Week of 23 Dec

Ah, I love the Dark Side of the Net. There was a time -- back when they had but a few links -- you could find my long since closed Aeon AL listed first on their Dark Shops page.

I'm not entirely sure what the author of What's Going On in Greece? Do riots in Athens portend demonstrations in Paris and Cincinnati? is really trying to impart, but it's clear to me that the unrest in Greece could -- & may very well -- just as easily happen here. And we all know how destructive Merkins can be.

Now, you're talkin'. Here's True Tao. While I practice Zen, it's all Tao to me. Hint: On the Zen site, go ahead & click the page to stop the incessant buzzing -- there's nothing in Zen which requires one sit staring at a Web page till one's Internet connection or power gets cut due to non-payment.

That's a Lehman Brothers meeting, according to Boston.Com's Big Picture in which they were all getting sacked. Sure, it's sad that even these folks lost their jobs, but if a lowly malcontent, with no connection to the economy other than to spend small amounts of my paltry wages, knew what was coming, they sure should have. No, I have no sympathy for the likes of these folks. While the government & corporations are ultimately to blame for the mess we're in, traders are a large contributing factor. I say no more stock market, no more credit. Let's all start from scratch.

Lawyer: "Can you describe what the person who attacked you looked like?"
Witness: "No. He was wearing a mask."
Lawyer: "What was he wearing under the mask?"
Witness: "Er...his face."
-Courtroom Quotations.

What difference, really, do you see between these pics, & these?

Of course, Wired Magazine may not be my favorite rag, nor does this article relate to any but the typical day person, or the insomniac, but they would have us believe there are only 3 Smart Things About Sleeping Late. I only get to sleep late in relation to the time I actually get to sleep. Nice that they point out: Night owls are more creative. Took 'em long enough to figure that one out.

I knew it. How else to explain the stupidity of humanity throughout history -- they were all high: Ancient Family Heirlooms Used to Snort Hallucinogens.

Sucker.

That's my eldest sister Seana. I've been reading her blog & learning all sorts of new things about her. Have some fun & look into the life of a sibling of the evil Angus...if for no other reason than to have a peek into the mind of one of greatest evil minds of our time. After all, she did give me my first VW.

Ever wonder what Boxing Day was really about? I see no reason it can't be practiced here in the US, now we're such good friends with Britain. Of course, if US employers aren't giving anything extra to employees during this time of year already, they'd surely be against instituting it here. "What? Give those ungratful thieves more? Ha!"

Found this entirely by accident. Some very interesting & diverse stuff here & lots of it fun historic British.

Check out the list of different foods, what they are, how to cook them, etc at Practically Edible.

Here's a puzzle: In an age when the adult populations of most industrialized nations have grown significantly taller, the average height of black women in the U.S. has been receding, beginning with those born in the late 1960s. Black women in the U.S. appear to be shrinking, data show. Of course, in another year or two, we're likely to see the same experts claiming the oppisite.

Did you know that if you rearrange the letters of the word "Desperation", you can produce "A Rope Ends It"? "Election Results" becomes "Lies -- Let's Recount. "Eleven Plus Two" is "Twelve Plus One". And, finally, in honor of my move next month: "Slot Machines" becomes "Cash Lost In Me". Good thing I'm not good at gambling, otherwise, I'd likely wind up not being able to pay my bills regularly after I get there.

You think you're cold now? Try the minus 90 degrees f of this place!

A Very Gonzo Xmas

I grew up in a time not so much, from my perspective, of upheaval, but rather of surreal contradiction. As most families were at pains to perpetuate the unreality of the 1950's while watching television programs depicting clean-cut, young people in what is termed "mod" clothing & calling them "hippies" contrasted with images of the brutal, larger-than-life genocide of the Vietnamese & Laotian people, as well -- as their very own sons -- for democracy & the American way of life. The Beaver would get in "little boy" trouble, as black people would riot in the streets, police officers would bludgeon curfew violators, & the national guard would shoot & kill innocent college students.

