Follower Reader Appreciation

Almost all of my posts on this blog to date have been attempts to keep up with The Blue Magnetic Storm 's many articles and posts at THE 800 DAYS blog. Blake's 13 Moon Astrological Identity/Association is Blue Magnetic Storm, in case you're wondering.

I just wanted to take some time to post a "Reader Appreciation" article because I know that some friends are reading, even if they haven't been posting comments directly at this blog here. I've gotten comments at my Facebook page that let me know that people are reading.

In return, I'd like to tell people about a few articles I think are related to thinking critically, are about tough topics, or about sharing the experience of being human - such as...

•  Lorlie6 's Article: Suicidal Soldiers

What is great about Lorlie6's article is that she puts the HUMAN back into the soldier experience topic she's writing on. At least that seems what is attempted. I don't know that anyone can ever make a really healthy "human experience" out of being any kind of soldier, but Lorlie's viewpoint is that soldiers need to be treated humanely. She talks about a certain humiliation tactic that has been used on US soldiers when they are not mentally or emotionally coping with their job as a soldier very well. This "tough love" tactic is to put a highly visible vest on soldiers considered "unstable" and SUICIDAL, bringing further attention to their delicate state of mind. Anyway, visit the article to see what sound arguments Lorlie6 gives AGAINST this CRUEL treatment of soldiers!

• kimberlyslyrics' very personal offering: He Was My First, I Was His Last

I won't spend much time at all "reviewing" kimberlyslyrics' personal offering because, honestly, I can't do so without becoming overly emotional. Get the kleenex out and fall into the human experience of crying over a very personal story about young love, young misfortune and the difficulty of healing in response to the death of a soulmate... (R.I.P. Darren). This is such a delicate topic, I feel I should keep the details where they belong... at kimberlyslyrics own page, in her own words... I merely suggest that you do pay attention to this one special article if you really want to come into touch with feelings and humanity today.

• dreamreachout's beautiful photos and article: Long Oiled Hair

dreamreachout is from India and when I browsed dreamreachout's hubs at a certain website, I was struck with the beautiful pictures that accompany a particular article about "long oiled hair." Since the oiling of hair in my area of the world isn't a common practice, I felt compelled to actually ask a hairdresser about this. I actually have very long hair - a giant mohawk lol. And now, for the past 5 months, I have a hairdresser who keeps my mohawk in great shape and who also pretty much insists on oiling/conditioning my hair...so I thank dreamreachout for some information and wonderful, beautiful photos - and also, a peek into how a different culture than my own practice certain grooming techniques.

• Pacal Votan (2012 info blog), a new online acquaintance whose blogs/sites are just awesome! ie: Project MMXII (2012).

Here's something that will freak a few of you right out... most of Pacal Votan's articles are only accessible with a bit of creative thinking and action... I loved the looks of Pacal Votan's sites/blogs so much I said, "To heck with this...I don't care WHAT language these are in...I'm going to get reading them!" No...no, I didn't start learning a different language - I boot on over to translators online in order to figure out what Pacal Votan is posting. TRUST ME - it is WORTH every additional translator page I have to open and wait to load....awesome viewpoints, information and links to many philosophical, scientific and spiritual wonders are available from Pacal Votan's blogs/sites.

To summarize... thanks in particular to Lorlie6, kimberlyslyrics, dreamreachout and Pacal Votan for just being online and for sharing the written words, pictures and human experiences with people online...and thanks to any who are reading!

Stay Well!

IAOTIO!

Myth~~

Day 766 (Tidbits)

I really have enjoyed the Day 766 post on Blake Hall's THE 800 DAYS blog , although the information on this particular post, I expect, will be met with more than a few wails and arguments.

Essentially, Blake gives the space for this post to another author, bibi16. Consequently, bibi16 provides a number of interesting but strong arguments AGAINST many of the things it has become easy to believe in within our societies.

Right before bibi16's alloted space, Blake has positioned a video in place which shows the viewpoints of one of the most controversial performers of our age - Marilyn Manson. Now, no matter if you appreciate this performer's materials or not, there are loads of valid points he makes on this video. Intelligent statements, calmly stated...if you hate this performer... that's too bad 'cos you're going to miss some IMPORTANT MESSAGES if you skip this video just based on your prejudices!

Once bibi16's space is created, there are 5 major topics covered here:

• evolution vs creationism OR evolution AND creationism (can't they exist side by side?)
• religion versus science OR religion AND science (again, can't these two things exist side by side?)
• hypocritical judgements people make in all sorts of topics
• mankind's ego and tunnel vision about the universe and about life
• people are people - genders are gendered but all genders are people

As already stated - I have really enjoyed the Day 766 post. I've taken care to ponder over what bibi16 has written and I believe that if many more of us consider these viewpoints, we can know ourselves better, treat others with more fairness and - mostly - stop our egos from getting the better of us - and others...

