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.

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 728 (Tidbits)

And... we're at the twenty third day of the month and 23 Enigma content for the Day 728 entry on THE 800 DAYS blog.

Mixed in are some tidbits on timing and calendar/countdowns of two separate cultures whose timing devices match up in different eras - the Mayans and the Romans... Interesting - but let Blake explain it for you over on THE 800 DAYS blog.

In the spirit of things related to 23, Blake has presented a few versions of Psalm 23, an extremely well known and oft-cited bit of Christian text...

And then (LOL) Mr. Hall quotes YOURS TRULY... and to tell you the truth (again), I am still quite perplexed by this 23 Enigma!



The Day 728 entry on The 800 Days blog is associated with 23 Enigma and the 23rd Day of December, 2010. Thursday, December 23 2010.

Day 743 (Tidbits)

The TIDBITS being discussed on THE 800 DAYS BLOG for the DAY 743 entry center around cereals and particularly, around a most unusual figure...

*Drumroll*

COUNT CHOCULA!!!

Okay - just kidding... Blake just mentions that "Anyone can say they know the general truth...And who can say that their cheerios are better than my count chocula[...?]"

Blake gets on the concept of perspective - and truth - and touches upon the difficulty we (general humankind) have in determining what truth really is, amongst a host of diverse peoples and perspectives. Personally, I think I "GET" what Blake is putting forth here: [who are WE to determine someone else's truth?]

As Blake gets into some descriptions of "Relative Truth" versus "Absolute Truth," I actually wanted to get a pencil and paper out and sort through a few things... but like the conclusion to his post, when I did get a pencil and paper out and wrote a few things down, things cleared up about like pouring milk into water and tryin' to see the truthful pan at the bottom... things got obscure - and I had to conclude, myself, that I have no right to absolutely determine another person's perspective or truth. I can, however, ask from persons close to me - that they choose something as their truth only that which harms no one else...but that's about it. I can't ask that others believe in the intricately detailed concepts, word for word or step per step and concept connection for connection that I believe in...

Clear

As

Mud:    T R U T H...

I understand Count Chocula a whole lot better than I understand all the societal norms, dominant ideologies, etc., ideas that people collectively believe in - big ideas about systems, religions, governments, etc...and I think this is the mud that Blake is getting at, too...

I think we may have to agree to be different instead of agreeing to hold all the same truths. Maybe that is what Blake is also getting at...

You decide - go have a read over at Blake's blog.

The Day 743 post is associated with Wednesday December 8 2010 - on top of Count Chocula cereal, topped off at the edges with cheerios and cherry on top.

Day 747 (Tidbits)

Okay people... it's finally out of the bag.

The truth about Christ!

Proof, on THE 800 DAYS blog within the Day 747 post, authored by ours truly - BLAKE HALL IV...

Do you want to know why Christ died?

You'll have your answer once you go to the post from the link above and examine the first photo posted there...examine it very carefully...

Yes, you see it right - Christ Died For Our Dunkin' Donuts!

Alright, so I'm being cheeky here...but I believe the picture can do something very important for every reader...

That pic can make the reader examine PERSPECTIVE!

Nobody's lying or doing anything wrong here - or there - in that photo. No touch-ups, lies, hoaxes going on - just an honest photo shot from a particular stand point. The "scene" shows the message, "Christ Died For Our Dunkin' Donuts." Nothing is messed up, altered, etc. It's all about PERSPECTIVE. The standpoint by which a person is standing, the physical/(mental, too) viewpoint from which someone is at a particular moment and time...can make one view things a certain way. Honestly.

What is more difficult in this world is THINKING CRITICALLY - and you'll need to do so right NOW while you read the rest of Blake's article on the 800 DAYS blog...

It's about CULTS...

And still - it's about PERSPECTIVE... Lenses...views. What lens do YOU view Christ and religion under? What standpoint do you step into when you think about belief systems? Are you looking at a whole picture or pieces of a picture which make a whole? From your standpoint, are there "extras" in the way?

