented; likely to put the needs of others above their own
- Future-oriented
- Dislike performing routine tasks
- Need approval and appreciation from others
- Cooperative and friendly
- Creative and energetic
- Well-developed verbal and written communication skills
- Natural leaders, but do not like to control people
- Resist being controlled by others
- Can work logically and rationally - use their intuition to understand the goal and work backwards towards it
- Usually able to grasp difficult concepts and theories
(http://www.personalitypage.com/)

I used to think I'd be quite content to work away in my own little closet somewhere in the world. I still think that sometimes. In fact, I'm actually in that situation for all practical purposes. I don't have to go out to work everyday. I pretty much stay at home, doing my own thing.

How I get out in the world is through the electronic and virtuality marvels of our age. I love being able to get to information in an instant, to go where my whims take me... without leaving my chair here.

I also find the human connections rather interesting through this medium. There are all kinds of new dimensions to human interaction that we just aren't likely to experience in ordinary face-to-face life. It brings the world closer together, in a way. Certainly makes it possible to meet people we'd never run into otherwise.

But many of the dynamics are the same. It's still human interaction. There are still people who come into our lives for a 'reason, a season, or a lifetime' and it's still hard to know which people are which.. and what the reasons are.

And when a conflict arises, even though it's not in-person, I still hate it. I don't want to have to fight with anyone who seems hellbent on frosting my wheaties. Nor do I like getting into a tiff with someone I sure wouldn't want to lose. But, things happen. Whether it's a comfy connection or a grating one, it ain't over til it's over and you don't know it's gonna be over, for sure, ahead of time. You just have to see how it all unfolds. "To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven..."

"Time's fun when you're having flies." ~ Kermit

Back. Had a great time with family, as always. Not much more to say, and too tired to say it anyway. Relax. Enjoy the break. I'll be back to rambling before you know it.

Okay, so like, the week before Easter when I already had plans to go Home for the holiday, I picked up a new web client. One of my other web clients had referred them to me and that's terrific but their timing of finally contacting me and wanting stuff done right away, even as I was packing to go away for a long weekend... frankly sucked. Sure, I went on my trip, but there was a lot more hustle involved before leaving and a lot of making up after. It just made both activities more hectic and stressful.

So now this week, as I am preparing to go Home for the 4th, guess who wants more stuff, even though I have barely heard from them since I finished the other stuff around Easter.

I like being helpful. I like doing webwork. I like making a little extra cash. I would really like it if the timing could get worked out so I don't get into these stress-tangles. I don't mean to be ungrateful, but... well, whatever. Now I'm whining.... and I should be packing instead of blogging. *dash*
~

Selected Funnies...
~~~
A man walks into a dentist's office, the dentist asks him "How can I help you?"
The man replies "I think I'm a moth."
"Well, you need to see a psychiatrist, not a dentist."
"I know that" the man replies.
"Then why did you come in here?"
"The light was on."
~~~
A man spoke frantically into the phone, "My wife is pregnant and her contractions are only 2 minutes apart!"
The doctor asked, "Is this her first child?"
"No, ya dummy!" the man shouted, "This is her husband."
~~~
Q - Why does a chicken coop have two doors?
A - Because if it had four, it would be a chicken sedan.
~~~
Two antennae meet on a roof, fall in love and get married. The ceremony wasn't much, but the reception was excellent!
~~~
A psychiatrist interviewed three patients to see if they could be released from the hospital. He asked them one easy question, "What is 8 times 5?"
The first patient said, "139". The doctor just shook his head.
He turned to the second patient who replied "Wednesday!". The doctor frowned.
He turned to the third patient who gleefully said, "That's easy, 40!"
While the doctor went to his desk to fill out the third patient's release papers, the first patient whispered to the third, "How did you figure that one out?"
"It was simple" replied the third patient, "I just divided 139 by Wednesday!"
~~~
A priest and a pastor from the local churches are standing by the side of the road, pounding a sign into the ground that reads: "The End Is Near! Turn Yourself Around Now--Before It's Too Late!" As a car sped past them, the driver yelled, "Leave us alone, you religious nuts!" From the curve they heard screeching tires and a big splash. The pastor turns to the priest and asks, "Do you think the sign should just say "Bridge Out?"
~~~
A couple of hunters are out in the woods when one of them falls to the ground. He doesn't seem to be breathing, his eyes are rolled back in his head. The other guy whips out his cell phone and calls 911. He gasps to the operator, "My friend is dead! What can I do?"
The operator, in a calm soothing voice says, "Just take it easy. I can help. First, let's make sure he's dead."
There is a silence, then a shot is heard... The hunter says, "OK, now what?"
~~~

No, I didn't win the Powerball, but neither did anyone else. Hmmm... maybe I'll buy a ticket for Wednesday's drawing. ;)
~

I really have nothing to post at this time, although I did buy a Powerball ticket for tonight's drawing. Now if I win that, well, there'll be plenty of news. I'll let you know how I plan to spend the estimated $43 million jackpot. For most, if not all of you, a check will be in the mail. *grin*
~

2x2x2x2x3=48 Birthday's are funny. We really only have one per lifetime. It's the anniversary of the birth day that we're celebrating or bemoaning. Forty-eight years ago, I officially incarnated, probably for the umpteenth time.

Per Merriam-Webster (M-W.com), being incarnate is to be "invested with bodily and especially human nature and form; made manifest or comprehensible; embodied".

Comprehensible? hehe Perhaps in a preception sense. I can be perceived by other incarnated beings. I like the phrase "made manifest". That suits my belief system. Forty-eight years ago, on a Sunday afternoon, through the labors of my mother, the energy or spirit that is Me, manifested into human form, breathed life independently for the first time. That was my birth day. Everything since then has been me playing around in this lab of experience.

I kinda like it. I think I'll stick around for a good while longer. And when this run is over, I'll see if I want to sign up again. I have the feeling I've signed up innumerable times before. Must be something to it.
~

I have often been amazed at the insights I get from Astrology, not only about me but about others. I don't think Astrology tells us what IS or what WILL BE, so much as it points out tendencies and potentials. It could be quite useful information and I take it under advisement.

I subscribe to a freebie daily horoscope from Astrocenter.com. I don't plan my day around it, but it makes for an interesting read, and maybe even a useful perspective on the possibilities.

Today, however, I feel they nailed me. When I set modesty and humility aside, I know this to be true:
"You can capture the hearts of the people around you by surprising them with unexpected anecdotes from your past. Realize that you have the power to make a significant transformation in someone's life - maybe even your own. Don't underestimate your gift of communication. Most people don't have your connections or quick-witted mind. Use these qualities to your advantage by spreading your unique knowledge of the nature of people."

That's what I do. It's who I am. While journeying in my own human experience, I enjoy watching the journeys of others. I see things, in their essense, in their connectedness. And, as a communicative Gemini, I sure love talking or writing about it. But I don't like lectures or preaching, so I very often share anecdotally or metaphorically. If I have a gift, I think it's being able to gently help folks see themselves and each other a little better, in a better light even. I hope I do it ever so light-handedly, mostly by sharing what I've experienced or what I feel I've learned, sometimes even as I myself discover it.

