Monday, January 31, 2011

Day 704 (Tidbits)

After the complex information from the previous (Day 705) post, it should come as a pleasant surprise that Blake has placed something creative and a little lighter for the Day 704 post on his THE 800 DAYS blog.

Oh, don't put away your thinking cap yet...
You're still going to need to think about what you read over on Blake's blog...

Here's a suggestion - make sure you read through the Day 704 post twice in this manner:
  • Right click and open to Blake's blog so you can see his text - WHILE - you play the Charlie Daniels Band vid posted below
  • Keep Blake's text open and read through while hearing an instrumental version of the Charlie Daniels Band tune in the appropriate you tube vid
Watch the following video, Charlie Daniels Band's "The Devil Went Down To Georgia"



2. Now Keep the lyrics open and watch the next video - instrumental version of the Charlie Daniels Band song... sing along if you're comfortable doing so... and sing BLAKE's "The Devil Loves California" lyrics in place of the C Daniels Band ones!!



Now, if you've watched the vids and read along with Blake's lyrics, you've probably had some fun! Hopefully you kept your thinking cap on while doing all this because there are some very interesting twists in Blake's lyrics.

Lines I like:

Honey milk and silver spoons, with guns and stripper bars
Because hells broke loose in Santa Cruz and evil here is art
If he wins he gonna skin your naked bones for gold
And if you loose California get your soul
I like the bit about "art" here!

Anyway, I hope you've enjoyed the content and media for Day 704 'cos I sure have!

The Day 704 post is associated with Sunday January 16 2011.

Sunday, January 30, 2011

Day 705 (Tidbits)

A Prominent message for the Day 705 entry on Blake Hall's THE 800 DAYS blog is clear, without question, and is presented in an image you can't miss at the beginning of the post:

"Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, to all the people you can, as long as you ever can."

The only thing I might at to that request is, "Do good to/for every creature and living thing that you can."

If you're thinking these words seem familiar, you're probably right - because they're a request/prescriptive from someone we've encountered on Blake's blog in several previous posts - EDEN SKY!

Rather than interpret Eden Sky's words, Blake has linked directly to Eden Sky's "Awakening Galactic Culture" blog, an interview/audio spot (on "Cosmic Love Radio" Topic: Sacred Essence of Time, etc) online where you can hear Eden Sky, herself, and a link to the 13moon website. We've seen the 13 Moon site before but here's your chance to make sure you bookmark the site if you had forgotten when the 13 Moon site was mentioned before:

13 Moon .com [leads to page on 13 Moon site housing several more Eden Sky interviews/audios]

The Cosmic Love Radio interview link (interview date, 2011/01/01) can also be found at the link above (as on Blake's Blog). If you go to the audio via Blake's THE 800 DAYS BLOG, just be aware that when you click the link over there, the mp3 file at that location will immediately prompt your media player (just in case you're worried about a pop-up happening). You may have to make sure your pop-up blocker is off... I have listened to the mp3 and used the link a couple of times and it has been a completely safe process through my system.

I'm listening to this particular interview RIGHT NOW - and I urge readers to pay CLOSE ATTENTION to the concepts of time here, as explained by Eden Sky. These concepts not entirely new to me (one of my favourite books EVER is called "Time Wars: The Primary Conflict in Human History" by Jeremy Rifkin) - however - there are so few people to discuss this content with who are even aware of the concepts that it's frustrating to even bring this topic up with people, as far as I am concerned. It would be wonderful if you return here and comment on the concepts from the Eden Sky/Cosmic Love Radio content!

I really like the quote Blake choose to end this Day 705 entry with. It acts as a meditational concept for me that is quite uplifting and empowering, "We are the Song of the Stars Remembering our Beauty and Purpose." (Eden Sky).

This quote reminds me of "Harmony of the Spheres," (originating from Pythagorian worldview. Pythagoras, who influenced Plato and Aristotle).

The Day 705 content is associated with Eden Sky, Cosmic Love Radio, the date Saturday January 15 2011.

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Day 706 (Tidbits)

After my brief review of Blake's Day 706 post on THE 800 DAYS BLOG, I'd like to offer an interpretation of a key concept found in the ANONYMOUS image at the top of the blog (where it says "Because none of us are as cruel as all of us.")

The first interesting thing in the Day 706 post, just below the ANONYMOUS image is a video called "The Hacker's Manifesto."

I found the transcript, so if you'd like to read along or have trouble seeing the text in the video images, here's where you can get the transcript:

Myth's Scribd copy: The Hacker's Manifesto/The Conscience of a Hacker (plain text)
This document is nothing fancy but it's got the words and is worth reading a few times even if you only view the video once!

Now, on to more of the article, beyond the vid...

Blake has offered up an article by PandaLabs Technical Director, Luis Corrons, about computer security trends, called "10 Leading Security Trends in 2011." Things in this article that are really explained well are:

  • Malware creation
  • Cyber war
  • Cyber-protests
  • Social Engineering
  • Windows7 influencing malware development
  • Cell phones
  • Tablets
  • Mac
  • HTML 5
  • Highly dynamic and cryptic threats

In the article, Corrons suggests that "Black Hat SEO" attacks are going to be something to watch and watch out for (mentioned under heading "Social Engineering") in 2011. Also, we really need to educate ourselves about plug-ins, media players and applications we use on everything from cell phones and iPod players to our home computers.

If you're interested in more information surrounding ANONYMOUS and related Cyber attacks, Blake has positioned links to some more informative articles at the close of the Day 706 post, right before a "Last Word" from Anonymous...

Lastly - some attention to the phrase, "Because none of us are as cruel as all of us." Well, I think this statement is about apathy and maybe even bystander effect. Bystander effect happens when action is needed by one or more persons in a group or public setting - usually an action to return safety or ensure personal safety to one or all - but nobody acts to do what needs to be done in the situation. Sometimes several people in a crowd of, say, TEN people believe that 4 or 5 others of the TEN know what to do and are more capable of handling the situation than they are. Perhaps some people are frozen, unable to think at all of what would be best to do in a situation... regardless, inaction ends up harming one or more of the crowd or community because NOBODY does anything at all.