Okay, the person responsible for that picture did do something special. The person took NOTE of a difference in perspective in something that was in blatant, obvious physical view...and somehow KNEW that pointing a camera toward the scene in question, snapping off a picture, would produce a certain alternative perspective outside of the norm... In a small way, the photographer performed a manipulation...saw an opportunity to blur and twist the commonly shared perspective (about why Christ was sacrificed) - by showing a different existing message that was out in the open and visible - at least from a certain standpoint.

I'm sure this all relates to a similar process that occurs with cults, cult leaders and cult followers...

Blake discusses a particular cult on THE 800 Days blog...
PEOPLE UNLIMITED.

Please spend some time thinking about viewpoints here as you read...

Day 747 on THE 800 DAYS blog gels with Saturday December 4 2010.

Day 749 (Tidbits)

Here is the question again...

Is December 21 2012 going to be our last day?

The Day 749 post on THE 800 DAYS blog asks the question in a slightly different way:

Is This the Last Maya Prophecy, of the Last Day of the Earth, Dec. 21, 2012 ?

For this article and blog post, Blake mentions the topic of Y2K, the Mayan Long Count Calendar as well as the Roman Calendar, the sundial, waterclock and dung beetle. Also mentioned are Kino, Cortez and Ponce de Leon and "The Codex" which was handled by the aforemetioned historical people.

What you'll be reading on The 800 Days blog is an opinionated post - this much is true - but it is opinion backed by the author's strong arguments and knowledge of various documents and study of religious texts, ancient cultures, certain historical personalities and more.

In my humble opinion, the call to action here is to PAY ATTENTION to the prophecies - learn about them, but also take note of where these prophecies come from, who may have touched and altered ancient source documents, etc.

Most interesting...it seems Blake has a prophet of sorts in his family lineage (A Navajo tribal elder). Blake was offered some wisdown in a conversation with the elder quite some time ago. I leave it to you to go to THE 800 DAYS blog and see the message Blake relates from his elder...

The Day 749 entry on THE 800 DAYS blog is associated with Thursday December 2 2010.

Day 750 (Tidbits)

As the Day 750 entry on THE 800 DAYS blog begins, a reminder is placed: for 2010, Hanukkah begins on Wednesday December 1 2010.

The Day 750 post, however, doesn't go into details about Hanukkah. Instead, you'd better get your tissue box near to your computer before you play the video embedded in the post...

The topics of Day 750 are "Familiars" and domestic pet care tips.

Cats and Dogs As Familiar Spirits

Just prior to the content on cats and dogs, the video shows the response of a cat to the death of his likewise feline friend. Personally, I had to sniffle into a Kleenex while watching. In fact, this post is short because in returning to the 800 DAYS blog to review the post, I watched the vid again and feel the emotional effects of it once more.

Do dab your eyes and check out Blake's awesome pet care tips for looking after your familiars errrr your cats and dogs!

The Day 750 post is associated with Wednesday December 1 2010.

Day 751 (Tidbits)

Are you ready for "cinematic thought bombs" and stretching your mind around the concept of audio tracks laid down onto, into and within the "imaginary canvas of sound"???  If so then you're ready for Blake Hall's Day 751 music review and commentary post on THE 800 DAYS blog!

As Blake describes the nature of the artists, Ciscandra Nostalghia and Roy Gnan, the duo presented here as "Nostalghia," and whose song/audio, "I Am Robot Hear Me Glitch" is featured on the Day 751 post, be assured that if you hit the "play" button and thoroughly enjoy the audio creation, the song will LOOP so that you can listen to it more than once! (I'm on play #3, very much enjoying the track).

AND THEN...while you're letting Nostalghia's music fill the room, continue on to consider some things not of this planet, as Blake guides the content to Mars Rover photos and other things Blake has been looking at from the NASA website...