As for transforming people, I've called it many things, but mostly I think of it as finding silver linings, or finding the precious metals in the ore. It's the same sort of thing for which elemental mercury can be used and I don't think it's a coincidence that I am a Gemini, ruled by the quick planet Mercury, and whose element is the fluid metal mercury.

Often it's no more than sharing a different perspective, a different set of possibilities. Sometimes I just shine a light on options that others had not seen. It is often enough to turn around a situation, an attitude, and move it in a more positive direction.

That is my hope anyway, that whatever effect I may have, it is for the benefit of individuals, including me, and ultimately All.

Sappy, yeah. Some may find it hard to believe it's possible to be truly altruistic. I benefit surely enough. It feels good to do good, or even just to try. Sosume.
~

In memoriam... At this time, I would like to formally thank my ancestors for making me possible, for making me who I am, for living their lives so that I can live this one. I am grateful. I hope my life honors them. I recognize that I am the culmination of generations of individuals throughout centuries, even millenia. I am thrilled and humbled by the perpetual legacy that lives in each one of us alive today, and shall continue into all our tomorrows. *sigh* It's just... wonderful...
~

Grandma's 94th Birthday

Lots of friends and family showed up for Grandma's birthday party, even though it wasn't intended to be a big bash like the one we threw at the community center on her 90th. She got lots of kudos and little gifts at church that morning then came home to a houseful and lots of food. It wasn't a surprise however. In fact, though she'd been told she didn't have to fix a thing, she'd made dumplings (which she just calls noodles, and of course she makes them from scratch), creamed corn, baked yams, and a huge cherry cobbler. Besides all the immediate family, Grandma also invited a few other friends and some distant relatives nearby. One of her cousins is 80 and I swear Grandma looks more like 80 and he looked more like 94. She's a true wonder, I tell ya.

Just a reminder that at 94, Grandma still lives in her own house and pretty much does her own thing. She's busy all the time with visitors. I mean, she knows everyone in the county and all their relatives, past and present, and people like to drop in to say Hi. She played the piano at church the Sunday before because she's the backup for the regular pianist who had to be away. She still writes the occasional obit for the local paper, not just for relatives, but because the newspaper asks her to for folks who haven't had anyone else step up to do it.

Grandma also keeps up with current events and TV shows and such. Just mention anything going on right now and she can talk intelligently about it, giving a well-informed opinion and a heap of common sense related to the event. She actually shocks me when we channel flip into a sit-com or such and she can identify characters on sight, as well as laugh about her favorite episode.

So, when I brag about Grandma being alert and active, I ain't kiddin'. She may be physically old but she's still motoring around on her own two feet, cooking like always, and smart as a whip with memory better than anyone else I know even on their good day.

I ended up on a road trip with Grandma, Mom & Dad. She needed to come back with us after her birthday so she could go to pick up new glasses and have them adjusted. It's about an hour and a half ride over the river and sundry hills and dales, past farms and such. Mom was noting all the high points, like stock animals and all their babies out right now. There are some unusual farms along the way, with goats or llamas or even buffalo, but seeing as how it's horse country, one might have expected to see some colts follicking in the fields. Mom actually said, "Hm, you'd think there would be some colts out today." and Grandma said, "Well, I haven't seen any horses, so chances are there won't be many colts." In fact, she cracked little funnies all along the trip. I sure hope I'm that quick-witted at 94! The truth is, she actually told some real jokes and I can't remember them to tell you what they were! sheesh

I'm fairly sure I've never thought in my life that I'd have reason to say: I spent a weekend in Oklahoma. Muskogee, no less. And I had fun ;) I only went to the ren faire one day but it was the whole day and I had a great time. I was worn out by the time it was over, just from all the walking and looking. Big place, lots and lots of people. I felt perfectly at home in my garb, though I spoke without an accent other than my natural one. I caught most of the shows, which were quite entertaining. Though I was there for over 7 hours, I didn't get around to quite everything. I may just have to go back before it's over. It's on for every weekend in May.

One highlight of the day occurred as I was under a shade tree and eating my lunch while watching part of the tournament. The sandwich I'd chosen was a bit messy and as a wiped my mouth, a traveling player stopped by. He said, "My lady, watching you do that makes me wish I'd died and come back as a dinner napkin." Oh my, yes, I was flattered. I could only giggle and blush as he moved on.

I've noticed at this and the other faire that the regulars who are working the thing are quite appreciative of people who come to play the game, even just by dressing up. It's more fun for me too, not just to get to wear the clothes, but to feel a part of it. I know from being asked a question here and there by other visitors that I fit in. I like that feeling, a lot.
~

Very interesting date today... May 5, 2005 .... 05/05/05
Of course, similarly interesting dates have occurred and will occur in some form every year up through 2012 (because of the 12 months of the year). For instance, Jan 1 2001 was of course 01/01/01. February 2 2002 was 02/02/02. December 12 2012 will be 12/12/12.

What is even more interesting about this particular day is that 5 x 5 x 5 = 125
and today is the 125th day of the year.

Not at all sure what magic there may be in a day like today, but it certainly is an unusual date.

I wish you the very best, on this day and all days.

~

Not much going on here, outside or in. I am terribly unfocused. What thoughts I have are too fleeting or nebulous to catch and record. I do have plans for the weekend though. I'm going to a ren faire, ie, take the opportunity to dress up in the garb and go look at other people dressed up in the garb ;) I've only ever been to one faire before. This one promises to be more interesting because they've built a castle on the site. Why someone would choose to build a castle and permanent ren faire location in Oklahoma, I'm not sure, but I'm gonna go check it out. Castle of Muskogee
~

Um... this quiz is surely flawed
What Kind of Goddess Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla
Goddess of Innocence
You hate needless fights and love peace. You tend to like children, but of course not all children possess the innocence you stand for. You loathe fakers, liars, and abusive people. You treasure your friends more than your own life. You will never stop fighting for what you believe in; the world needs more people like you.

Okay, I pretty much agree the description fits but the title? phhht

I can't help it. Semantics fascinate me. I'm sure the reasons for what I'm about to mention have to do with a very basic etymological origin, but.... Scatology is a word meaning the study of excrement. Yeah, that. And Eschatology is a branch of theology concerning the End Times. So I reckon it's all about when and how... the shit hits the fan. *grin* Sometimes I crack myself up.

Just for fun, here's a webpage noting Failed Predictions of the End-of-the-World
TEOTWAWKI (The End Of The World As We Know It ;)... and I feel fine.
~

~
Somebody was thinkin'...
~
"When a cat is dropped, it always lands on its feet, and when toast is dropped, it always lands with the buttered side facing down. I propose to strap buttered toast to the back of a cat; the two will hover, spinning inches above the ground. With a giant buttered cat array, a high-speed monorail could easily link major metropolitan areas."
~

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Benediction: the short blessing with which public worship is concluded
~
I'm sorry, but he's too old to last, too conservative to grow or perhaps even preserve the Church, and too much an insider to speak to the disenfranchised outside of Europe that now make up the majority of the Catholic world. At best he will be a transitional pontiff and, in my opinion, this transition marks the beginning of the end for the current Catholic bureaucracy.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if another 'Vatican' and pope sprang up in Latin America. Over 40% of the world's Catholic population lives there. I really thought Arinze would have made a good compromise, as someone outside of Europe, and being conservative but representing willingness to change and cooperate with other world religions. The Church apparently wasn't interested.