All the while, parents are telling their children that they can be whatever they want when they grow up. My parents did the same with me. I was confused by this. Not because I was -- to whatever degree -- aware of the contradictions going on all round me, but because I was a child. How, I wondered, can a child have the slightest clue as to what they want to do when their only conception of a career is what television told us was possible, our father's work made him spend little time with us & often too angry to be around when he was home, & mom was a homemaker? Everything was either glamorous, mundane, or dodgy. And I knew, even then, that whatever I was going to be when I grew up, it was not going to be on the "Prescribed List of Approved Professions" each of my parents kept.

From an early age -- despite my short-lived flirtations with the thoughts of fireman or policeman -- I was most attracted to the artists life-style. I had little vocabulary at the time & no idea how to actually write anything, but a part of me knew -- even the silly, little boy I was -- that I wanted to be a writer. The mere mention of this before one of my sisters had married one, would have drawn ridicule from my siblings & a quick veto from either of my parents. Though, I admit, my mother has always been much more liberal in her thinking, though her idea of a successful writer is one who publishes a best-seller & buys their mother a mansion.

Needless to say, I really had no idea what a hero was. Of course, I admired various artists throughout history, but to consider them a "hero" would prove to be quite a stretch. Besides, while I was aware of the writings, paintings, or whatever of these artists, I'd known painfully little of the lives of these artists. First, I think it was Shakespeare, then Hemingway, finally -- via a characterization -- it was Dr Gonzo himself, Hunter S Thompson.

I knew that Zonker Harris -- a character with whom I'd easily identified, at least, in mind -- & his Uncle Duke was Garry Trudeau's exaggeration of Thompson via the comic strip Doonesbury, but this was the closest thing to a hero I still feel I may ever find.

Being the malcontent, dissatisfied writer I have become, how could any more appropriate action be than to spend xmas morning watching the recently released documentary Gonzo: The Life & Work of Dr Hunter S Thompson? I feel, now having watched it, to know & even more admire, the man behind the Gonzo. A man who'd done what he wanted -- even when he was only selling free-lance articles for a $100.00 a pop to feed his family, to finally end his life as he'd often said he would. While I'm not so readily inclined to such heavy drug use or his love affair with loud guns, I do love turning a good phrase (if often so elaborate William Strunk would have failed me in a heart beat) & attacking the very things so many hold dear with derision, sarcasm & surrealism -- with down-right abandon.

It's clear that we have lost a great artist in Hunter S Thompson, but his influence on every would-be gonzo artist & true freedom-loving individual will not die. Not even if we beat it like a rented mule.

I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence, or insanity to anyone,
but they've always worked for me.
-Hunter S Thompson

Week of 15 Dec

This wonderfully sinister looking specimen, known to most as the Weeping Willow, was known to all the kids of the neighborhood of Napa where I'd spent some few years before moving to Tahoe, was the Kite Eating Tree. Of course, I'm not aware of the Charlie Brown connection beyond a vague memory of it's mention, & I don't think any of the kids I knew were either. But while I -- & probably others -- loved these trees, which were in front of a number of houses, & were all over along the Napa River & in a pasture through which it ran down the street from my house. With that love came a sense of sheer fright. These trees made very different sounds as wind past through them, & the leaves on them where so thick that none of us would ever climb them. We might never be seen again. I no longer fear these trees, but I miss them, as I see so few of them any longer. At least, none as large & old as those in my childhood.

Finally! An explanation of why, though I call it fascism, so few get me: Researchers at the University of NSW found that patients under the age of 65 suffering from frontotemporal dementia (FTD), the second most common form of dementia, cannot detect when someone is being sarcastic.

Hey, at least there's little chance of brain cancer....

Codex Gigas. A must see.


They're redesigning the site just now, but KickYouTube looks interesting enough to wait for.

Oh, yeah. That's me at the last costume party I'd attended. I won't tell you how drunk I got.

Why women hate men. I may be an exception -- or mutant -- because I'm not the least bit surprized. I wonder how any of us ever get laid. If I were a woman, there's absolutely no way I'd fall for the crap that comes out of our mouths whenever we attempt communication.