* Note... as I look at the photos with I Am Robot Hear Me Glitch in the periphery, the music sets a nearly bittersweet tone for me... it's mellow and pleasant enough but carries with it a definite air of sadness, so that when I also view the photos, this causes me to see the images as eerie, surreal. I'm sure there is pareidolia occurring - the phenomena whereby the brain guesses and concludes that some images we see that are unfamiliar do have a familiar cast or shape to them.

The brain doesn't like "the unfamiliar" so it attempts to send us "valid explanations" when we view something like the Mars rover photos... we know the pics aren't of things on Earth but our only frame of reference is about how things look here on Earth. Therefore, when we see something that might vaguely match or appear visually like something we'd see on Earth, our brain just says "make the same connection, accept this same explanation and move on..."

The only thing is... those pics are of another planet where there haven't been any confirmed sightings or any other data to prove that anything living exists way over there...

Okay, so as I view more of the photos and scroll down... now wait a minute - the pics really look like they're showing something with a humanoid shape. It could be pareidolia or it could be that--

I've gotta go concentrate on these photos...

The Day 751 post on The 800 Days blog is for the date of Tuesday November 30 2010.

Day 753 (Tidbits)

For the November 28 2010 post, Blake's Day 753 entry on THE 800 DAYS blog is about books... used books, selling used books, everything about used books. Blake reviews a really great book - about selling books online. The book is called "Selling Used Books" by Stephen Windwalker. It appears that Blake really liked this book, however, he makes sure to outline both the pros and cons in the material.

Who doesn't love what this all sounds like? For someone like me... anything about BOOKS is a good post, good information...and, by the way, I'm trying to see how many times I can use the word "books" in a single post.

Okay, so I'm a bit of a book geek... here's proof:

Old 2nd Hand Book, Progress and Poverty by Henry George (still borrowing this from a friend - may have to purchase another copy and give the newer copy to my friend). Oh! and look behind me... ONE of the bookshelves in my bedroom... the little shelf. FULL of books...

Next:

Just a little light reading (The Paranormal: Research and the Quest for Meaning) that I am NOT going to turn around and sell off on eBay, Amazon, etc., because this is one of my best reference books...it doesn't EVER get lent out...

Nice glasses eh? Eh....well, they're NEW - and they help complete my geek persona.

One more:

One of my favourite books in the past 5 years - great piece of reference material (socio-history, socio-psychology and tidbits on oppression of the masses via TIME control), Jeremy Rifkin's Time Wars: The Primary Conflict in Human History.  Again, you won't see me parting with certain books and this is another book that stays in my collection.

So what do my four-eyes photos (it's okay - I am EMBRACING geek-hood and geekness, so "four eyes" isn't the nasty name to me that it once was for many when eye glasses weren't quite so common as today), my snapping pics of books that I will NOT part with - what do these things have to do with Blake's article about how to make oodles of money selling used books?

NOT MUCH... other than to show you a prime example of WHAT NOT TO DO and how NOT TO advertise for yourself if you actually want to make money selling used books.

LOL - Instead, you should read the article then go get the book Blake has so kindly and thoroughly reviewed for us! (I am going to get it and stop fooling around - so I can learn to make more money online from the things I love - BOOKS).

And with this short pic-filled post, I am going to leave off so that you can go and I CAN GO read Blake's article in more depth again, myself... I am going to learn much more about selling real hardcopy books online (thank GOODNESS it's dealing with real bona fide paper/cardboard, bound, hard copy, you-can-touch-them BOOKS and not "eBooks") by reading the said article ever so carefully and then asking Blake H some questions...SHOULD I decide to sell a few books (but not the ones shown above).

The Day 753 blog post over on THE 800 DAYS blog is associated with the date, Sunday November 28, 2010.

Day 756 (Tidbits)

Well, it's going to be obvious by the Day 756 entry onto THE 800 DAYS blog that Mr. B. Hall has a near obsession with Mr. Burroughs! The first thing on the said post on said blog is a 2 minute and 25 second message via you tube video and the message is from a William S. Burroughs... from Thanksgiving Day (In USA) on the date of November 28th, 1986.