My intuitive guess is that this Benediction will last no more than three years. We'll see if St Malachy's prophecy carries on and there is only one more pope before it's all done. In the meantime, we'll also see how Benedict XVI may or may not be the Gloria Olivae, whatever that truly means. I am getting vibes which are nothing like the peace of an olive branch. I've heard that Ratzinger was a Hitler youth. The phrase Uber Pontiff comes to mind, and not in a good way. Then again, I could be wrong. The one good thing he may be able to accomplish is a crackdown on the sex scandals.

~
China. Behave.
~

~
You know, I'm starting to scare myself. (Not)

Session Start: Mon Apr 11 2005 ; Session Ident: #Wolfkeep
[01:54] * Diana gets more earthquake notices from the USGS. You know, a volcano is gonna blow in Indonesia before this thing is over
[01:55] the subduction action there causing all the quakes is generating heat and that heat has to vent sooner or later

Timestamps above are Central Time, ie about 2am Monday morning which would be Monday afternoon in Indonesia.

AP - Volcano on Indonesia's Sumatra Island Erupts, Spews Out Ash
Talang began rumbling shortly before dawn Tuesday, and then spewed out ash up to 1,640 feet into the air.

Reuters - More than 25,000 panicked residents have been evacuated from the slopes of a rumbling volcano on Indonesia's Sumatra island and officials raised the alert level on Wednesday as the mountain's activity intensified. "The status of Mount Talang is now at top alert," Surono, a vulcanologist from the Directorate of Vulcanology and Geophysics in the Java city of Bandung, told Reuters.

~
I expect there will be more than some rumbling and ash. This activity is following several quakes at Padang, Sumatra which is near Mount Talang. All of which is a further result of the December 26th quake that caused the big tsunamis. The entire arc of islands on the eastern side of the Indian Ocean is in danger of continued quakes and resulting volcanoes.

That's not all. This area cannot be seen as an isolated location because the shockwaves travel around the world along tectonic plate lines and through the magma core of the Earth. Other quake and volcanic regions are being activated too.

Damn if it doesn't look like we have collectively ordered the jarring wakeup call that might finally unite humanity... not in some stupifying one-world-government, but as recognition that we're all in this together. Alas, it destroys too.

Hard-headed sumbitches.

The End Is Near!

The death of the Pope is more fuel for the bonfire of the doomsayers. They're so hungry and quick to try to manifest their wish for the End? I read this as looking for an easy way out of present troubles. "God will save us by ending it all! Huzzah!" Um, that isn't likely. We're here to learn and we'll keep at it until we finish the whole curriculum. We literally cannot flunk out, although we certainly seem bound to repeating many courses. :)

Are we on the verge of the Apocalypse? I say yes, but before panic ensues, let's look at what that really means.

The word 'revelation' was derived from the Greek word apokalupsis, ie, apocalypse. A lot of extra connotations have been hung on that word which weren't originally there. The actual meaning is literally 'a lifting of the veil'.

This tells me that indeed all the forecasts for an Apocalypse, including the Book of Revelations, speak of "The End", but that end is merely the end of the world 'as we know it'.

In truth, the end of the world as we know it has been perpetual, because the world is always changing and we are always learning (lifting more veils of ignorance, experiencing more revelations). So the coming Apocalypse was an accurate prophecy at the time Revelations was written and it is a valid prophecy today.

When veils are lifted, we find it disturbing. New information can be unsettling, but in time we settle into it and create a new plateau, a new cliff from which to jump ;) When all the current veils are lifted, when all our illusions are put aside, we may be truly shaken, but we will finally realize what I have harped on before: That we are not separate from God, we ARE God. All is one, because all is connected. We are not only the 'creation', we are the creator.

It is my hope that this is the apocalypse, the revelation, which is at hand now. I feel our 'new world' is emerging as the veil is lifted and we begin to understand. As the truth is revealed or uncovered, what we once knew will indeed vanish, but it does not mean we will vanish or be destroyed.

We are surely on our way to the apocalypse, but the greatly feared armageddon only has to happen if we refuse to allow or accept the apocalypse... the revelation... the unveiling... without having to be prompted by catastrophe.

If it takes a global or even cosmic calamity to shake us out of our illusions, then we'll surely get it. We will be asking for it as long as we're in denial. But, we don't have to do it that way. We can choose to awaken without being jarred awake.

Even if we bring some cataclysmic 'end' upon ourselves, it will not be the End, for Creation is infinite and eternal.

I agree with this fellow who calls himself "Therapist" and whose comment I found on a Randi Rhodes Show forum via Google: "Why can't the end of the world ever be "And ye they shall go out to the sunshine and laugh and dance and partake of lambs and soft-shelled crab, or a nice salad if they're vegan, and there will be general merriment and fornication and small children playing in the sandbox. Then the Great Cosmic Goat shall come and eat the planet in one gulp without anyone suffering."?

I like the way he thinks.

It's just wrong, plain wrong, absofukinlutely WRONG. Pharmacists have been refusing to fill prescriptions based on their personal moral code?!? The governor of Illinois has apparently had to step in to remind these 'professionals' that their personal objection to birth control does not grant them the right to refuse dispensing it to patients.

As one news article about this idiocy in Illinois rightly says, "Pharmacists are supposed to assess the appropriateness of a drug." Damned straight, they are supposed to assess the MEDICAL appropriateness. Even then, if they find a problem, they are supposed to consult with the prescribing physician. They are NOT supposed to assess the MORAL appropriateness, nor take it upon themselves to negate a doctor's prescription or a patient's rights.

I worked with pharmacists for a while. I tested software for a company that created pharmacy systems and I had to coach a lot of these folks because they couldn't even follow simple instructions and screen prompts. I can tell you for a fact that while some of them love the job and do it right, the majority are doing it because they couldn't make the grades to be doctors or saw the ridiculous profits to be made in pharmaceuticals and jumped on it. With computer systems as they are now, pharmacists barely have to count pills and press on labels. That apparently gives them too much time to try to dabble in peoples' lives? Reminds me of rent-a-cops hell bent on carrying a gun but couldn't pass the training to be real cops. Sounds like some pharmacists have the god-complex for which doctors are infamous, but heaven help us they haven't the brains or good judgement to carry it.

I was already frustrated with the nazis in the Religious Right. My kneejerk reaction is to say "Ban Catholics and other Right-to-Lifers from being Pharmacists." But hey, I'm not insane like the zealots. Why the hell did we break off from the Old Rule and start this new country with the ideals of FREEDOM if we're going to start hacking away at them? WHO THE FUCKING HELL HAS THE RIGHT TO TELL ME WHAT I CAN AND CANNOT DO WITH MY OWN FUCKING BODY?!?