I'm going to stop writing now because what is on The 800 Days blog for Day 766 is worth real consideration - so I'll get quiet now.... time for thinking, not expressing...

Day 766 is associated with Monday November 15 2010 in the overall 800 Days Countdown.

Day 767 (Tidbits)

The topic of the Day 767 post on THE 800 DAYS blog is "Cyberpunk...As a Religion?"

Basically, Cyberpunk is a sort of lifestyle or a sub-culture...and it's also a science fiction media genre (lit, film, art) but on THE 800 DAYS blog, Cyberpunk is talked about in terms of religion. It's a lifestyle full of computers, gadgets, computer lingo, etc.

In the Cyberpunk science fiction genre, Cyberpunk is generally a blend of "cybernetics" with "punk," and as such, incorporates a mix of information technology and advanced science (cybernetics) with at least some marked degree of breakdown in (punk) in the social order, possibly a radical change in social hierarchy and social controls.

Artificial Intelligence, Hackers and Mega-Corporations tend to be subjects/themes in Cyberbunk culture and in the plot of cyberculture novels and film, generally a power struggle is acted out, usually between an extreme underdog versus (cyberpunk) a mega-corporation or the extreme whole of society itself. Sometimes the actions is with the cyberpunk group versus the authorities which uphold a certain, rigid dominant ideology of the society. The underdogs rely largely on outwitting the authorities with monumentally outstanding displays of technological know how - fantastic, speedy knowledge and work with or via computers, gadgets, etc., and usually the underdogs use the megacorporation's or the society's most highly acclaimed tech gadgets against the megacorp' or society...sort of a "using their own weapons against them" deal.

Much of the cyberpunk lit out there is definite and impressive social commentary against power, oppression and control and there are rarely any ambiguous statements made when cyberpunk is the genre used to embed social commentary messages in text or film. The message is clear "you megacorps and corrupt societies will NOT gain control of everything."

So, Blake asserts, on The 800 Days blog, that Cyberpunk can actually be thought of in terms of a religion. I keep preferring to say "lifestyle," however, points made on the 800 Days blog are pretty strong, so I have to concede that maybe "lifestyle" isn't the best descriptor for those who are extreme cyberpunks. Not to mention the fact that Blake mentions:

"The technology has a spirit of its own, as valid as the spirit of any creature of the goddess. This is the spiritual force we, those who are called technopagan, feel and must express. Not surprisingly, we find ways of bringing technology into our worship."

I suppose that in much of the cyberpunk literature - especially lit and film that is "future-based" the technologies, items, computers, etc., are shown as transforming society and cyberpunks are shown as "doing the impossible" through sheer human effort of mind, along with extreme expertise and knowledge of how to make gadgets perform in ways nobody would expect or assume gadgets could ever perform... essentially, the cyberpunks are extraordinary and they make machines do surprising, extraordinary tasks.

In all of this, we can definitely see a parallel between the cyberpunk and "the faithful" of many religions - who all intend to persevere through what ails in this world. There are parallels between the cyberpunk making a machine/gadget do the impossible - and the pagan working his/her magic which is either forbidden in society or said to be impossible in soceity.

Reading the Day 767 post lead me to do some searching for examples of "cyberpunk-ness" and I turned up the short story called "Cyberpunk" in my searches. It's an interesting little short story and the author, Bruce Bethke, is credited with having coined the term "Cyberpunk" via his short story title of the same name. The story is entertaining and is available all over the place online.

Here's a handy link: http://www.brucebethke.com/articles/shortstories.html  it's from Bethke's own site and you'll find a free pdf of the Cyberpunk story that is readily downloadable.

Well this is all for now... I actually want to read that Cyberpunk story one more time - it's got some sub-culture lingo that gave me a little trouble during the last read-through...

The Day 767 post is associated with Sunday November 14 2010 in the 800 Day Countdown.

Day 768 (Tidbits)

Crash course happenin' now on THE 800 DAYS blog for a wonderful Day 768 post!

Wait a sec' - let me announce this in a more official way so people sit up and NOTICE!

HEY!!! It's the Official Pagan Mini-Crash Course Happening RIGHT NOW on THE 800 DAYS BLOG!

Okay but seriously...

There's some decent information for people who want to know just a smidgen about Paganism and it's on the Day 768 post of The 800 Days blog...