And a message of harsh social commentary this is! This must be some You Tube member's tribute to Burroughs, I imagine - but regardless, this is a gem of a tribute that Blake found! If you're looking for feelgood, warm fuzzy feelings from this video, you'll have to go elsewhere (my suggestion is go back to listen to Eden Sky's messages: Day 774/Blake's 800 Days blog). If you're looking for telling-it-like-it-is, have a listen to Burroughs' viewpoints once you get to the Day 756/800Days blog post.

And if that wasn't enough... Blake relates a truly funny AND baffling story about a Thanksgiving event that was both sad and silly and that truly happened... It's called "Talking Turkey." Really, if I mention any of it here, I will start laughing and turn red with embarrassment (on behalf of Blake's unfortunate friend mentioned in the story). Go directly to The 800 days blog via the link above and read for yourself!

Now, my mind is already thinking up some jokes - in bad taste, too - however, because I do feel poorly for the unfortunate friend in the Talking Turkey story, I am going to refrain from writing/saying anything derogatory... and just say "What a freakin' TURKEY that guy was..."

:)    (that's a mild statement compared to the jokes Blake makes in reasonable taste - in the article)

All I can say is that I'm glad that Thanksgiving Day is in the past for Blake and Blake's friends and that things turned out alright in the end because now many handfuls of people have a fantastic story to tell each year on Thanksgiving Day... and all but 1 person can actually laugh and not turn red with embarrassment about the event from the past!  That's not a bad score - dozens to one? Not much loss incurred there!

:)

The funny story as the Day 756 post is associated with Thanksgiving Day 2010 and Thursday November 25 2010.

Day 757 (Tidbits)

One of my favourite topics is being opened up for discussion over on THE 800 DAYS blog for the Day 757 entry. The topic is: DISCORDIANISM

...and for me, Discordianism is closely related to some studies I have done in the recent past regarding DISSENT LITERATURE. For me, anyway, I find the two topics fairly related. Quite naturally, when discussing either topic, the word "anarchism" or "anarchy" will invariably surface.

Burroughs and 23 Enigma are a nice segue into the topic of Discordianism and a major work, Principia Discordia states that "All things happen in fives, or are divisible by or are multiples of five, or are somehow directly or indirectly appropriate to 5." ie: "THE LAW OF FIVES." 23 is related (considered a corollary to the Law of Fives and the number "5").

Although I am not a Discordian, myself, I find the concepts, correspondences, corollary details within Discordianism fascinating. I have to admit, some of the concepts make one wonder if CHAOS really rules in our world. If I take a look at all the war and mayhem in just the recent past - since the year 1900, I have to start stating that there are very few rational events going on in the world since 1900 'til now. At least it can be said that human beings do not seem to have been behaving with much rational logical grounding for the past several decades... we seem to be causing our own chaos...

Before the 800 Day countdown narrows down to that well-known date in December 2012, I am sure to know a whole lot more about Discordianism than I do right now. I admit, upon first glance, Discordianism and the most basic definitions of it brought an air of pessimism to me but on looking into things, I find that I had just rested into a set way of thinking about the world. Discordianism has made me stretch the comfortable "explanation of the world" that I was at least marginally content with and made me take second and third views of certain situations and explanations that have been handed to me by those who spout off the current societal ideologies in my region of the the world. If pessimistic, Discordianism at least seems to aim to put people in a place where complacency with the status quo is just not acceptable nor applauded. For that, I give a big thumbs-up!!

The article: Discordianism as Religion by Blake Hall

Now I'll let you go read and learn more as I delve into the Principia Discordia (provided in links within the article, so you'll find the Principia Discordia, too, as you read on) so that I can learn more about these principles and The Law of Fives, etc.

The post for Day 757 is associated with Wednesday November 24, 2010.