Dayam I wish Mercury would straighten up and get the hell out of Aries. It's got me pissed off and vocal about it.

I also have to say this about the Catholic Church, the Pope, the elevated status of Mary, etc... The Catholic Church invented itself. They invented the significance of their own pomp and circumstance. The papacy is not biblical, nor is the worship of Mary or her role as intercessor, nor is the priesthood and their celibacy, nor are most of the sacraments or rites as practiced. I don't see a problem with any of it, other than claims that what they do and how they do it comes from the bible, or arrogance about it being The way to conduct a relationship to the divine. Men made it up. They elaborated themselves into their current hierarchy. Cardinals, Bishops, and so on, ad nauseum... it has all been manufactured for the Church, by the Church.

All religions are the invention of humans: Catholicism, Taoism, Buddhism, Islam, etc. The christian bible is only one among many other documents and traditions serving the same purpose, trying to describe divinity and how mankind may relate to it. None of them are THE Truth. They are all examples and methodology. Even more nature-based and alternative religions such as Native spirituality and pagan versions are all invented. They are different ways for people to try to connect with divinity, and the ways are different because people are different, cultures are different. Divinity, Creation, the Universe, the Power that's All There Is... whatever one chooses to call it, we should all remember that we do CHOOSE how we each relate to it. And thus, ALL versions can be valid. ALL.

From my understanding, none of us needs any artifice or ritual or hierarchy to relate to divinity because it resides within each of us. There is no duality. If "God" is everything, is IN everything, then it is only logical to conclude that we are inseparable parts of God, that God is in every one of us, and therefore we don't need anything to 'reach' God. We ARE God. Our only challenge is to reach into ourselves, through ourselves, and thus touch the infinite and eternal.

From my way of thinking, what we describe as God may only be the gestalt of who we are, the summation of our collective consciousness, and that not only includes humanity but all things and all no-things, ie, All That Is.

The rest is detail on how we get ourselves to touch the divinity within, and by divinity I mean our connection to each other and to Everything. Some of us may need an external hierarchy to help us achieve the connection, although I find it sad that such artificial measures are needed. Such methods perpetuate a separation which does not exist. Some of us may need to imagine an overriding presence so we can feel more comfortable with the order of the universe, rather than knowing we are integral parts of that order, each and every one of us. Maybe we fear the responsibility, but in doing so we also relinquish a certain amount of freedom. The worst, the absolute worst aspect of these various methods is that too often we use them to divide ourselves from each other.

I have no problem with how individuals CHOOSE to relate to the creative process of this universe, as long as they know it IS a choice and they should never NEVER try to force another person over to their own choice. Each must find his or her own way. Period.

And to conclude my sermon :) ... Love one another, or at least be kind to one another, or at least respect one another, or at least tolerate one another... or if you cannot, please exit the planet now and let the rest of us get on with it. Thank you.

I'm not catholic and I don't personally understand the attachment to any pope, but I do understand that there IS an attachment for so many people. Despite anticipating John Paul II's death and commenting on the Catholic Church needing change, I do recognize that he played an important historical role during his 26 yr papacy. I do also believe that he may have made as much change as he could within the Church, giving them a clearer image from which to effect future changes. I think he could only move the behemoth so far and so fast in his environment. I'm sure that his spirit passes on in favorable stead, and I honor his passing.

To the spirit of Terri Schiavo: I hope you're enjoying your new journey. I bet you're glad that your old body has finally been allowed to die. No more leftovers in baggage claim here so you're free. Bon voyage. Blessings to your children here and to your former mate as he tries to complete his own mortal life here. May the rest of your family find the peace they seem to have resisted for so long. Namaste.

Easter weekend at Home was terrific. I had a sleep over with two of my teenage nieces. We did some very mod egg decorating, went out for pizza, watched Finding Neverland to drool over Johnny Depp as well as have a good cry. I also got in on some Easter basket action as well as hiding eggs for the kids. I whooped and hollered with several family members during the NCAA basketball game which Kentucky eventually lost but man oh man it was exciting! It's always always always good to see my family, and also good to come back to my home again. It's all good.

The rest of this post is ranting. Feel free to bail out now.

Terri Schiavo
If God ever had a hand in her particular disposition, I dare say it could well have occurred in 1990 with the original cardiac arrest that left her brain dead. I don't see God's hand in anything that has happened since. I could be wrong. I don't know the mind of God. Neither do Schiavo's parents, neither do all the protestors, nor Florida legistators, nor the freakin Congress of the United States. Judging by the sound-bite mentality the masses have shown to have in the past, I'd wager that 99.9% of the people crying foul have NO idea of Schiavo's actual medical condition which emphatically shows she is gone. I don't know what should or should not be done in Terri Shiavo's case, but I do know that her husband has the legal responsibility for making the decision and everyone else is butting in. I also know that if I end up in a similar condition, I want everyone to just let my body die. I assure you, I will have already moved on. Yes, I have informed my spouse, parents and siblings of my wishes. I recommend everyone do the same. And, I for damned sure do NOT want any branch of the government deciding about me and my life or my death.

The Pope
He made an appearance at the window of the Vatican and sucked air like a goldfish out of water. I stand by my prediction that he is on his way out, very soon. I stand by my opinion that the Catholic Church may use that opportunity to make a big, much needed change. I stand by a choice to do just that, being Francis Arinze from Nigeria, who would be the first black pope. Although he may be conservative, his very skin would open a lot of long-closed and rigid minds. The Catholic Church will change or die. This is the same choice they handed out for so long. It's their turn. Paybacks are hell.

Resurrection
What an enticing drama. People seem to love diving into the woeful tale of an innocent Son of God dying a horrible death to save them. What a guilt trip too. I think they're missing the real point. It's not about the death, it's about the life. It's about how Jesus lived and how death did not mean the end. I believe he was trying to demonstrate the divinity available to all, living and after death. But, as is often the case, we've made a huge deal about the messenger and missed the message. As I've said, we seem to have trouble looking where God is actually pointing because we're so doggedly focused on his finger. woof

You scored as Fall. You are FALL. You appreciate all that you have, and are willing to share with others. You are a friend in the truest sense of the word, and can easily focus your attention on those who need you, placing yourself on the back burner. You make sure your responsibilites are met before you allow yourself 'free time'. Fall 85% Winter 70% Spring 55% Summer 50% What Season Are You? created with QuizFarm.com

Not a coincidence, it IS my favorite season.

I sometimes marvel (and chafe) at the excesses of American consumerism and our Capitalist drive toward bigger, better, and more expensive. I mean, part of me thinks: Couldn't every person in the whole world have proper food, clean water, protective clothing and shelter, if we didn't have a relatively small segment of the global population obsessing over the biggest house, the coolest toy, the shiniest bling, and the swankiest outfit?

But then I keep stepping myself back to look more objectively at how things really are, or more particularly, how humans really are.