What you'll find:

• touch of historial background (and not enough to even get boring...)
• four broad classifications of Pagan "traditions"
• tidbits on Classic Paganism
• tidbits on Neo-Paganism/New Age tradition
• tidbits on Technopaganism
• tidbits on Discordianism/Nihilism
• totally cool quote from Aleister Crowley
• fantastic photo of what could be a 2012 crowd

I became interested IMMEDIATELY in the picture of the natural elements plus crowd on this post. There's something mystical about that picture, with its visible electrical activity in the sky. People crowded around a body of water...the colours of purple, browns, salmon and - of course - darkness and blackness interspersed throughout the whole piece. Interesting. I can't tell what all these people are really doing here but I can imagine this is how many people envision December 21, 2012.

Perhaps people who believe the world is going to go through a transition in December 2012 will gather together in open spaces and around significant bodies of water...and wait for the whole darn transition to unfold. If those electrical bits of nature touch down - MAN, I would get the heck away from that water!

As you can probably tell, my knowledge of visual art is pretty sketchy and my ability to put visual aspects into similarly effective words is lacking flair... I don't know what it is about that picture that catches my eye so much but - IT ROCKS!

Obviously, in reviewing the post, I should just stick to words and leave off the commentary about visual stuff. The main content of the post is about Modern Pagan Movements and Blake has done a nice job of outlining what four main movements/traditions can be considered as such today. I like the brief explanation of Discordianism/Nihilism but admit these terms/the traditions are something I need to look more closely at. The only thing I understand well about discordianism is the concept of dissent...but I hope (I know) Blake will be offering more details on Discordianism in the days to come so that I can have a more rounded picture of this Pagan tradition.

The Day 768 material coincides with Saturday November 13 2010 in the 800 Days Countdown.

Day 769 (Tidbits)

Do you like Coffee or Tea? You'll want to take some time for yourself in reading about what's on THE 800 DAYS blog. Surely, if you've read some consecutive articles or done some reading of back to back posts, it's time to get in "artsy" head space for just a few moments. For the Day 769 post, what you'll find is poetry. If you usually drink coffee...try a tea as you sit down to read some poetry. If you normally drink tea - try some coffee. Try something different - DO something different than you normally do today... it helps - as poetry surely does - to build different ways of perceiving of the world.

Enjoy!

You'll still require a THINKING CAP, of course, but Blake's material for Day 769 is significant without being something that will hit you like a sack of hammers. I know, I know - sometimes the content for the 800 Day Countdown has been nothing short of DIFFICULT to wrap a head around so far - but Blake's piece, "Nameless The Goddess" is a nice change of pace for everyone.

Now, I wasn't joking about the thinking cap. If you want to know how to make a thinking cap:

 Free Thinking Cap (paper construction directions here)

I tried making a paper thinking cap... ended up with a conical sort of funnel thing that made me look quite stoopid while reading Blake's Nameless The Goddess poem... but I didn't/don't care. It's what's inside the cap that's important.

:)

Favourite lines of Nameless The Goddess:

Shield your eyes with my kind sighs

Cover your heart and its flutters

The silence will tame the beast

The dark will tame the beast

I don't know whose eyes and sighs are whose but this hasn't kept me from enjoying the blending of sense perception that we are asked to endure, imagine, accept in these lines.

ie: sighs are abstract - sounds - not material, physical things like a hand which might cover someone's eyes.

I enjoyed creating that sense/stretch or sense/mixup in my mind as I read what Blake's poetics demanded of the reader.

I went on to assume (but you don't have to) that the heart-covering and the covering of heart-flutters was also the domain/management of the abstract sighs - and THIS created a lot of physical sensation...I ended up sighing to "invoke," in a way, the ability to take this sense/blend far enough to use it to cover my heart.

I like that the silence and darkness are mentioned with beast...that's not "typical" in many poems where "beast" is mentioned. I like the new association I was just able to make with "beast" - with "beast" as being calmed in darkness and silence.

Normally, when I see "beast" in any literature or art, it is with the associations of:

• crashing noise
• loud roars
• some darkness but with the beast surrounded by flame, fire, sparks, etc
• the beast in semi-darkness but with the darkness in the background
• agitation (an agitated beast)
• violent movements
• agitated, forceful movements which create noise

With the newer associations, however, the beast is uncharacteristically attached to "calm" and "darkness." The beast no longer roars, nor comes from some moody, darkened landscape to leap noisily and violently into view...

Well - that's by my interpretation and via my imagination, anyway.  I hope you enjoy Nameless The Goddess by Blake4d as much as I did...with or without the thinking cap!