In many instances, the situation may be a "Bullying" situation and if nobody acts to help someone being bullied, this can definitely make the statement "because none of us are as cruel as all of us" appear like an absolutely true statement. By contrast, in some "mob" situations, emotion - ANY emotion and ESPECIALLY powerful negative emotion can influence a group to perform harmful actions and violence as a group (called "Herd Behavior") that would never occur if each person in that group were to stand alone and be asked to perform the harmful or violent action alone. In this way, too, people as a group can be infinitely more cruel than each individual would ever imagine him or her self to be.

Sometimes, INACTION can be as harmful as ACTION... in most situations, "right action" is needed. Our actions are important and it's important that we think through what actions we take, that we sometimes act when nobody else seems to want to or be able to.

In the end... ANONYMOUS seems to have taken a form of action that nobody else feels able to... Is it possible that much of the world is locked in a confusing or debilitating, large-scale bystander effect position against government corruption and those perceived to have too much authority over "us" as a general humankind?

Whoops - need a longer sentence than that last one? lol

I think not.

:)

The Day 706 post is associated with Friday January 14 2011.

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Day 707 (Tidbits)

Hey, the content in Blake's Day 707 entry on his THE 800 DAYS weblog is a reminder of sorts designed to keep our minds returning to recent and current events. Blake has some things to say on "ANONYMOUS" and the 2010 December 9th and 10th CyberWar attacks... events we should be paying close attention to as THEY ARE OUT OF COMPLEX MOTIVATIONS, and are INITIATED by those who choose to hide from authorities and a general public while at the same time, managing to project ideas, messages on a grand scale. As well, ANONYMOUS is more temporal and abstract than all this... Anonymous is IDEAS...

Now this way of thinking about an entity of sorts who manages to actually perform widespread actions with technology - is different from anything we have ever had to think about before. Hello... life is advancing, we need to catch up - we need to wrap our heads around this stuff. It's far from traditional - ANONYMOUS is ideas of a people (could be anywhere, could be everywhere) who want liberation from corruption and unwarranted control over people and technology... Anonymous=good idea!

Blake also displays info in one of the easiest way for viewers/readers to understand... by Video. Many of us lead hurried lives with many tasks per day in them. Videos that are reasonably made cut out a lot of time for us sometimes, so I like that Blake constantly browses vid sites for pertinent informational videos as well as for artistic/musical creations and recordings.

The vids on Blake's Day 707 post are of short length - none longer than 9 minutes - and anyone at all should be able to fit these in during even a fairly hectic day.

Vid 1 - message from "Anonymous", Vid 2 - message for those who want to understand the Anonymous message and Cyber Attack events, Vid 3 - message for the media, Vid 4 - Anonymous to The Governments of the World.

In my opinion, the group and individuals involved as ANONYMOUS are serious individuals who need be respected... So far, the events initiated by ANONYMOUS have been of the "no harm to the bodies of persons" type. I feel it is best that things stay this way. Personally, I don't think the actions of ANONYMOUS are solely for the media and governments... the actions are just as much for the general public...

K, heads up here... Paying attention?

Good

ANONYMOUS has shown a non-violent way to SET BOUNDARIES between the public and the oppressive, corrupt powers that be.

That's it.

That's all I wanted to say and as brief an idea as I can project about how I interpret the Cyber Attacks of December 2010 and the group ANONYMOUS who intitiated and executed the attacks (wow, I used a "word of violence" in explaining this bodily non-violent stuff - "executed." Might want to come back to this later).

WATCH THE VIDS!!! (while you read along with the article underneath the vids). Watch the vids TWICE - read the article below the vids THRICE - how better to learn how to set boundaries, ourselves, than to take in one of the most powerful boundary "ACTS" and explanations of the actions of ANONYMOUS that there has ever been to date in the world?

The Day 707 post on The 800 Days blog is about ANONYMOUS and is associated with Thursday January 13 2011.

Day 708 (Tidbits)

Blake gets into some arcane literature and biographical details on Manly P. Hall - and since Blake does a nice job of the biographical details, I will refrain from adding to these.

I would, however, like to comment that the videos Blake selected for the Day 708 on his THE 800 DAYS blog are some of the most interesting to date within the content of The 800 Days Countdown Project. These are some of the clearest messages and powerful concepts yet expressed via video, and I hope that readers do listen to all the videos from the Day 708 post. I know sometimes people skim through the content to get the ghist of topics, intending to return to other media forms (audios/vids), but for this Day 708 post, I have to openly suggest that these videos not be skipped.

In the first video, there is a discussion on love, happiness, virtue, love as an experience of consciousness, placing something bigger than yourself into the foreground, and more. Also discussed, "what love is NOT."

"Democracy is a Fallacy" is a statement made in the 2nd video from the top...with such clear wording and explanation that anyone who chooses to believe otherwise is just nursing a need to "stay the same" and resist a better common sense.

Perhaps Manly P Hall and topics/works by Manly P Hall don't seem too closely related to Mayan Calendar countdown details but part of the point here is to engage people in CRITICAL THINKING about topics related to knowledge, philosophy, beliefs. Manly P Hall, during his lifetime, engaged consistently in difficult debates, topics, and studies - all related to learning, knowledge, society, "the self," philosophy, beliefs, science, mind, body, etc.

The third vid deals with "the mind" to a great degree and the speaker (Manly P. Hall) talks in very clear language to explain how we think what we think, mostly based on who offers to let us have information... ie: governments may be limiting our critical thinking (my conclusion based on Hall's given information) and selecting the information we receive in society so we can't use our minds to their full extent and purposes. If this isn't a wake up call TO THINK FOR OURSELVES, I don't know what is...

Blake's first words on the Day 708 post are "If you haven't heard of Manly P. Hall...then you really should have." I agree - how true, how true! Now to assist Blake in projecting info and the works of Manly P. Hall, I went and found the item (Secret Teachings) mentioned in the Day 708 post - to make it available to readers via my Scribd account.