I always thought Communism or Socialism looked really good on paper, with each person getting what they need and working as best suits their interests and abilities. From the schematics, it looks like an efficient machine. The problem is that in practical application there must be a governing engine and the cogs don't always want to do what works best for the whole machine. There must be a group at the top who "knows what's best" but they never really do, or power corrupts original intentions and they never achieve fair distribution of labor or goods and services. The real injury beyond failure to provide is the serious curtailing of freedom.

Though on paper Capitalism seems very selfish, advantageous to only the most ambitious, it actually comes closer to achieving the goals of Communism or Socialism, in practical application. And what about Democracy? Democracy and Capitalism must go hand in hand. Without Capitalism, Democracy has no economic structure to support goals of provision. Capitalism must have Democracy because it must have a free (ungoverned) market system.

Flawed as it is, Capitalism works. It works because people are flawed too. Human nature is more often greedy and ambitious, not charitable or fair-minded. It's driven by self-preservation and fear of loss, plus selfish interests in comfort. Although the vast majority of humans might help their brother in need, they are not as likely to help strangers, especially at their own expense. They will give generously only from their excess and Capitalism is all about striving for excess. Capitalism literally capitalizes on human tendencies, making the best of the worst. Oddly enough, I think it really is a case of two wrongs making a right.

I know it sounds a bit like Brave New World, but Captialism and the consumerism upon which it feeds is actually beneficial to mankind. Classic 'planned obsolescence' is a miracle for making last year's goods and services available to the masses. Sure the manufacturers are always changing up their product for more market share and bigger profits. The engineers are doing it to push the technology envelope. But, the end result is that more people in the world can afford a TV, for instance, because there's a market for the latest and greatest out on the leading edge. That leaves the older styles available for everyone else at a lower cost. Jobs are created to make the new toys, but jobs are still there to produce the old ones too, because there's always a lag between invention and market saturation. And by golly as long as there's a market, the capitalists will capitalize on it. The process of acquisition (consumerism) is the actual energy between the poles of supply and demand. It is natural for people to want more, different, and better. Using this drives them to make more, different, and better.

How does this benefit mankind? Let's look at TVs, a seeming luxury, although most of us in the First World cannot fathom life without them. Well, there's more to television than entertainment, it's a communication medium. Even while the entertainment scatters around the world, it builds common ground. That's what communication IS at its base, finding common ground. The more we do that, the more we come to understand each other, the more we can find commonalities to overcome our differences, then the more likely we are to get along with each other. The computer industry and the Internet is the current leading edge of communication. In some ways it's making television obsolete but again that makes television more available, and so on. As the Third World gets wired, they move closer to the First World in knowledge, experience, and opportunity. The playing field may become a bit more level.

I don't think everyone will ever catch up, because the bar is always being raised. But, step by step the whole world is lifted gradually BECAUSE of the excesses of a few, BECAUSE of the drive at the 'top'. Precisely BECAUSE of the avarice and ambition of a minority, the majority can eventually acquire what they need and find work that suits their talents and abilities.

Reagan's Trick-Down Economics caught a lot of flack, but the theory works. Yes, in a perfect world it might be better to distribute wealth and goods differently, but this world is filled with imperfect beings, as part of our individuality. So why not capitalize on that and ultimately make our worst tendencies work for the greater good?

I've said it before but I must say it again --- Reality shows bear no resemblance to reality... and neither does the news. Surely most people realize the reality shows aren't real, but what the news media presents is just as distorted, and I'm not sure folks realize it. If a 'news' event was a usual and customary activity from everyday life, it wouldn't make the news. They only report the sensational, and unfortunately they seem very fond of the negatively sensational. I wish the news hounds would chase good news as doggedly as they sniff out bad news.

The media doesn't talk about ordinary life but by plastering the anomalies on the evening news people are misled into thinking their lives are full of these anomalous events. They aren't. We hear about murders in the news daily, but how many real peoples' lives are actually touched by a murder ever, much less daily? I'd like to see the news reported more realistically, in context. If they report one school shooting, I think they should be required to report the number of schools that went through the day with no shooting. I'm not saying that we should discount lives lost or affected by such events, but give it some perspective, instead of making it sound as though these things happen on everyone's doorstep, all day, everyday. They don't.

It would get really boring really quickly if the media had to report the statistics, if they had to reveal the actual percentages of the incidents they report relative to the actual experiences of the rest of the six and a half billion people living ordinary everyday lives on this planet.

But it's not the media's fault. It's human nature to get all caught up in drama. We really need to get over it. Addiction to drama is what causes dramatic events, whether we're committing them or revelling in the reporting of them. For heaven's sake... for humanity's sake... read a freakin book, watch a movie, have a nightmare. Get yourself a good cry or knee jerk reaction or shiver of fear or fit of rage without actually doing damage or waiting for someone to do it so you can drool over it or feel better because it didn't happen to you.

We now have the capability of synthesizing human experience so convincingly that we don't have to do the actual harm necessary for getting the adrenalin fix. Sheesh Can't we start doing all this crap to each other from memory, getting the emotional fix virtually if we need it, then just move on? Let's skip the vicarious thrill of feeding off the real-life tragedy of a few. It's twisted. We should have evolved past this.

The plot is worn. I don't need the drama. I don't understand people who do. I feel quite alive without it. And when I don't, I write myself a little story or find one to suit, then go on living my real life.

We will soon have a yard. Not the 3ft measurement, but the kind of yard that's lying on the ground around the house. What we had was dirt and builder rubble dotted by weeds. I really didn't mind it all that much, but there are maintenance and erosion issues and it really wasn't all that nice to look at. We have no use for a barefoot lawn and absolutely no interest in maintaining one. I guess what we're getting qualifies as landscaping but it involves very little of the traditional elements.

Now in the past, at other places we've lived, there have been agitated discussions concerning the yard. This would be me nagging the spouse about maintenance. I don't DO lawnmowing. My responsibilities are all IN the house. Period. But, spouse works six days a week and so I didn't nag about the mowing too much. Besides the neighbors were often anxious to do that. They didn't seem to share our appreciation for letting nature take its course. In fact, the only reason I nagged was knowing the neighbors were gonna.

What we usually ended up doing was hiring a lawn service when we could afford it, or simply waiting til the neighbors bitched and got someone with a bush hog to come out and cut it all down to the dirt. Oh, we've tried killing it all too. That only sorta works and only til the next growing season because grass and weeds are persistent.

I have actually threatened to concrete a yard and paint it green, but I know that isn't nice to Mother Nature.

However, in this development we're in now, there's a really rather convenient sort of yard option. This whole village was intended to be a retirement resort with heavy emphasis on golfing. Now that means there's a lot of maintenance of golf courses (of which there are seven), but the old fart golfers don't want to waste any time in their golden years mowing. Neither do we!

Their solution was to rock it. Yeah, there are whole yards here, lots of them, which are pebbled over. There's lots of natural woodsy green space in the common areas behind all the houses, as well as in the undeveloped lots between houses. Then, unless a homeowner is really fond of the vibration of a mower handle gripped in their hands, or addicted to the buzz of a weedeater, the other yards look more like uniform creek beds.