Day 769 is associated with Friday November 12, 2010 in the 800 Day Countdown.

(If you read this poem a couple of times in a row and find it "speaks to you," perhaps then you'll know - if you didn't before - why it is that arts and literature have so often been banned and put off limits in the past... Powerful...moving. Enjoy!)

Day 770 (Tidbits)

The post offered on Day 770 of THE 800 DAYS BLOG contains numbers...

A LOT OF NUMBERS.

Even SPECIFIC Numbers - and, that's basically what the whole post is about. What you're going to read about when you visit the 800 DAYS blog is "11:11 THEORY." These aren't all "Time" or "clock" prompts, but can also be a series of recurring numbers ie: 9999, 888, 1213, 7777, 242526, 8989, and so on. Apparently there are some people who almost always see these prompts whether they are planning on it or not. What I mean is, they're not consciously aware of constantly looking back and forth at clocks - or numbers - in fact, they're probably not attempting in any way to prompt themselves or keep tabs on numbers or the clock...what is happening is that, quite naturally, when they're in everyday - even mundane - activities do they DO HAPPEN TO glance at the clock, other time-pieces, digital technology, they're seeing consecutive or patterened numbers!

Are they subconsciously in some sort of obsessive time-checking or a similar obsession? People who are reporting this don't think so and, personally, I don't really think they're doing this obsessively either...at least some people aren't.

The kicker: this time-checking CAN BECOME obsessive for a little while IF YOU WORRY ABOUT IT or if you don't take a healthy viewpoint on this matter.

Personally, this 11:11 Theory is a curious matter - a strange phenomena to me, however, even if I don't understand it or what's going on surrounding 11:11 events and theory, I am perfectly "OKAY" to let 11:11 happen around me, unexplained. Oh sure, I want to know WHY these prompts happen, but I look into a TON of strange topics, paranormal items, urban legend and folklore - even HORROR genre tidbits - so I am content to read up on this 11:11 stuff and let it be until I come across a really valid explanation that satisfies my curiousity.

Oh wait a minute...

I just glanced at my clock. It says 12:13 as I am still typing...I just typed "1213" above just a couple of minutes ago... that was probably at around 12:11 and through 12:12... until when I looked just now and the clock said "12:13" - very curious coincidence?

Hmm curious, right?

The date for the Day 770 post: Thursday November 11, 2010.

*gasp* "11."
"ELEVEN!"

Day 771 (Tidbits)

Oh, wow...some of my favourite stuff is being presented for Day 771 on Blake Hall's The 800 Days blog ! What we're talking about here is - commentary on PROPAGANDA.....

Nice!

Well, propaganda isn't nice - but people recognizing propaganda makes me smile!

Muhahahaha!

Okay that's not exactly a smile but you get the picture.

What's in store when you head on over to the 800 DAYS blog is a pertinent and detailed message not only about reading your way through propaganda but also some information for content providers online (bloggers, article writers, THIS MEANS YOU!)...

You've already been supplied with the blog link above...

It's Blake's "Take" on a certain sort of ethical consideration for writing online that you'll find on the other blog...and it's interesting. I wish more people had the guts to BE REAL as is suggested on the 800 Days blog in the Day 771 post. Blake reminds us to BE ASSOCIATED BUT NEVER CONTENT!

The day 771 post date: Wednesday November 10 2010.



Day 772 (Tidbits)

If you've been reading and have been wondering a lot about the person who launched this project...  Here's your chance to know a little more about Blake Hall. It is a very personal post as far as content goes is on THE 800 DAYS blog for the date of Tuesday November 9, 2010 as the Day 772 posting.

I'll not provide too much commentary here as the content for Day 772 is too personal, in my opinion, and should be left in Blake's own words.

I'm just here to say, "Hey, I'm following... keep leading."

And

"R.I.P. Joe Mattingly and Robert Hall, Blake4d's biological father and first step-father, respectively."

Day 772 of the 800 Day Countdown: Tuesday November 9, 2010.

Day 773 (Tidbits)

It's a good thing Blake offers some mixed kinds of points for pondering because several of the posts so far have been BIG ITEMS - controversial topics, important discussions and themes to think about. The Day 773 post on Blake Hall's 800 Days blog contains slightly lighter fare - although you should still put on your thinking cap before reading...

There are some fun things to think about on this post - is your dog an alien? I have a cat and I KNOW he's some sort of angel or better-than-human entity. Is the earth "alive"? Is there life out in "outer space"?

Interesting things to think about, for sure - or even study up on.