Day 759 (Tidbits)

There is the most STRIKING picture of Mythbuster up on THE 800 DAYS BLOG for the Day 759 post, associated with the date Monday November 22, 2010. I'm extremely happy that - FINALLY - someone got a picture of me with my eyes open! I tend to blink too much (for some odd reason) when photos are being taken, adding the erroneous effects that I'm either stoned, asleep - or both - when really, I am neither! Yep, that's me alright...wide-eyed and serious over on the Day 759 post!

NICE TO MEET YOU!

I'm basically stumbling over thoughts and words right now because the Day 759 post hasn't got anything much to do with the finer details of The 800 Day Countdown... instead, it's about Blake writing about ME!

I am very honoured that Blake has taken the time for quite a lengthy post dedicated to MOI and the content I've put out online. THANK YOU BLAKE HALL! I'm very flattered!

HOWEVER...

Since I'm not sure how that picture of me got out so easily and got to circulating around, I figure I might as well COME OUT, myself, with a few other photos that might cause me some embarrassment if they get into the wrong hands and get posted online. I might as well just post them myself - along with the explanations I PREFER people to have... just - in - case!

Explanation:
First of all... I was a PREEMIE baby, so I'll just start with possible embarrassing photos right from birth. Now if you know ANYTHING about preemie babies - of course they're as precious as any other babies, but they just don't always look just right, okay? Obviously, I was very tiny - more than two months too soon, so I fit in the palm of the hand of anyone who picked me up immediately after I was born...

So here's a look at one of the first photo ever taken of me:

Told ya! Tiny, right?

NEXT

Explanation: okay, this picture isn't too embarrassing... it's after I managed to grow a bit and the docs figured out I had all my organs, toes, fingers and everything in the right place after all (I lived in the hospital for over a month 'til I was allowed to ever come home with my mom, my dad and my older sister).

Growing and finally able to suck a bottle properly...later on I sucked my thumb for a little too long ('til age 12) but maybe that was going to happen seeing as I was fed intraveneously for quite a while right after birth... it's the NEXT PHOTO that is super embarrassing for me...

Explanation: all my cousins, my older sis and some friends all ganged up on me, put me in this awful outfit then took pictures... HOW EMBARRASSING!

I WAS FORCED INTO THAT DRESS...it was SO UNFAIR -

look at the size of me? What could I do???

I was only about 3 years old!

Explanation: Your basic nekkid "blackmail" photos... I might as well just post 'em together...

AND

Okay, well that's enough... nekkid Mythbuster pics, not funny people!

Explanation: if I look very confused, looking at the computer screen, it's because this picture was taken several years ago when I was just learning how to operate a computer... Thank goodness I had some help learning how a computer works, otherwise I could have stayed hunched over that screen forever!!

And that's about all...
Thankfully, I have my "act together" in the photo that Blake found of me... and the photo over on The 800 Days blog looks a lot more like my current self and how people know me now...

The Day 759 post on the 800 Days blog is associated with Monday November 22 2010 in the Countdown.



Day 760 (Tidbits)

Get your left and right brain parts working together before delving into the Day 760 material on THE 800 DAYS blog!

There are definitely some unrelated tidbits put together for this post but don't worry... they're all enjoyable anyway.

I got SUCKED IN BY BLAKE... *LOL*

There's a text/image "loop" application of some sort right at the beginning of the post... I WATCHED/READ IT ALL TWICE haha! You might, too... btw, the "Action Jackson" font IS pretty cool, so look for it!

On a more serious note, Blake continues outlining and presenting some messages from a personality we've seen on two other posts already - "EDEN SKY." In an audio presented on the 800 DAYS blog, Eden Sky endorses and speaks about "The Universal Flag." The link provides Brian McClure interviewing Eden Sky on the topic of The Universal Flag and the concept behind this is that this flag transcends borders, race, etc. This audio is "Show 89: A Conversation With Eden Sky" from August 28, 2010. Much of the content should interest almost any person who can manage to find this recording... it's on very important information about "TIME," along with The Universal Flag.