Read for free: The Secret Teachings Of All Ages by Manly P. Hall

Inside are topics such as:
  • Pythagorean Mathematics
  • The Human Body in Symbolism
  • The Initiation of the Pyramid
  • Mystic Christianity
  • Bacon, Shakespeare, and the Rosicrucians
  • Freemasonic Symbolism
  • American Indian Symbolism
  • Flowers, Plants, Fruits, and Trees
  • The Tabernacle in the Wilderness
  • many, many more topics - these are less than half those in the book
If you've already read this book by Manly P. Hall, feel absolutely free to leave some comments about it here.

The Day 708 post is associated with WAKING UP YOUR CRITICAL THINKING, as well as the date Wednesday January 12 2011.

Monday, January 17, 2011

Day 709 (Tidbits)

It's all about TROY PALMER on Blake's blog for the day associated with 1:11:11! This is Troy's Birthday date in the year 2011, and TROY is a friend of Blake's, as well as a contributor in THE 800 DAYS effort to inform people about all things that might just WAKE US UP and awaken our consciousness before the Mayan Calendar ends December 21, 2012.

The Day 709 post on THE 800 DAYS blog explains Troy's involvement in The 800 DAYS (Countdown) Project as well as some tidbits on Blake and Troy's relationship - which is artsy AND MUSICAL...

Yes, you read that right... Blake and Troy play music together, discuss/perform and engage in the arts. Yep, our Blake is a poet, artist AND musician...

I have to say I am "WOW-ed out" by the r/l photos on Blake's post, and I admit I have to get him into an online chat to get some more details about his relationship with Troy and Blake's own additional "artsy" stuff before I comment much further about bands, Troy, Blake's musical interests and participation in the same (remember that I am in Canada, Blake's in the U.S.A., so we're working together at a distance...there are new things I am learning about Blake every day!)...

With that, I leave off so readers can go view some cool photos of Blake, Troy and friends/musical associates. In addition to this post, I'm also drafting more bio info on Troy to place on the "People" page since I just found out that Troy has been quite involved on Blake's end - with discussing content and such for The 800 Days Project! Look for the bio information to be placed on the PEOPLE tab above within a day or two...

The Day 709 post is about HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY TROY PALMER (next year, I won't be late with birthday wishes), and is associated with Tuesday January 11 2011.

P.S.
a confession: I am falling behind in posting as of Blake's Jan 11/Troy Palmer entry as I stalled off in writing this particular entry on the Follower blog - in the hopes that I could track Blake down for a little interview to discuss his admiration and respect for Mr. Palmer (prior to posting Bio info on the People page, as well)... however, on my end, I did not manage to get online at the appropriate times to text around with Blake -- MY BAD... Wrong choice in order of events... and I'm back on track, getting updated with bio info to follow...

myth~~

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Day 710 (Tidbits)

I want to bring two important statements to the forefront that are on the Day 791 entry because I feel they appear too far down on THE 800 DAYS blog. You have to scroll down really far to see them, so here they are at the top of my post:

"Art is a gift of freedom.
It illuminates all who let it in."

And with these concepts in mind, get ready to be shocked once you head over to Blake's blog because your perception of Hollywood, Hollywood Stars, even "Talent" will change (hopefully) once you've ingested Blake's content.

Now, because Blake more than touches upon controversial personalities and the subject of "sex in Hollywood" and the big, four letter "P" word (starts with a P ends with an N), I'm not going to repeat the content here - besides, Blake has an awesome way of dealing with language related to these topics that I don't want anyone to miss.

To review and report on the content, what I will say is - YOU MUST READ IT - and afterward, RECONSIDER what resides in you as current belief about "Stardom," preferences in movies, the "Arts." It is clear that Blake provides a message that much of (almost all of) what we view and experience out of HollyWood-dom is NOT ART!

We are selecting this stuff as a general public, too...

That's all I want to say (because I feel a welling up of a shout coming on that wants to project the name CHOMSKY and the words "MANUFACTURED CONSENT...but alas, this shout is not artistic in any way, nor informative and is likely going to show up SOON in a non-tidbit post).

The Day 710 post is VERY IMPORTANT because it gives hints on WHY we have garbage media, television, movies, etc., all around us and it also contains some shocking things you likely don't know yet about "Stars" from Hollywood that are less than model citizens in society. And, oh yes - the Day 710 entry is associated with Monday January 10 2011.

Day 711 (Tidbits)

Blake and Rothlyn are tryin' to kill my brain cells with computer jargon now... The Day 712 post was about computer "stuff" (notice, I don't have the computer tech lingo "down"?) and now, Day 711 content on Blake's THE 800 DAYS blog is a followup of sorts - on computer STUFF.

The question is asked: IS WINDOWS A VIRUS?

Okay, so the content is partly a joke - but read it through carefully over on THE 800 DAYS blog because Windows Operating System DOES perform in some ways that are similar to a computer virus. "Stuff" I am not too happy to learn (didn't I mention in an earlier post that I am going to attempt to learn Linux in the year 2011. If not... now I'm saying it - and, btw, sort of terrified about it).

There's a "Quick Method To Reset Parental Control" featured in the Day 711 content and it's offered in step by step fashion in less than 10 steps!

As well, Rothlyn Giles explains "Console Emulation" and I obviously have to read this information more than the once to get it because I LIKE POETRY versus computer jargon. I'm having some trouble seeing any metaphors in the content and, for me, this is a bummer but I realize that I should know more about computers than I do and that I don't play any cool games because I am afraid of console emulators and run away everytime I see words even faintly resembling the same.



I'm going now - to recover from reading computer jargon but I do realize the value of console emulators now. Actually, I'm going to an online dictionary site to find synonyms for the words used in the Day 711 article on Blake's blog - just so I can find some words that rhyme with console emulator and thus, I may find a couple of metaphors yet!

:)

The Day 711 post is associated with Sunday January 9 2011.

Day 712 (Tidbits)

Okay, Mythbuster is freaked right out about the content for day 712 over on Blake's blog. Apparently, I don't do proper computer maintenance and management and the awareness of this is stark, right in front of my face as I read the Day 712 entry over on THE 800 DAYS web log!