After more than a dozen blog entries with very serious content, Day 773's post is kind of refreshing without being boring or insignificant. Obviously I'm not going to repeat all the questions here that Blake asks within the Day 773 post on The 800 days blog. I'm just following along, adding a "thumbsup" here and - as always - asking readers from here to go visit the work that Blake is committed to over on The 800 Days blog.

Blake has been adding content diligently already for over a month - and I have been tuned in as a "follower" for the same length of time. Let me tell you one thing - this blog here HAS TO BE much easier to manage than Blake's 800 Days one. All I have to do is follow, read and comment... Blake has to decide what topics are pertinent for particular days, what content is going to be acceptable (we're using google space here - google doesn't always like controversy, eh?), how to make a countdown "flow..." Mostly - it's a HUGE time committment for making big decisions on content and also - for just showing up all the time...

*Hat's off*

SOURCE

Whooooops WTF? Lost my head!

The Day 773 post is associated with the date of Monday November 8 2010.

Day 774 (Tidbits)

This is one of the best posts I've come across so far over at The 800 Days blog. Right near the top of the entry, Blake Hall has placed a very interesting and inspirational video - a hopeful message from a woman named, "Eden Sky," who is a self-described "Red Self-Existing Skywalker."

WOW...

With a title like that - c'mon...admit it - YOU HAVE TO LISTEN!

Go To the 800 Days blog, entry for Day 774 (day seven hundred and seventy four)

Now I have to say that after I listened to Eden speak via the you tube video, I had to just sit back and BREATHE a sigh of relief for this very positive message about the month of December in the year 2012.

FINALLY... some positive STUFF!

I also had to remark - to myself (because the only other entity at home happened to be my cat, who doesn't particularly CARE that 2012 is coming 'cos he's an angel, anyway)... "Mythbuster, now T - H - A - T which was recently heard - is SO COOL." Also, "WE DON'T HAVE TO BELIEVE IN IT TO TAKE ACTION."

What I mean by that last statement is that, basically, WE NEED TO GET OUR SPIRITUAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL SHYT TOGETHER... and even if we don't believe in the conclusions about WHY Eden says we should get our shyt together - IT WILL NOT MATTER what we believe because...

Okay... I know, I'm gettin' fired up and ahead of things here. Let me backtrack just a bit...

Basically - Eden says something is in motion in the universe anyway... we are all out of sorts, partly because we're living in a time period where a final wrap up of events, environmental, spiritual, planetary and universe STUFF is going to happen - WITH OR WITHOUT our caring about what's going on...

To make things beneficial and positive for our human species, we can cleanse, get straightened around, get our ducks in a row, so-to-speak.
Or
We can ignore everything, continue killing the environment, the world around us... whatever's "coming" or "about to happen" is so much larger than us that it's going to happen anyway...

Those who are creating positive changes can benefit...

Those who aren't... SEE YA!

And the world will be left in a better shape or in a state that is sort of "supposed to be," according to the cosmos...If that is MINUS a bunch of hundreds-of-thousands of people who don't want to create changes for the positive...

Oh well *shrug*

Basically, Eden Sky is talkin' about GALACTIC ALIGNMENT theory within the 2012 Prophecy which follows a timeline marker of the 13 Moon Natural Time Calendars (13 Baktun Long Count Mayan Calendar) and points to a date - December 21, 2012, for the date when the world as we know it, will end...

How to live from this day onward 'til December 2012:

• Find our calling, our breath, our centre, our grounding and calm
• Live by moving with and toward our healthy passions
• Move toward our callings
• Purify and heal
• Reject artificial time as much as is possible
• Get back to "earthy" things, be aware of the presence of the earth
• Look outside to get a bearing on what time of day it is
• Look at the stars, look at the daytime sky, the clouds, the night, the day
• Cleanse and become stewards of those weaker than ourselves
• Become stewards over the earth and respect the environment
• Find and project our compassion
• Become an "agent of calm"
• Gratitude, gratitude, gratitude and love... 

Eden says that what we project upon the date of December 21 2012 has the power to influence what sort of day/time that date will actually be... We can shape what the day will be like. The date is expected to be our ultimate awakening.

Now you might never believe in the telepathic possibilities that Eden Sky is talking about in the video - but believe me - even if you don't believe and feel that this is all just a bunch of bulljunk, doing the things from the bullet points above sure isn't going to do any harm to you or anyone else.

And if this date and alignment is coming... NOT doing acts of stewardship and cleansing and all the rest sure - and expecting awesome results from these - well it's just silly - so ya might as well "go with the positive, healthy, beneficial flow."

Day 774 in the 800 Day Countdown is Sunday November 7, 2010.