I have a special interest in "TIME" because I've been studying about how humankind has manipulated time over the centuries...and I've been studying this topic of time in a multidisciplinary way - for about three years. A great book I've read more than once and that I keep close at hand AT ALL TIMES is Jeremy Rifkin's "Time Wars." If you can find this book, read it! You will NEVER look upon a sundial, clock or digital timekeeper of any kind in the same way after reading the Rifkin material... You will never think of the work week, the workday or things of this nature in the same way ever again... You will also likely want to learn more about "circadian rhythm" too, but...hey, I'm going too far here and getting off topic!

In short, I have found that Eden Sky's information is NOT in any way challenging to Rifkin's material or material studied on historical time-keepers and time-setters (like St. Benedict of Nursia)... and am quite happy to have come across the McClure/Sky interview!

Aside from the audio material available via The 800 Days blog, the Day 760 post also contains some fantastic images!

Then once you scroll down past some images - after careful observations, of course, then BINGO! You get to some really COOL, BASIC information about The Mayan Calendar (Mayan Calendar for Dummies - YES !!!)...thank goodness because there definitely ARE a lot of info bytes on varying topics so far on THE 800 DAYS blog...

Article: 2012 : the Pleiades and the Mayan Calendar for Dummies

Definitely read all the content for this post on the 800 DAYS blog. The 2012/Pleiades/Mayan Calendar article is a collaboration between Blake Hall and Cricket Rockastellar and is basically subtitled, "A User Guide For The Rest Of Us." If you've had a lot of difficulty understandint Mayan Calendar information, reading this article will clear a lot of things up and make things clear for you. 

What you'll find:

• explanation of what Pleiades is/are
• list of items contained in The Pleiades
• basic workings of the Mayan Calendar
• the basic four cycles of the calendar
• some historical information about the Mayans
• walk-through tidbits regarding mathematical calculations
• some narrative/mythological details on Quetzalcoatl
• details on something known as the Hell Cycle
• details on "The Time of Flowering"

more...

It's a good idea, as stated at the beginning of this post, to get your left and right brain portions working together here. This means - get your CRITICAL THINKING "going on" when you read this post! There is a lot of information here but all of it is important as basic, fundamental information on Mayan Calendar details that will help people understand more in-depth and possibly more difficult discussions and details later on as the Countdown progresses and more 2012 Theories, Mayan Calendar Theories, etc. are introduced.

The Day 760 post coincides with Sunday November 21 2010.

Day 761 (Tidbits)

There's an audio selection set upon the Day 761 post and within the larger scope of THE 800 DAYS blog content that is amazing, in my humble opinion...

If you do NOT feel calmed and garner positive feelings from hitting the "play" arrow over on the 800 DAYS blog, well... I just wouldn't know what to say to that because as soon as I started listening, I felt more calm, and got in touch with a more positive set of "I" statements within...

I was reviewing other materials before I checked out the audio on Blake's 800 Days blog today. These materials were Doomsday and Apocalypse articles, videos and audios - so although I have my own pretty solid beliefs about these matters and am not actually afraid of some of the prophecy materials that I see online in various media forms, I admit - some of the information is pessimistic and FRIGHTENING... if one gets into a mindset of believing in some of what might only be propaganda, misinformation or disinformation about Doomsday and Apocalypse Theories...

The audio selection is called "Agents of Calm" and has narrative and vocal messages on it from EDEN SKY... Christian Burne mixed the selection, so credit goes, in part, to Mr. Burne for aligning great audio with vocal bytes!

Also in this post...