Blake is featuring content/tips from a friend, Rothlyn Giles, on proper cleaning up and maintenance of the home computer. There are 98 points featured - in great detail, might I add?

So... Mythbuster got to about point 3 before realizing it's been ages since I defragged (no 1 thing to do for maintenance with your home computer).

I feel like a dunce (look for this word in the glossary tab) since I am on this THING (PC) on a daily basis.

These instructions on PC Maintenance are for the Windows operating system and Giles is a programmer, so you can rest assured that the advice on computer care is coming from someone who knows computers literally inside and out!

Personally, I think having Rothlyn Giles on my Facebook is a good idea since I am sloppy, as yet, with my computer care, so I have already added R. Giles to my FB friends list. I decided NOT to wait 'til I feel like this:



...before making sure there's a great PC expert on my FB friends list!

Now off I go to defrag...

The Day 712 post on THE 800 DAYS blog is associated with being nice (and responsible) to your computer and the date, Saturday January 8 2011.

Monday, January 10, 2011

Day 713 (Tidbits)

More of Blake's poetry is featured in the Day 713 entry over on THE 800 DAYS BLOG.

The first two lines of the poem set the mood and state unquestionable truths to hold in the mind while navigating through the rest of the poem:

"Everything lives in motion
Everyone is lost in chaos"

In my interpretation, these lines state the obvious, present state of things. In the temporal world of the poem, readers are quickly plunged from a present-day statement and into the truths of the past, the first 12 lines dedicated to addressing our current state of being and our world right now - and after line twelve - the words seem designed to take us straight to the ancient Elders and deities...

"As...
The temples of the Elders hold the magic
The sun god he predicts the final days [...]"

The words directly relate to ancients at the same time as to these these blogs, the 800 DAYS (Countdown) Project, as well as honouring what is known about the ancients, the Mayan Calendar, Mayan culture, past and present bloody and spiritual sacrifices that have been and are inherent in our world... A nice fusing of past and present.

The poem is artistic - but is also so much more. A condensed history of the past is contained in the words.

Here's a warning for you all...

The poetry is beautiful, attractive - so look past the beauty and into the messages here - THINK! Think hard - look for the metaphors, stop at the ends of lines to pause and THINK about what is unfolding line by line...

...the events Blake voices so wonderfully in his poetic words - are about ancient events - murder, treachery, transgressions against humankind's spiritual considerations - by other human groups - all of this runs so very deep in the history of the existence of people...

Perhaps using poetry to tell truths such as the ones here is the only way to make our historical wrongs against humanity available to a wide-spread audience. We're conditioned to like pretty things, right?

Kudos to Blake for inserting reality, past, present and truths into his works and not giving us cute-sie bubblegum eye candy passages in his poems.

In my opinion, the most powerful lines of the poem:

"But by the hands of a man
We followed the ancient rituals
But had forgotten the ancient pride
We surrendered to the legions our cities of gold
And we left our cities of stone, and our temples in the sky"

Perhaps if we keep reading, keep thinking, keep searching and pay attention to how to use our whole mind in the next seven hundred odd days, we will be able to understand what the end of the Mayan Calendar means but moreso - simply how to be human and humane to each other within this time. If a more sizeable "end" is coming, aside from a piece of ancient technology stopping functionality on December 21 2012, I'm sure that what is going to happen next is going to require that humankind be wiser and more benevolent than right now...

A strange quirk of the human mind is that - when confronted with horrors, it copes sometimes - in ways which makes us worse human beings. ie: we see war, murder and death, then our mind copes in a strange way by dissociating - which makes us capable of witnessing and performing greater acts of horror...

The way out of this tendency is AWARENESS and HUMANE-NESS and if poetry doesn't bring you to awareness and if Blake's particular brand of poetry doesn't bring you to humane-ness, many of us are going to remain truly as lost and in as much chaos as Blake asserts in the beginning lines of this particular poem...

Again, the lines are:
"Everything lives in motion
Everyone is lost in chaos"

If we can overcome our dissociations, people can't rule us in markedly detrimental ways. We'll either dissociate and fall down in our inability to confront horror (this will stop us from acting in any way that is detrimental to another human or living species - nobody can die or be harmed by our hand this way) or our minds and bodies may find a better way to cope and stand aware against detriment to our human species.

We can start preparing our minds for mindfulness and benevolence - by learning...

Go read the poem and start navigating through the concept of understanding!


The Day 713 post is associated with Friday January 7 2011.

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Day 714 (Tidbits)

I'm pretty sure that nobody who has been reading tidbits on the blogs or has caught some of Blakes or my own articles outside of Blogger just prior to and up to January 2011 will have any excuse not to know how to get in touch with either Blake or myself - especially after reading Day 714 text over on THE 800 DAYS blog.

This is because Blake has posted an article (with full permissions) that I have had up on another social site for about (at least) a month now. There are links provided for our Twitter addy contacts and other most common social sites where you can hook up with either Blake or myself and chit-chat about Mayan Calendar tidbits, Conspiracy Theories, Religion and Spirituality, Doomsday Theories, New Age theories, Cults, Social Commentary, etc - let us know anything we're missing that you'd like to see covered as a topic within the very large scope of Blake's 800 Day Countdown.

The Day 714 entry on The 800 Days Blog is associated with Thursday January 6 2011.

Day 715 (Tidbits)

Full instructions for following and supporting The 800 Days Countdown are on the Day 715 entry on Blake Hall's THE 800 DAYS weblog.

I'll be checking in soon with Blake to find out details about the video/song posted on Day 715. I'm totally unfamiliar with the artist and song but found it an attractive vid and interesting bit of lyrics.

Seriously - that's all for today as the post on The 800 Days blog says it all - simple instructions for those who wish to follow along for the next 700+ days to see what happens when the Mayan Calendar counts all the way to December 21 2012.

The Day 715 entry is associated with Wednesday January 5 2011.

Friday, January 7, 2011

Day 716 (Tidbits)

I don't know about other readers, but I like the music vids that Blake posts. Sometimes I wonder how much he sits and listens to the various artists like have been featured in posts thus far but since I'm in Canada and he's in America, I think it's kind of cool to imagine getting to know Blake just a little bit across the distance by catching on to the music he selects and listens to.