SO, that's what we're having done. I've had four young handsome mexican fellows and a couple of average white guys milling around the outside of my house for a few days. We opted to leave the back of our lot all natural and the rest has been covered with a black mesh fabric to let water go through but prevent weeds from sprouting up. On top of the mesh, they've dumped and raked a layer of small neutral colored stone. They call it 'river rock' and it looks like that, small stones with the rough edges knocked off by flowing water. I'm sure it's broken, tumbled, and graded in a plant around here somewhere, but it's real rock and not bad to look at.

Thus, our yard is pebbled over too now. The landscape is developing as they put in some borders along the sidewalk, the driveway, and around a couple of trees in the front yard. These areas are filled with high grade top soil, then layered in the mesh, then layered in 'chocolate rock' which is the same as the river rock only darker brown, to mimic mulch, I guess.

Then, when all that's done, they'll be adding some huge decorative boulders here and there in these darker "islands" of chocolate rock. After that, a few selected low-maintainance evergreen plantings will liven it up.

It's kind of an expensive investment up front, but not over the long haul when you count the maintenance issues of a real yard.

Besides, while these fellows have been around, I've been able to practice my Spanish a little and I do so love to watch men work.

Why don't I do it? Why don't I do all the writing I feel I want to do? I have half a dozen good projects on my storyboards. But I can't seem to dig in. I guess I am not compelled enough or I would. My excuses include menopause which has my sleep totally discombobulated which steals my concentration and physical energy. That's quasi-legit, but I know it's possible to get into something so deeply that I forget time and space and my physical being. I feel like I'm killing time by beating it to death. I just keep finding stuff to occupy my day and enough of my mind to shut out the will to write. It's harder to create than play freebie poker online or watch TV or fiddle with a hundred other little projects. Sometimes I think about the time I'm wasting. Other times I know I'm too tired and I feel too scatterbrained to do anything worthwhile. My writing projects are dear to me but daunting too. I mentally glance over them and get worn out just thinking about all that needs to be done. I wonder why I should bother too. I mean, it's not like I'm going to write the great american novel. But part of me... part of me really wants to finish what I think are great ideas, even if it's just for me.

I gotta keep urging myself on with quotes like this:

"A professional writer is an amateur who didn't quit." ~ Richard Bach

"Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not. Nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent." ~ Calvin Coolidge

"Don't let the fear of the time it will take to accomplish something stand in the way of your doing it. The time will pass anyway; we might just as well put that passing time to the best possible use." ~ Earl Nightingale

I should think more about that. Maybe I'll sleep on it. hehe

Your Element Is Air

You dislike conflict, and you've been able to rise above the angst of the world. And when things don't go your way, you know they'll blow over quickly. Easygoing, you tend to find joy from the simple things in life. You roll with the punches, and as a result, your life is light and cheerful. You find it easy to adapt to most situations, and you're an open person. With you, what you see is what you get... and people love that!

What's Your Element?

Usolicited advice to no one in particular:
Choices. It's all about choices - making them and living with them. If you are not where you want to be, realize that you made choices to get you where you are. No one dropped your life into your lap. You collected it, configured it, as you went along. Maybe it was passive, you allowed it to happen instead of actively creating it, BUT if so, you chose to be passive. If you don't like it... change it... make new choices. And remember, you can always choose to be content with what you have, where you are, and who you are. That doesn't mean you have to stop changing or making choices. It just means you need to find a comfortable base to work from. If you're not there, get there, make it. Find out what you need and reconfigure your life to get it. If you are miserable, you are choosing to be miserable, because you are choosing not to change what is making you miserable OR you are choosing to feel miserable about your circumstances, whether they justify it or not. Accept it or change it. Either way, the process always begins with you, here and now. Always.

It may be worn out, but it's still wisdom: There are three ways to deal with life and even find your peace in it...
Accept the things you cannot change.
Change the things you can.
Know the difference.

Before the year is out... I believe there will be smoke from a chimney for the first time in 27 years, signaling not only a changing of the guard, but the remaking of the entire edifice. If they want to continue on, they must embrace the reality of diversity, which has been ignored, even quashed, from the time the structure was built. This change is not yet written, but without major rennovation, the old structure will collapse.

This is not only true of the institution in question, but all such institutions. Religious, scientific, and political edifices have all become very frail, though they still seem solid on the surface. However, their structure has been disassembling, more rapidly as time passes. Soon the frameworks will be shown in their true hollow condition, like light through lace, and prove too insubstantial to stand. Their facades will no longer be enough to sustain them.

But this does not bode complete anarchy. Structure has been developing, just not in support of the outdated frameworks. When the facades collapse, the new structures will be revealed, already in existence, already functioning, for over time they have come into being to fill the needs left by the gradual failure of the inflexible obsolete forms. They will work even better when they no longer have to fight 'the establishment'.

There will be debris to clear out from the collapse, but in cleaning up, new connections will be found, further supporting the newer more flexible systems. No longer will we build from stone too heavy to move, nor direct from perches too high to see life on the ground. We'll work more organically, more dynamically, so that change can be made as change is needed, instead of years after it would have been useful.

Religion, Science, and Politics will learn they are all looking at the same picture and will each find ways to describe it so they can understand each other, and allow each other to exist without turmoil, and even work together eventually. This change will of course take much longer than merely a year, but the fire for this has been set and we'll all be better for it... when the smoke clears.

PS - Yes, I am predicting the current Pope will die this year and that his successor will likely be Arinze, the "Black Pope" from Nigeria.

The times they are a'changing....

Best wishes for the New Year to one and all. I didn't make any New Year's resolutions this year. I rarely do. I learned long ago that I don't stick to them very well. The only one I recall being serious about was the one I made when I was 30 yrs old. I vowed not to get married at 30. I was aware that a lot of people go through a life evaluation around 30 yrs old and they sometimes make dumb decisions based on someone else's goals or benchmarks. I was aware that 30 was kind of an old maid deadline. I preferred to stay single than to give in to such nonsense. Damned if I was going to let that sort of pressure get me stuck in a marriage that might or might not be right for me.

I hated being 30. It was like a bad joke. No one is really 30. They're pretending to be 29 or they're something else, but not precisely 30. I was glad to turn 31. At that point, it was like the pressure was off. Anyone who thought I should be whatever by 30 had given up? ;) I however felt like I'd managed to dodge all the bullets and got on with my life!

No idea what got me into that tangent, but such is the way with quicksilver. *grin* You never know where it's gonna flow...

Christmas with my family... There's just no way to describe how wonderful it is to be with my family, anytime. We're so BradyBunch that it might frighten some people. I don't care. I love it. For me, it's normal to love and be loved by the people to whom you're related. We don't just pay each other lip service owed by an unwritten creed of how family members should be. We actually do care about each other. We enjoy each others company. We have fun together! We enjoy our history together and look forward to where our lives will take us. There is a deep compassionate connection and a promise of continuity which I wish every person could feel with their own family.