THE GALACTIC BUTTERFLY... something that I didn't have much awareness of prior to reading the content for Day 761 on Blake's blog. Strangely, it must have been just the right time and head-space for me to read this blog post right on this day because in my earlier activities, along with pessimistic concepts about the future, I did learn a lot more (on a positive note) about symbols, the importance and power of symbols... so the giant, revolving GALACTIC BUTTERFLY image that is flippin' around on Blake's Day 761 post seems really important and interesting to me now. I'll refrain from describing or explaining the concepts around The Galactic Butterfly here because Blake's attention to this topic is well done over on his blog. Instead, I'll insert a definition soon for "Galactic Butterfly" in the Glossary section/tab of the blog here.

There are some charts, 13-moon calendar information, 260-day calendar explanations and things that are better left on the 800 DAYS blog... I'd just be tossing jargon out if I explained here as "narratives," psych and sociology stuff, legends and related details are more my area of experience. I'm still learning much about the various calendars as Blake posts content. If you're a beginner just heading into or just becoming interested in 2012/Mayan Calendar topics, and find a bit of this stuff confusing, I HEAR YA!!! I know what this feels like... but we'll learn together!

Go check out The 800 Days blog, Day 761 post: Take me to Day 761 on THE 800 DAYS BLOG

The Day 761 content is associated with Saturday November 20 2010 in the 800 Day Countdown.

Day 762 (Tidbits)

If you've been following along, the last post should have gotten your head a little distance away from "Western World View" and this will continue for the Day 762 entry on THE 800 DAYS blog. More ZEN references and details are on the 800 Days blog.

In the spirit of Zen, I thought I'd add some little stories here to coincide with the Zen tidbits that Blake has written about...

Here's a little "Zen" story...

"Eat The Blame"

Some unforseen circumstances arose one day and delayed the preparation of dinner for a Soto Zen master, Fukai, along with his dedicated followers. In great haste, the cook tried to make up for lost time. He ran out to the garden with his curved blade and quickly cut off the tops of various green vegetables. He then chopped the vegetable tops all up and threw them in a pot, fashioning a fast soup recipe. In his haste in the garden, the cook was unaware that, along with the vegetable tops, he'd also included a chunk of snake in the recipe...

Fukai's followers believed they had never tasted such delicious soup before but when Master Fukai, himself, found the snake's head in his own soup bowl, he immediately summoned the cook...

"What is this?" Fukai demanded - holding out the head of the snake.
Thinking most quickly and brilliantly, the cook said, 
"Oh, thank you, master!"

The cook took the snake's head as if it were a tender, tasty delicacy - and HE ATE IT - then performed a respectful bow...

How's THAT for quick thinking??

And another little Eastern derived story:

"Sound of One Hand"


Mokurai, Silent Thunder, was the master of Kennin Temple. Toya, 12 years old, was Mokurai's little protege. Now, Toya watched the older disciples as they visited Master Mokurai's room each morning and each evening. The disciples received instruction in the disciplines of sanzen or personal guidance and they received koans from the master to stop their minds from wandering.


Young Toyo also wished to do sanzen.


"Wait a while - you are too young" Mokurai told Toyo.


But young Toyo kept insisting, so after many requests from Toyo, Mokurai finally obliged...


That very evening, little Toyo showed up at the proper time to Mokurai's sanzen room. Toyo struck the gong to announce his presence, then bowed respectfully three times while outside the door before entering to sit before the master in respectful silence.


"You can hear the sound of two hands when they clap together." Mokurai stated. "Now, show me the sound of one hand."


Toyo bowed then went to his room to carefully consider this problem. From his open window, he could hear the sound of music from the geishas. After listening a while, "Ah! I have it!" Toyo said.


On the next evening, when the master asked Toyo to illustrate the sound of one hand, Toyo began to play the music of the geishas.


"No, no," corrected Mokurai, "That will never do. That is not the sound of one hand. You've not got it at all."


Toyo left again - to think on the problem of the sound of one hand. He felt that music might interupt his thoughts so to ponder over the sound of one hand, he choose a different location than before. This time, he selected a very quiet place. He meditated again, wondering, "Now what can the sound of one hand be?" At this time and location he heard the sound of water dripping. "I have it now" thought Toyo.