I'm pretty geeky and have my head in books and online texts quite a bit - so much so that I forget to turn on the radio these days lol Needless to say, I'm pretty out of touch with what anyone is listening to. Catching an earful of music from the the vids Blake posts seems to be allowing me to get in touch with the fact that all my music is out of date and people aren't still listening to the tunes I have favoured over the past while.

I'll catch up with musical tastes... maybe. I'll keep listening and try to, anyway. I like the "Lovesick Teenagers" tune featured on Blake's Day 716 entry over on THE 800 DAYS blog.

As far as the content on the most recent post, Blake has reminded people about some suggestions I made a while back for people who would like to support and follow the efforts being made to inform people on various topics via THE 800 DAYS blog and this "Follower" blog. Although I get feedback from time to time on various social networking sites and know that quite a few people are reading and supporting these efforts, I still think a lot of people generally read this content and then are shy about responding. Hopefully, the Day 716 post will prompt people to jump into discussions and we can start sharing info, opinions, sometimes laughs... occassionally some cathartic moments of sadness that are best shared, too, from time to time.

Anyway - if you just started reading from these blogs and want to know what the heck everything is about, want to know how to follow the content, the entire 800 Days Countdown and such, head over to Blake's blog and see what's there - including why on Earth we started doing this in the first place!

The Day 716 entry is associated with Tuesday January 4 2010.

Day 717 (Tidbits)

We're off.........

To see the Wizard...



The Wonderful Wizard of Oz - We hear he is a wiz of a wiz
If Ever a Wiz There Was...

Frank L. Baum wrote a very different version of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz than what people are accustomed to, or have gotten used to, according to the film, Wizard of Oz. You know - the one with Judy Garland as Dorothy? Well - when the movie version was adapted from Baum's book, the movie writers, producers and others involved with the film managed to take away most of the political leanings originally embedded into the story by Baum.

The original story is very much about commerce, believe it or not - and on Blake's THE 800 DAYS BLOG, for the Day 717 entry, Blake has placed a really interesting video on this whole topic. The video is called "The Secret of Oz," and it's not just some little mishmash of historical clips, heresay and opinion. The makers of this vid have produced a full length documentary-movie that goes step by step through tidbits in history of the Western commerce system, primarily American economy - ie: the times when America was being settled, "founded," through alleged liberation from Britain, etc., with a focus on the economic system, currency and laws governing currency that was/were - AND IS/ARE - in the Western/North American realms.

The Secret of Oz film runs an hour and fifty minutes in length and isn't for the faint of heart. After watching, I've been prompted to go into excerpts of Baum's original work to see more on what Hollywood movie makers left out. It seems Baum was very in-tune to politics and such in his day - and there are countless symbolic bits inserted in his books that I think might have been best displayed to a general public all along and especially today. I say this because these bits are IMPORTANT events, truths, that - if they were known by all - would cause people to think about their role in society and country very differently than they do now. There are truthful insights as to how large political entities and authorities undermined a general public ever since the founding of America, Canada, etc that Baum was placing in literature for all to see. These are quite absent in the Hollywood film version of Wizard of Oz.

For viewing over at the 800 Days blog, I strongly suggest that you bookmark the Day 717 post, prepare some snacks and set aside time for viewing this The Secret of Oz video. It will be time well spent, in my humble opinion! Although you're not likely to get a feelgood kick from the documentary vid like you might from the Hollywood version, Wizard of Oz, I'm sure that if you watch and listen actively, you'll come away from this vid presentation with something of great value...

The Day 717 entry is associated with Monday January 3 2011.

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Time Crunch

Well, I just got caught up with Blake around New Years Day and as I look over to Blake's THE 800 DAYS blog, I am viewing vids, very little text... So I am assuming Blake has hit up with a Time Crunch of some sort.

Hey, January is heck for many people: A New Year, new plans, wrapping up on old plans and often - for most people - tons of paperwork and biz-type tidbits from the year just passed...

I'm hitting the same sort of time crunch stuff but ploughing through said duties so as to get back on track and dedicate time to the blogs.

I'm sure many people can relate, so - please - just have a bit of patience as the beginning of 2011 gets on a roll, eh?

In the event that Blake is tied up for a few more days, I'm traipsing through "uck" duties today so that my evenings can be spent supplementing what Blake has posted over on his blog. Look for some additions in the Glossary, an added tab and posts on "Practices" such as meditations, smudging, prayers, over the next week. There have been a number of posts since October on different religions and belief systems, so it seems if people want to know more, a "practices" section on the blog might be a helpful addition.

Let me know if you have a ritual, prayer or meditation technique to share.

We'll soon be out of this time crunch...thx for understanding.

Monday, January 3, 2011

Day 718 (Tidbits)

On the second day of a brand new year, there are continued messages from yesterday - wisdom from the (Native) elders - being presented for the Day 718 entry on THE 800 DAYS blog.

To help readers get into the right mind-set for listening to the Elders, Blake has positioned an appropriate vid in the top-most position on the blog post. This first vid is cool. The music starts heavy on the Native drum beat and chanting but transitions quickly to including modern drums while also adding flute/pipes. Have a listen and get into the right spirit for listening to the Elders in the videos which follow...

In the "part 4" video, the female Elder starts off with the topic of "Individual Missions." In short - each individual has a "mission" as they come to exist on the earth. The Elder clarifies that this mission isn't something gain by searching for it - but rather - it becomes known to us.

In the "part 5" vid, the male Elder speaks about mandates and responsibilities that each human being has on this Earth. For anyone who thinks that Native spirituality is about silly mythology of uncivilized people and such, they should really listen to the very heavy responsibilities this Native Elder speaks about - and realize that the accountability most Natives feel toward fellow humans and all living beings - including to the elements, Earth and everything, really - is anything but silly or uncivilized. Natives have a very intricately developed, complex and quite rational explanation for why we should all respect all living things.