Over the course of my many years
genitally tangling with the female
species, I've learned there are
two things women never want men to
bring into the bedroom; sexual
insecurities or Scottish bagpipes.

[Damn, so much for those lessons.]

Nuns always have the best grass!

This is cool: Village of the Zapatistas.

Well, this certainly is a nice use of space in this location, but I doubt I'd be happy there. Besides, I just put a deposit down on a rental in an alley in Reno. Rachael, The Fabuloulsly Deranged Miss R, former tenent tells me that it's private, quiet, & could play her piano or stereo at 3.00am without complaint. I'll be in heaven, man!

Not exactly news, but he's said again: Hawking Predicts Discovery of Alien Life: But Asks, Will It be Carbon Based?

I'm sure you've seen this (larger size here), but check it out. I'm going to be living on the edge of that big dark area of the US surrounded by light as early as next month!

An intriguing, anecdotal finding was recently reported by some news outlets that the implementation of blue-colored streetlights has reduced both crime and suicides. Makes sense to me -- bright, white light always makes me cranky.

Perfect use of a 'puter.

Writers write. But what to do when we're not writing? Read blogs about writing, of course. 22 Blogs Every Writer Should Read.

Faces. Well, mostly faces.

I'd had a really nice animated gif of a hand signing "blow job" here, but Blogger, naturally, disables animated gif's. Creative types don't like restriction, you know?

The recent Greek riots interest me from the standpoint of the result of government mismanagement. Who are they working for if not us, & who do they think their fooling? But, back to the riots, I certainly don't condone what the protesters have done, but I fully appreciate their frustrations & the psychology behind them. Of course, world governments will never graps that riots & revolution are the direct result of thier actions of, by & for the rich. Too bad this kid had to die, he sure looked like a good kid to me.

I may have posted this image before, but it's worth repeating.

Nice set of links for Conspiracies and Mystery School Teachings, with a decent write-up of Aleister Crowley & the Golden Dawn, among other things.

Just found this site. New Mac users, like me, should check FreeMacWare.Com out.

Peanuts:

Oh, yeah! United States Death Map Revealed. Now, you too can determine just how likely it is that you'll die by natrual event from the comfort of your own home! (I prefre un-natural events, anyway.)

Oh, come on! WTF is this? Trend: Dead Take Cell Phones With Them. Just kill me, now. Oh, & be sure to bury me with my pen & notebook.

Whoo-hoo! My kinda site: Long Island Oddities.

Hey, you can't park there.

Week of 09 Dec

Whoo-hoo! Wanna mix sensations? Multiple Combinations: Cosmic Synergism.

I know you want some Jewish jokes. Hey, I didn't write them. Besides, they're not anti-Jewish, they're of & by Jews!

Nice. A Lifestyle Distinct: The Muxe of Mexico.

A little F Scott Fitzgerald biographic...?

And here, I thought we covered the whole iodized salt issue back in the 1960's. Is this really news to anyone...?

On the verge of creating synthetic life. Wait. You mean that the likes of Pam Anderson & Carmen Electra are genuine?!

Holy shit! So much for Niagara or even Angel Falls!

Haven't you always wanted a great, simple to read list of literary deaths?

Australians Urged To Eat Camels. Well, it's not like Australians ever made a mistake concerning wildlife in the past....

Snowflakes! As you've never seen them before.

There once was a lady....

Forty years ago this week: The first . And yes, we are doomed.

Ten things you may not know about sex. Of course, number 7 is tricky. I know that when I've a migraine or sinus headache when don't I?), I can't concentrate on what I'm doing -- sex or otherwise.

Coming quickly to terms of all expression laid,
As a moment regained and regarded both the
same,
Emotion revealed as the ocean maid,
A clearer future, morning, evening, nights
with you.

Here are 10 fascinating food facts, or so the author would have us believe.

I remember as a kid, grade school history classes covering the treatment of Native Americans. I didn't like what early Americans did to them, & like less how they're treated even today in our enlightened times. Sure, it might be better for them to integrate -- life for the Native American would certainly seem easier. But we're in a time when whole cultures are disappearing. I'm all for integration, but feel individuality & cultural differences should be protected & cherished. These images may make you as sad as they do me.