When Toyo went before his master again, he imitated the sound of dripping water.


"And what is that now?" asked Mokurai... "That is the sound of dripping water - not the sound of one hand. Try again."


Toyo tried to meditate upon what must be the sound of one hand clapping. He heard the sighing of the wind. When he took this explanation and sound to his teacher, this, like the previous assertions, met with rejection.


The sound of one hand was not the music of the geishas, not the sound of dripping water, not the sound of a sighing wind, or of the cry of an own - or of locusts - or anything else Toyo managed to assert to his master over several days and evenings. After 10 times, Toyo still had not been able to come to the master and say what the sound of one hand was.


Finally, Toyo entered into a meditation that transcended all sounds... when he visited his master after this,


"Master, I could collect no more - so I reached the soundless sound..."


Toyo had finally realized the sound of one hand.

Hopefully these little Zen stories fit in well with the Day 762 post on The 800 Days blog. At the 800 Days blog, you'll also find a few words about writing a Chinese poem, so I hope you'll allow these eastern tidbits take your outside of western world view in your mind for just a little while. It's always a good exercise for the mind to think outside the box, take on a different viewpoint for a little while.

I've found many Zen stories quite full of humour and wisdom at the same time...also, they are occassionally full of a practicality and simplicity that will make you laugh at how your own mind will try to complicate a situation provided in a short Zen story.

I hope you will enjoy the koan/Zen stories as much as I have. Reading the Day 762 prompted me to look up more Eastern "koan" pieces and THERE ARE MANY. In the course of the 800 Day Countdown, I'm sure I will return to posting some KOAN tidbits again, so watch for them...

Day 762 in the 800 Day Countdown is from Friday November 19, 2010.

Day 763 (Tidbits)

Welcome to the world of "ZEN," brought to you by Blake Hall.

:)

Source

:)

Although there are some quotes and very short stories on Day 763 of The 800 Days blog, do not take them all too lightly, please.

There are some definite light-hearted details on the Day 763 post, however, there are also bits of wisdom embedded in the quotes. If you read each quote then pause, you'll likely find that larger messages reside in the funny details...even messages that are pertinent pieces of wisdom for your life today.

It's a look at Zen worldview without having ZEN placed too harshly in your face.

Day 763 in the 800 Days Countdown is Thursday November 18, 2010.

(this post is short because the quotes on the 800 DAYS blog are important to ponder over rather than focusing on my ramble)

Day 764 (Tidbits)

Blake has really offered a lot of good information (in my opinion) and has given prime attention to the Muslim celebration of Eid Al-Adha on the previous Day 765 post. On  Day 764 of his The 800 Days blog, he does something a little different and writes something to appreciate and honour a person from India who is held dearly in his heart. Blake does this in poetic form - and to my way of thinking, the poetics are as close to an "act of reverence" (definitely a focused "mindfullness") as one can get when coming from a different culture.

Blake has dedicated this piece to a dear friend of his, "dreamreachout" who was already mentioned recently in my "Follower Reader Appreciation" post.

The poem is called "Do Good" and to my knowledge, you're not going to be able to find this piece anywhere, save for THE 800 DAYS blog.

My perception of the general essence of this poem is that Blake is associating his dear friend, dreamreachout, with someone (or the sort of person) who will just "Do Good," regardless of circumstances... There are those who do good things for different motives and who sometimes need the right coaxing in order to act humanely and rightly. I gather that Blake feels his friend is one of the exceptional people who just "Do Good" without requiring additional motivational factors to push them in the right, humane direction. Of course, the poem is open to interpretation, but this is my interpretation.

I sincerely hope to get to that humane level, myself, someday but as yet... I have this poem to absorb as a guideline - and, of course, dreamreachout's materials to read when I so choose, too!

DO GOOD, dreamreachout, poetry, hints of Eid Al-Adha and Day 764 in the 800 Days Countdown are all associated with Wednesday November 17 2010.

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!)