The "part 6" video shows Natives honouring both old and new beliefs and organizational activities. Natives are attempting to sort through what modern governments are doing and are trying to incorporate acceptible government policies and blend into society in reasonable ways - but without losing key components of their culture. The speaker here is Ojibway, speaking of this group's doings and needs, but to my knowledge, most Peoples are attempting to heal from the abuses of the past and combine cultures in the best way. It is possible that many non-Natives do not realize what an undertaking this attempt at peaceable combining of cultures is...for Peoples who have been severely oppressed and damaged to the point of losing some parts of their culture as unrecoverable.

I hope people will respect the content in the videos Blake has selected for the Day 718 entry on THE 800 DAYS blog and I personally still feel that the Native messages are a fantastic way to begin the New Year with!

The Day 718 post is associated with Sunday January 2 2011.

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Day 719 (Tidbits)

YAY... I'm so happy that Blake is starting off the first post of the year with content about Native Americans!

Check out Day 719 on the THE 800 DAYS BLOG!

A couple of posts back, I'm sure I mentioned I am part Cree. For me, this means a lot of confusion and struggling to find people who know about the Cree elders, about Cree culture.

Sadly, Cree individuals - right now, right as I type - are being absorbed into primarily Blackfoot culture in my region and across many areas of North America. This means a blending of some cultural things between Cree and Blackfoot but also means that Cree will adopt more Blackfoot ways than Cree ways they can salvage.

I have only listened to "Rowena's Theme" - the vid posted at the beginning of the blog post. I've viewed the titles of the videos (messages from Native elders) which follow and on this day of new beginnings, and because the cultural topic is close to my heart, I'm going to post my blog entry without reviewing all videos before I end my post. Then I will smuge before continuing on to hear the Elders' messages...I have been listening to Rowena's Theme to settle my heart and mind into what I intend for the next half hour or so.

I will smudge and speak to All My Relations and ask the (1) ancient ones (the first peoples who passed away long ago), (2) the old ones (who passed away very long ago), (3) the relatives just departed (recently deceased), (4) spirits of current natives/elders (living, not necessarily family relatives but related by culture and beliefs and humanity), (5) my children (my son, and the current children of humanity alive today), (6) my children's children (children this generation has yet to bring forth in the world), (7) and my grandchildren's children (my children's children, yet to be born, as well) for wisdom, understanding, spiritual guidance - Seven (yes, 7) generations of permissions and guidance as I begin interacting with and reflecting on humanity in this brand new year.



If you would like to do the same, I invite you to smudge or pray to the deity of your culture or choice and participate in a ritual to acknowledge the beginning of the Year 2011 and the wisdom and humanity of those who came before you, are with us presently and those who will follow after us.

I may not return here to comment later on the content of the vids (I may feel the words therein are sacred or have meaning I wish to interpret on my own and leave readers to interpret as they see fit, since it is the elders speaking in the vids), but will soon post the vids at the vid/audio tab location with the other media clips on this blog.

Welcome to this New Year in 2011!

Hie hie !

Day 719 is associated with New Years Day and Saturday January 1 2011.

Day 720 (Tidbits)

Well half or most of the world is busy on New Years Eve, aren't they? I think this could be why the post over on THE 800 DAYS BLOG for the Day 720 entry is super short and sweet!

I'm okay with this as I really enjoyed the near to 5 minute U2 band song that Blake chose to embed in the post!  Apt tune and title, "New Years Day" by U2 - a song from the 80's - just my age!

I'll keep my post pretty short, too! I'll just offer a few quotes I like:

"Nothing is worth more than this day."
~~Goethe.

(Stunned by this one, actually - it's great) " Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clean. It's perfect when it arrives and it puts itself in our hands. It hopes we've learned something from yesterday."
~~John Wayne.

"People are so worried about what they eat between Christmas and the New Year, but they really should be worried about what they eat between the New Year and Christmas!”
~~unknown - could not find the source.



So I hope you've enjoyed the posts so far in the two plus months since the 800 Days Countdown started. Future posts will be in the New Year of 2011 and Blake and I have both resolved to get more organized with posting and also with honouring more celebratory days and events - even if these our outside our particular and respective cultural norms.


Have a safe and HAPPY NEW YEAR - see you in 2011!

The Day 720 post is associated with New Year's Eve and Friday December 31 2010.

Day 721 (Tidbits)

Day 721 is alternately titled, "WWRJD?" (What Would Rick James Do?) lol I wanted an excuse to type that out, myself - so I just did!

There are some interesting tidbits that Blake has posted on Day 721 of his THE 800 DAYS blog. These are details about Google and IBM... thinkin' we should all keep an eye out for what is happening between those two computer industry GIANTS...

(Remember, I already said I'm going to switch to LINUX in 2011? Maybe what Google and IBM - and Apple and HP and Microsoft and a bunch of other GIANTS do won't be much of an issue for me)

Go-go-gadget-Linux!

Anyway - there are two very neat-o vids on the Day 721 post. The shows the BEST images of wolves and a tune I don't know the name to - but I'll get the vid transfered onto the Vid/Audio tab and double check the artist name and other details. I've hit "play" a couple of times already...

Some statements in the song with the vid of wolves are things I can identify with, like:

"I like to make myself believe
That planet earth turns slow-ly"
It's hard to say that I'd rather
Stay awake when I'm asleep
'cos everything is never as it seems [...]"

Hey - the lyrics are shown in the vid, btw... Nice.

The second video, I think it amazing in a way because it shows homeless people as real human beings. It's not a collection of clips of brown-bag-booze-bums and shyt like so many homelessness awareness commercials show. Of course, the vid is scripted to a certain extent but I love that the first images are of children with signs saying things like, "I am family" and "I am your son." I like that the children are featured later in the vid with signs like "I am thirsty/hungry," too.

Now don't take this the wrong way - but the image of children associated with homeless people is VERY APT, in my experience. In the same way that children require more capable people to care for them, so do homeless people require care and consideration. They have become homeless for a number of reasons - all of them - not just for a sole reason or from one or two factors in their lives getting out of control.

HOMELESSNESS IS A TRAUMA!