This now gone vegetarian restaurant reminds me of another vegetarian (Buddhist, I think) near W 99th St in Manhattan & likely also gone. A hippie-like girl I was dating insisted on taking me there -- I think she'd secretly wanted me to become vegetarian as well despite her often telling me I would eat whatever I wanted. Turned out the place had a fantastic curry soup. There are many more disappearing places, some in NYC, here.

Now, that's a winter tree.

Play with my monkey...?

Week of 2 Dec

I used to enjoy driving. Sure, in college, it took me two & a half hours to drive the twenty miles between home & school. But even when I drove for a living as a courier for a small record company all those years ago, I enjoyed my time behind the wheel. Most all the time I'd lived in NYC, I didn't have to do any driving till I got involved with a woman who didn't care that my license had expired. I didn't much like driving round Queens & Brooklyn, but I didn't hate it. Now is a whole new story. I've not had a valid license in some four or more years. I walk now, everywhere. So, who's idea was it we should have to spend so much of our lives here? Who's responsible? I want answers.

Just another gathering of politicians & Homeland Security.

Me in a suit. Want more?

I really can't tell if the author likes or dislikes Hitler -- despite the likelihood that he's Jewish (I should think very few Jews like or liked Hitler), &, admittedly, I did only skim the article, but Everything You Need To Know About Hitler's "Missing" Testicle seems an interesting read.

Now, that's technique!

Check out the Rock of Cashel. Nice.

The writings of Richard Feynman, among the greatest of physicists, Absence of Evidence, on the need of pharmaceuticals publishing of findings of everything -- not just those which will make a buck.

Raphael Lemkin: Polish Jew gave his life defining, fighting genocide.

The Autumn

Go, sit upon the lofty hill,
And turn your eyes around,
Where waving woods and waters wild
Do hymn an autumn sound.
The summer sun is faint on them --
The summer flowers depart --
Sit still -- as all transform'd to
stone,
Except your musing heart.
   
How there you sat in summer-time,
May yet be in your mind;
And how you heard the green woods
sing
Beneath the freshening wind.
Though the same wind now blows
around,
You would its blast recall;
For every breath that stirs the
trees,
Doth cause a leaf to fall.

Oh! like that wind, is all the
mirth
That flesh and dust impart:
We cannot bear its visitings,
When change is on the heart.
Gay words and jests may make us
smile,
When Sorrow is asleep;
But other things must make us
smile,
When Sorrow bids us weep!

The dearest hands that clasp our
hands, --
Their presence may be o'er;
The dearest voice that meets our
ear,
That tone may come no more!
Youth fades; and then, the joys
of youth,
Which once refresh'd our mind,
Shall come -- as, on those
sighing woods,
The chilling autumn wind.

Hear not the wind -- view not
the woods;
Look out o'er vale and hill-
In spring, the sky encircled
them --
The sky is round them still.
Come autumn's scathe -- come
winter's cold --
Come change -- and human fate!
Whatever prospect Heaven doth
bound,
Can ne'er be desolate.
-Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Ten mythical creatures people didn't think ever exited, ten Most Mysterious Creatures of Modern Times & elevin Mythical Places You Want To Live In.

Yeah! It's a vinyl revival. About time!

Heh. Mac "Security Threat" Evaporates in 24 Hours. Between the Linux I'd run for many years & now OS X at home, the only hassles I now have to worry about are crappy hardware I buy claiming to work with Macs but don't. Maybe one day, but not today.

Cool pic site with lots of pics that make me feel good.

Oh, a while back I'd suggested that if anyone saw a working Hasselblad 500C cheap to let me know, as I'd love to own one. But considering my dimming eyesight, perhaps a...

Canon Rebel XT, EOS 350D, would be in order. Besides, while I love working in black & white on film, I've really grown accustomed to manipulating light & color in a digital format. After all, xmas is coming....

Interesting article on the CIA influence over Hollywood movies.

This is Marie Doro, an actress, & was taken round the beginning of the last century. Wow!