I am the oldest of five children. All of us are married. The other four have children. There have been divorces and some blending, but I count all my nieces and nephews equally, regardless of bloodlines. My parents are terrific role models. They are just damned good people, to us and to everyone they meet. I try to emulate that, as do my siblings. Their children are learning the same. My grandparents were marvelous people too. I don't know how many generations of us have been decent citizens of the world, but I'm glad I was born into this legacy. No one is perfect, but the base is there, the solid foundation of integrity and humanity is there. I cherish this gift and I'm glad to see it's being carried into the future.

As the year turns once again, I wish love and laughter to all. I wish every child could know the love, comfort and support that my nieces and nephews know.... the same love, comfort and support that I grew up with and which carries me through every day of my life.

Peace On Earth, Good Will Toward All.

Here's a quiz for ya - How Smart Are You? ~~~ I got 9 out of 11. One error is a matter of interpretation, imo. The other, well, I had a lapse in biblical discernment. Sosume :)

And now... selected trivia:

In the late 19th century, millions of human mummies were used as fuel for locomotives in Egypt where wood and coal was scarce, but mummies were plentiful.

The average human produces 25,000 quarts of spit in a lifetime, enough to fill two swimming pools.

An American Animal Hospital Association poll showed that 33% of dog owners admit that they talk to their dogs on the phone or leave messages on an answering machine while away.

When the Black Death swept across England one theory was that cats caused the plague. Thousands were slaughtered. Ironically, those that kept their cats were less affected, because they kept their houses clear of the real culprits, rats.

The air we breathe is 78% nitrogen, 21.5% oxygen, .5% argon and other gases.

100 Things About Me
1. I hate these things and yet I do them anyway.
2. I'm a 5'7" redheaded woman with blue eyes and freckles.
3. I'm a redhead til I'm dead, regardless of how bleached my hair may get from age.
4. I liked growing up in central Kentucky. It was free from most natural hazards and poisonous creatures.
5. I used to hate spiders. Now I just really really dislike them and wish they'd live away from me.
6. I don't mind snakes, unless they're being sneaky. I like the feel of their skin.
7. I like the smell of horses, cut grass, honeysuckle, babies...
8. I make great use of my three most valuable innate skills: association, assimilation, and pattern recognition.
9. I am the oldest of 5 children.
10. I love my siblings. I am closest to my sister.
11. I love my parents. I am closest to my mother, but getting closer to my dad all the time.
12. I like soaking in the bathtub and letting the excess energy (stress) float away into the water so it may eventually go where needed.
13. I am 47 1/2 years old.
14. I like being me. I didn't always, but I learned.
15. I have had the privilege of knowing all my grandparents well. I still have a grandmother living. She's awesome.
16. I have the privilege of remembering a few moments with one great grandmother.
17. I learned how to be a friendly and sociable smart ass from my father's father.
18. I learned how to treat every person I meet with sincerity, fairness, and respect, from my father.
19. I learned how to care for people, sometimes at personal risk, from my mother.
20. I learned the habit of singing song snippets cued by words, from my mother. Makes life fun.
21. I have online friends who are as dear to me as anyone I have ever known offline.
22. I find it annoying that I have to refer to these people as eFriends to my family because most of them are not online.
23. I am Gemini Sun, Scorpio Moon, Libra Rising. That makes for a whole lot of people in my head.
24. I do not have Multiple Personality Disorder, technically.
25. I burn to a crackly crunch in more than fifteen minutes of sunshine.
26. I love to meet brand new humans and secretly welcome them to this lovely planet.
27. I like the taste of sauerkraut juice and dill pickle juice and lemon juice....
28. I don't mind ignorance at all, but I abhor stupidity, especially willful stupidity.
29. I am intolerant of intolerance.
30. I wear glasses because I'm myopic and I don't like bumping into things or seeing the world as a big fuzzball.
31. I think I will live to see the New Year when I'm 92, but won't stick around for my 93rd birthday in 2050.
32. I love mercury, the element. I love its silver fluidity, its weight, and its seemingly independent motion.
33. I love the color purple, but not that reddish violet color, I mean real (blue) purple.
34. I am inexplicably infatuated with the image of the Egyptian jackal-headed god Anubis.
35. I have little or no interest in traveling outside the continental US, except maybe to see the pyramids at Giza or in the Yucatan Peninsula.
36. I think I am a reincarnated Atlantean.
37. I think I may not bother to reincarnate again.
38. I have seen ghosts.
39. I have really long arms and legs. My arm span is longer than my height and it's not supposed to be.
40. I didn't get married until I was 33.
41. I am terrible at math, but great at logic. Go figure.
42. I know I existed before I was born, and I know I will exist after this body dies. It's just transformation.
43. I have a technical side and an artistic side which work well together into graphics and web design.
44. I have often been told I'm a great listener and give good advice.
45. I believe in the inherent goodness of people and trust them until they force me to re-evaluate that trust
46. I have good instincts and my intuition has improved with age.
47. I have created my own patchwork of spiritual beliefs and views of the cosmos which I'm constantly revising.
48. I remember feeling slighted when I was little, and I know it was just because my siblings needed more attention at the time. It still hurts.
49. I sometimes cry over really stupid stuff, but I've learned that's okay.
50. I prefer cats rather than dogs.
51. I don't like to go to the dentist unless something is hurting me more than the dentist can hurt me.
52. I have a really low gag threshhold and even the suggestion of hair in my food can make me gag.
53. I don't think bodily functions are all that funny. In fact, I'd like to skip some.
54. I can make software dance. I used to break software for a living. Same process, different purpose.
55. I think I'd like to be cremated when I die. I just can't decide where my ashes should be scattered.
56. I tried a lot of different majors in college, incl computer science, vocal music, electronics engineering...
57. I have an Associate of Science Degree in Art, and probably enough leftover credits for a bachelor's degree
58. I am not a morning person. My best hours are from about 10pm to 3am
59. I actually get a cold sore on my lip after I have a picture taken. I think it's a nervous reaction.
60. I can make things work out even when there's not much to work with. There is always a way.
61. I can always find silver linings, always. They are always there. Sometimes it's a long search.
62. I have a hard time accepting appreciation, but I'm working on that.
63. I would choose these three books if stranded on a desert island: Shakespeare's complete works, the Bible, and a thick blank book to write in. (Guess I'd need a pencil too :)
64. I am one of the smartest people I know, and the main thing I know is that I don't know everything.
65. I got very high scores in spacial relations areas on SAT/ACT tests. I can visualize better than anyone I know.
66. I have a gift for being able to break down even the most complicated stuff so the simplest person can understand it.
67. I have a way of finding the essence of an issue or concept.
68. I am a master with metaphor, simile, and analogy. Everything can be explained with something else.
69. I am learning to allow myself to experience emotion without editing it to death.
70. I have also discovered that all the 'bad' emotion I unplugged in earlier years cut me off from a lot of good emotions.
71. I am sometimes overwhelmed by all the little marvels of this world and the wonder of this universe.
72. I cried the morning my youngest niece was born, before I knew that's what was causing the feelings of parting heaven, joy of life, and relief.
73. I have learned to temper my temper with a 5 second gap between anger and action.
74. I actually own a piano, which my grandmother has now because hers went kaput.
75. I can read music but I play mostly by ear.
76. I have been male in other lifetimes. I remember.
77. I have a very warm and sometimes powerful speaking voice.
78. I have a good singing voice but I usually only sing for me.
79. I think nearly all children and animals love me on sight. I reciprocate.
80. I will take suggestion, advice, expertise under consideration, but don't order me to do anything.
81. I am an extrovert, I even talk to people in elevators. Strangers often want to talk to me.
82. I am apparently perceived as a very open and available person, and I'm okay with that.
83. I often analyze stuff to death.
84. I once had a dream where I used astrological data to target optimal birth times and places for souls. I think it was memory.
85. I write a lot, then usually edit and tweak it to death before I'll release it.
86. I am a jack of all trades, mastered a few. It's hard to know just what to do when you can do almost anything.
87. I am almost tired of people telling me how clever I am. I know that. It doesn't pay much.
88. I don't work hard, I work smart.
89. I think I originally came to Earth by way of a route through Orion's Belt because that looks like the way 'home'.
90. I think I worked on or near Mars for a while as we terraformed Earth and worked on human genetics.
91. I was and have always been a researcher in cognitive processes. I've just done it through many guises and lifetimes.
92. I don't like being left. I preferred to be picked up, rather than dropped off.
93. I don't just like quicksilver, I -am- quicksilver.
94. I can think in HTML. I love the instant gratification of making webpages.
95. I love languages and symbols.
96. I am fascinated with Astrology because of its symbolic language and geometry and spatial relations.
97. I have often thought I was born about 50 yrs too soon because I'd really like living virtually, but corporeal reality is fun too.
98. I have a vivid imagination, but that doesn't mean it's all make-believe. A lot of it's true.
99. I didn't have nearly enough on this list on the first go, so I went back and stuffed more things in, sometimes randomly.
100. I would have been bored with reading this, long before now.
I'd like to point out that nothing on this list is for shock value or weird-o-meter points.