If the average person were forced to just become homeless for JUST ONE DAY as a test of some sort, the average person would have at least a minimally traumatizing experience (I do foot tours and take people around my city to role-play homelessness so they know how it feels. Most of my clients require a lot of stops, breaks and ask a lot of questions - they cry, feel guilty, feel oppressed, suffer identity glitches - even if my foot tour lasts only 1-2 hours)...

TRAUMATIZED PEOPLE REQUIRE UNCONDITIONAL RESOURCES AND SUPPORT
- not prejudice thrown at them and not suggestions about what faults they have that got them into homelessness. Also, throwing a traumatized person into jobs, housing, etc. too quickly or without the right supports means setting them up for pressure and failure. Being placed into a house (without the right supports) doesn't take care of the issue of trauma and the need for healing that happens if a person is homeless for more than TWO WEEKS!

It is even mortifying for some/most people to avoid homelessness by staying on a friends' couch for even as short a time as ONE WEEK... and if you've ever even stayed with relatives for a vacaion period in a home not your own, you've likely experiences some discomforts and disorientation doing something famaily oriented - so just keep stuff like this in mind, if you can, throughout 2011. As Blake mentions in his post, "Home is not something to be taken for granted...even if you have one."

If you're currently housed, I sure hope you can stay that way throughout the entirety of this New Year 2011. If you're currently housed and have extra things of any kind - even it its just extra time to go hug someone less fortunate than yourself - please share what you have that you don't need and refrain from hoarding resources of any kind... A smile is an awesome resources that everyone can give away for FREE.

The 800 Days blog also has a backtrack meant for a few days ago about Kwanzaa Traditions, which are Pagan celebrations related to the abundance of the last seasons' crops. I think this article is really a good end to a post with homelessness content on it because it's about celebrating over and sharing what you've got currently in your possession...and in Kwanzaa traditions, no discriminations are present over one person having a little less of a crop than another.

The Day 721 entry on THE 800 DAYS blog is associated with Thursday December 30 2010.

Day 722 (Tidbits)

Today is a good day for action! Especially if you're a writer - particularly one who writes and publishes ONLINE! Blake has listed a whole JACKPOT collection of online writing resources on THE 800 DAYS BLOG for the Day 722 web log entry!

But first, I want to restate some powerful commands that are contained in an word-image Blake has posted - just because I am sorta bossy and all...
Mrowl!

Here are the statements (they look cool, by the way, in the image over on the 800 DAYS blog):

Worry Less
Smile More
Accept Criticism [this hurts a li'l sometimes but it's GOOD FOR YOU!]
Take Responsiblity [also hurts a li'l but is also good for you]
Listen & Love
Don't Hate
Embrace Change [hurts me a li'l - probably fine for everyone else lol]
FEEL GOOD ANYWAY!

GOT IT?
This bossy moment has been brought to you by Mythbuster2009, sometimes called Mythy, MB, or - Hey U!

I am now laughing about the fact that Blake uses the word "Secret" in the first line of his Day 722 post 'cos, well... secret's OUT NOW!

Basically, what I see in those links - in part, anyway - are some awesome content and learning resources for people who write about certain topics online. I'm not sure people who write about celebrity gossip or technical computer or internet stuff will find most of the links useful but I, FOR ONE - use the said links to learn a whole lot about things I don't know yet. Luckily, I will never be bored now that I have these links at my disposal because,

1. The links are awesome
2. I find out how much I don't know by visiting those links and finding way cool information at those links.

Thank goodness I have a lot to learn yet about life, in general.

Heck - 'bout the only think I'm an expert in is... how to tell Springheel Jack stories or how to take apart an urban legend (while very cool things to know about - not exactly the most common or popular conversation starters lol ie: "Hey - what do you think of ol' Springhell Jack? Think he was an alien or what?").

Now, Blake let me in on some of these secret links a little while before this Day 722 came out - however, I was so busy tryin' to catch up with reviewing Blake's content, I didn't actually use all the links yet! Once I'm caught up (which should be in a matter of hours, 8-48h), I'm going to hit those links HARD and check out everything Blake uses for writing tools online.

Fave sites I have checked out:

Linux .com site! (I'm going to switch over to Linux in 2011 It's my main New Years' Resolution and project beyond keeping up with The 800 Days Project!)
Cthulhu .com - 'cos I need to learn more about the ancients
Ross Walker's Alternatives to Adsense (it's good to diversify with revenue sites and I am learning how to with tips from Blake and others who are more experienced with online publishing)
Cryptome .org - interviews, research, reports galore - on things that generally don't get mainstream media spots!

Anyway, shoot! Now that I went to the Cryptome site again, I just spotted about 9 articles I JUST HAVE TO READ... I gotta go...

The Day 722 post is associated with Wednesday December 29 2010.

Day 723 (Tidbits)

Okay, so now there could be problems...

After reading the Day 723 content over on THE 800 DAYS BLOG, I find I actually disagree with the words... what's worse is, I haven't much of a leg to stand on because I'm arguing with poetry lol.

Damn, why does Blake have to write so much darned poetry all the time?

(I'll get back to this later - soon)

I do not, however, disagree with two versions (2 vids, different versions of the same tune) of Stairway To Heaven presented on the entry! WAAAAY COOL - the 2nd offering is with "Gregorian" vocalists! Nice.

Okay back to the disagreement stuff. Warning: I won't "win" this argument, it's not possible.

1. Poetry (according to mythbuster and not less than a few hundred THOUSAND others who study poetry) expression is more powerful and lasting than my argument can be, partly because it is a form for expression and, well, things must be expressed freely in order to facilitate commucation, messages, understanding and SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS... the poet, of course, begins the interaction and, as such, has the most rights in a disagreement. Besides after both the poet and dissenter are gone, the poetry still stands 'cos it was sent out into the world.

My interpretation (the reader) and reaction to the words/mood is always in relation to the first standing words... Poetry and words of the poet have the right to exist more than I have the ability to solidly disagree with the words.