Wow! I never knew. Sucked Into The Tunnels Beneath Las Vegas. Maybe the lovely & talented Heather could elaborate...?

No respect for the dead. Sheesh!

Fight Club: I Am Jack's Manic-Depression. Nice article, but the best bit is the "Condensed Fight Club" video a few paragraphs in.

Week of 25 Nov

Hmm.

Here's my past week: Threatening clouds, a little rain, but all is still as if waiting. I feel that something is just out of sight...something drawing near yet never quite arrives. I'm on the verge -- or, perhaps, the edge. As of a high cliff, my footing unsure.... An adventuer...? This may account -- to some degree -- for the sparse pickings this week.

Hope You Like Jamming, Too. I've got to get one of these.


Ever wonder what an anthill would look like when filled with cement & excavated? Check this out:

Ah, how I do miss the good old days of the Bastard Operator From Hell. Simon is missed.

23

23/6 -- Some of the news, most of the time. It would be considerably better if their damn ads didn't insist on refreshing the page & pulling the reader back to the top...in mid-sentence, though.

Week of 18 Nov

Vegas looks even nicer than I'd thought. Of course, the desert there is even more apealing to me than that round Reno. The Sanoran Desert has always been among my favorite deserts. Ah, well. Wait! Vegas even has a Chinatown. I never knew.... And the can't miss Atomic Testing Museum. Fun stuff!

I remember hearing about this in the late 90's. But we were worried that it was the evil M$ who was going to search all our hard drives for pirated M$ software. Turns out it's the future leaders of the world, China. M$ has other means at their disposal for mind & wallet control.

This looks like fun -- & another bookmark for me: The Last of the Wild Jews: Is it the end of an era for Jewish-American writing?

Duh. Great Pyramid Mystery to Be Solved by Hidden Room?

Top 10 Ways to Discover New Music. Of course, you could also just listen to KEXP, KUSF, WSOU, or any number of other stations at ShoutCast.

Nice! Free Old Time Radio Shows. Yeah, they're before even my time, but some aren't too bad.

You want to stop turning to pharmaceuticals too? Here's a site dedicated to Folk remedies. Ah, if only to settle down with a lovely bruja.

Fire, Water, Earth.
Passion, love & a binding.
Three by three I call -
Supernal Triad of Truth.

As Empress, I seek the power
to endure in the game of two.
As Priestess, I turn the two to one,
the one to none, & the none to a third.
As Goddess, I bring unimaginable joys -
certainty, not faith.

She conjures by day & night -
A cornucopic delight by the slightest turn
of white wrist.
Rose & White Oak, Mandrake & Bay, Orchid &
Mistletoe
mingled in the mortar of emerald
on a base of smoky quartz, adorned with rubies.
Muttering softly the name of her desire,
she rises in the dim light of the chamber.
Concentration held as she moves to the fire
to perform the consummation.
-AF

The things we find on the Interwebs: Got a question concerning Thelema? Why, turn to the Thelemapedia. Acceptance of the Law of Thelema not requisite. What is Thelema? What is the Law of Thelema? Between the Thelemapedia & Wikipedia, ye shall become enlightened. 93, all.

Oh, boy. Third-world here I come. Researchers Make New Electronics -- With A Twist.

Brain Reorganizes to Adjust for Loss of Vision. Oh! That's why I'm so much smarter now than when I had 20-20 vision....

Now, that's dedication!

And just when you thought it was safe to go back to Uganda: New species of Ebola found in Uganda.

Anyone hungry...?

All light up.

A growing body of evidence suggests
that smoking helps delay the progres-
sion of Parkinson's disease, and
potentially other cognitive diseases
as well. These are statistics that
rarely see the light of day; they are
hidden from the public by layers of
anti-smoking campaigns and health
warnings.
Nicotine: can it save your brain?

10 Sex Festivals Around The World. Anyone up for a road trip...? Hey, not all of these are about the money.

As appealing as Mexico is, the social requirements & niceties, all the formality & emphasis on status kinda bugs me. But things loosen up a bit further down. Have a look at the Latin & South America Expat site. I still like Chile. Let's get while the gettin's good.