What's Your Element? Air
What kind of blogger are you? Social
What Kind of Soul Are You? Visionary
Which of your friends is most likely to get you to take these silly quizzes? Xan
What would you like to do to that friend to get even? I'm still working on it. :)

Link: Universal Declaration of Human Rights

In 1948, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Why, then, should any member nation object to action which deposes a person or government of another member nation which has unquestionably violated this Declaration?

We take Human Rights for granted in the United States, but the nations of the world also recognize the concept. At least, they did in 1948. Have we lost this in the last 50 years?

Not only are we aware of countries still in violation of Human Rights, but we need to look more carefully at ourselves, here, in the United States.

Why aren't the nations of the world adhering to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights? Why aren't member nations enforcing this doctrine, particularly among member nations?

I can feel the holiday season ramping up. Always hectic, but usually fun too. I gotta remember to enjoy the journey and not let the dates on the calendar distort life too much, eh?

Frackinrassinfussingarflesnicket! <--- read: Frustration! I am SO frustrated when I see people working so hard to divide themselves up instead of coming together. It is completely exasperating, on any scale. WHY do humans work so hard to find differences when it would be so much better for all if they focused on similarities?

The latest annoyance (<--understatement) is in a dissertation written by the pastor of my mother's church. She's the secretary, and sends us a copy of their monthly bulletin. In this blurb the pastor says he's about to embark on a series of study which basically shows why everyone else but Christians are 'wrong' about God. PULEEEEZE.

Why are humans still doing this? Haven't we subdivided ourselves enough? Haven't we hurt and killed each other enough over this? More than enough? Way too much? Don't the various groups of extremists see that they are guilty of the very thing they're accusing the other extremists of doing?

Never in my life have I wanted so much to stand on top of the world and shout "QUIT IT!" Why must they pick on each other so? It seriously breaks my heart as I watch people using 'love' to judge each other, to malign each other, to beat each other up, and even kill each other.

Please, God, make it stop. You started it. They twisted it. Please, God, make it stop.

Dangit, Xan. Where do you find these things?
I've spent time in, or at least driven through, the states in red. I didn't count the states I've only seen from the inside of an airport terminal.

create your own visited states map

Mom & Dad arrived Thursday afternoon and they're visiting through Sunday!! So, I'm away and enjoying my folks in real life. :)

I am fiscally conservative and socially liberal, almost in the extreme in both cases. Do whatever you want, so long as it doesn't cost me anything, or hurt me, and don't try to make me be like you. I want this acid test to apply to all, not just to protect my own resources, my own well-being, my own individuality, but to protect all individuals in the same way.

I've noticed a reinforcement of one major thing during this election schtuff: People who think the government should redistribute wealth more evenly... usually have nothing.

The Have-Nots are the Gimmees, while they claim the Haves are on the Take.
The Haves just want to keep what they have, because they usually had to work to get it.

It's rather annoying irony really.
I wonder what it would take to make a viable Libertarian Party, and if it could be done without becoming politically zealous like the other two parties? I fear that may just be how sausage is made and my whole point is... I don't want a truly free-thinking, tolerant philosophy ground into mush and shoved into a casing. Dayam.

And now watch as the quicksilver churns... by making a political comment:
Kerry's concession today is an example of my problem with him and his credibility, or lack thereof. He and his group have been adamantly preaching that they would fight til the last, they would wait until every vote was counted, no matter what. They did not. I really do appreciate that they did not repeat the turmoil of 2000, BUT, neither did they DO what they SAID they would do, what they promised they would do. It's not so much that they had a choice, but that they made a big promise, had no idea if they would keep it, or even need too. It was reiterated in the wee hours of the night, emphatically. Then, a 'nevermind' came along with the concession today. For me, this is a classic example of saying what they think we want to hear, without the conviction of following through, without thought about what it is they're really promising. This is not what I want from government officials.

On top of Kerry's record of flip-flopping on issues, of saying he supported This, but he voted That way... I must say his last action as a presidential candidate has verified for me that I made the right decision. I guess it's the old addage, the reason the incumbent usually wins... It's the devil you know, vs the devil you don't. It's hard for me to know much about someone whose actions and words do not mesh.

Whether I agree with all of Bush's policies and decisions or not, I do feel that he is credible, that he believes what he says and will act on what he believes. That's all I want from a politician. Say what you mean and act accordingly. Alas, it appears to be a rare quality. If you want my support, you have to win my trust first. To win that, you have to walk your talk.

I'd like to be apolitical. I'd like for the whole country and the world to be apolitical. I'd like for all the walls to come down. We built 'em, let's break 'em. There is no Us and Them, there's only Us -- everyone and everything and every no-thing... all together as one thing. It would be really nice if this fact was recognized and honored, if we treated ourselves (therefore all) with respect and honor. Sure would cut out a lot of the violence. Let's argue over how best to be good to ourselves and each other, eh? I know a lot of factions think they've been doing that already, sometimes to the point of death, but they're really promoting "What I/We think is good for You..." We need to find goals and methods that work for the greater good, and eventually include most, if not all.

Yeah, I know, I'm a blind idealist and infernal optimist. But hey, I can dream, can't I?

Let's move on. Let's move forward. Let's learn to live together, and live well.