Added point: the only right and priviledge that I have that the poet may NOT take away from me is - my interpretation of the work. The poet loses the right to be perfectly understood as soon as he/she issues the words, in any form (Michel Foucault's theories on poetry/language and social interactions, which I adhere to). A poet may only say what he/she intended but must not interfere with how another mind interprets... Fortunately for Blake, unfortunately for me, the poem says what it says.

Still, there is always truth in poetry...which trumps my reaction to it AND my opinion of it will always be a side-effect of the poetry while the poetry is what it is...

I've been asked a question for the past 5 years and received the same accompanying comments along with the question: Why don't you write more poetry? Your prose is often poetic, so why not just write poetry?
Answer: (short) cos' I'm a control freak lol !!!
Long answer - I want my words interpreted how I mean them and, although I love poetry, study it, use it, I am intimidated by both the power of it and the fact that once I issue it forth, it is not mine anymore. With this in mind, I'll have to say that Blake is braver and more open than I, I suppose... I am, however, still learning to interact with poetry in a more open way... I believe that once I gain clarity in my writings and am satisfied with this aspect in writing, I will feel more comfortable writing poetry and not feel I have to have so much control).

Now where was I?

Ohyeah - the exact issue of disagreement

2. What the words say to me:

"to never apologize for the burning of books." This hits a raw nerve with me as I am a collector of words (narrative, urban legends, witnessing/accounts of abuse and distress (as a mentor), Native story circles, etc) and I am part Native (Cree). Words are sacred to me (as they are, too - obviously - with Blake). The nerve part is probably that I am part Cree and understand a great deal about entire cultural references - including words - that have been obliterated, unrecoverable - from Cree culture and other Natives.

I'm probably having a hissy fit over just that one line - in fact it is just that one line that I abhor!

PROOF of the power of poetry.

I just wanted to stop and make the hissy fit as an explanation of the power of poetry because I feel that poetry is so often misunderstood as an art, as a vehicle for important statements, as a political vehicle for expression of ideas and emotions, and more. Poetry is so much more powerful and sacred than the average person knows or learns...in fact, "The Arts" are often (ie: book burning) attacked due to peoples' fear of their power.

I'm done my hissy fit and almost done my rant and will now jump over that one line that stirred so much (dare I say) aggression, discomfort and disagreement for me.

The poem, Burning Books , link supplied so you can have a look.

I do understand that the narrator of Blake's poem - whether that is intended to be Blake himself or the anonymous, unknown voice of the poem's speaker - is providing a possible viewpoint that says something like, "you likely couldn't read all those books that were burned, anyway" and "many were filled with lies, anyway" and those are also true statements...

However, in my experience, the act of burning books is a violation against humanity - not just the group/author of the books whose books are burned. It eliminates a fundamental human process - that of the experience of critical thinking and decision-making about what is or is not truth. The violation is an opportunity violently stolen away from every generation, past, present and future...with no opportunity of negotiation on this act. A book burned eliminates the past, robs the present generation of a truth or non-truth which must be sorted through, and obviously robs the future generations of the truth and non-truth, as well.

Strangely enough, this post has been a little exercise in working through the emotions that poetry stirs up and I find that writing it all out has provided a release for the original disagreement/anger-reaction I first had many moments ago...

I knew this would be an exercise as I began reviewing the Day 723 post - and whether this looks strange to most or not, I hope this writing shows the power of poetry. In the end, right about now... by having addressed the issue I had with the content (even just one line) this process has had a cathartic effect on me (Aristotle said this catharsis brought about via the arts is of tantamount importance to human beings, relationships, community, etc) and I am accepting of even the problematic line as I near the close of this post.

Originally, in my anger, I wished to bolt from the computer - come back and finish posting later. I felt this would not have been an honest action, nor helpful (conflict is difficult for me to deal with, particularly cerebral dissonance... I couldn't sit with liking Blake but, originally, hating one line of text that came from Blake) in my daily routine today - So I resolved to work through this problem.

How do ya like me now? Hissyfit and all?

As you might have guessed - the problem was never a "wrong" in the poetry - it was within my triggers, belief system, within myself - but the presence of poetry can be cathartic, mind-opening (my anger closed my mind and shut down critical thinking at the start of this post)...and extremely valuable and therapeutic for people - IF - they run through the entire process of running through the arguments on why they feel the way they do instead of bolting (like I felt like doing, initially).

The Day 723 post has been a cool exercise in humility, brought to you by the funny monkey above and is associated with The 800 Day blog and the date of Tuesday December 28 2010.

Day 724 (Tidbits)

Hey, be sure to read the Day 724 entry on Blake Hall's THE 800 DAYS blog right to the end, okay? There's an important message placed last on the post!

First a definition - so you'll understand the dedication of the poems Blake presents on Day 724...

TRIPTICH/Triptych:
  • art consisting of a painting on three panels - often an altarpiece with three panels hinged together
  • anything in three parts or leaves
  • a writing tablet in 3 parts, whereby 2 parts fold over the center/middle section

Hence, the poems, dedicated to Blake's friend Magnoliazz, are a set of three!

Now, since poems take a lot out of me (emotional connections) and I explicated a portion of poetry in the last post, I'm just going to chill today and let readers go interpret the Triptych pieces dedicated to Magnoliazz themselves. Once I am caught up with Blake to within a day or two behind his posts, I will definitely be delving back into all the poetry I missed commenting on...

A few tips before I go:

Triptych pieces are best read SLOWLY

       S     L     O     W     L     Y

Set aside time to break in between poems - however - not a break where you jump up, go grab a drink or lunch, do an errand, then come back to read the other pieces...

A break whereby you stop reading, let the first poem settle in, derive some meaning from it - then take a few breaths and prepare to shift perception for the next piece. There may or may not be (usually but not always) two neat segues, however, poems intended as triptychs will definitely connect as a whole once all three parts are read. Often one of the pieces within a triptych will not even be from the same narrator point of view, and the little break - two times - between content sets helps your mind stay very functional if there are extreme changes in points of view between poems.

Just thought I'd add some quick tips 'cos some people see a "set" of poems and get a bit intimidated by more than one poem at once...

The TRIPTICH poetry on Day 724 is associated with Monday December 27 2010.