Day 695 (Tidbits)

If you've been wondering about what is at the core of the blogger personality and person of Blake Hall IV, then the Day 695 entry on THE 800 DAYS blog will give you a fair bit of insight. Of course, spirituality (what Blake chooses to write about in the entry) is just on facet of a human being - but if you've wondered, here's your chance to hear about some of Blake's personal experiences with spirituality.

In the Day 695 post, you may examine Blake's thoughts on Buddhism and - as always - interpret for yourself what Buddhism might mean to you.

Beyond the commentary about spirituality and Buddhism, further down in the post, Blake offers some artistic words in the piece called "What Could Be - And What Has Been."

What I like about this piece is that the narrator asks a number of questions at the beginning:

How can you save a person who doesn't want saving [my paraphrase, so as to refrain from taking away from Blake's own artistry and word structure]? Also - how do you save a person who is empty inside and nothing but a shell [my paraphrase]? How do you stop a train [my paraphrase] - how do you attempt to stop the inevitable [interpretation, mine]?

Now, from these questions, there are vastly different answers, each per person, according to worldview and personal belief system - however - Blake's version of how to process questions of this nature is clearly and artfully provided - just read through the "What Could Be And What Has Been" poetic piece.

Something I've noticed in almost all of Blake's writing is a definite balance that I like very much. This balance is in the concepts of "good/bad," "good/evil," and I find that Blake almost always has a Devil wherever he has a higher concept of "Good," "Holy," or higher cosmic forces. Here, the Devil arrives late in the poetry, within the last third of the content:

Throwing all away, that's real pure & true

Devils jeers laughing, as you arrive right on cue

Sure he'll give you enough reach, to go get another fix

Delusional comforts of HIS home, where you'll remain but just Exist...

The three words above that provide an unmistakable mental image are "Devils jeers laughing[...]" and such a powerful mental image makes the Devil almost viewable, touchable.

Now, you can interpret the poetry any way you like - I just wanted to show a portion of the poem that struck a definite mental image and cue for me (above - it's actually a pic of a match stick holder/striker - creepy, lighting fire on the face of the Devil? Yikes!)... And I'll leave off now, so you can go interpret and enjoy Blake's brand of poetics!

The Day 695 post is about the core beliefs of Blake Hall IV and is associated with Tuesday January 25 2011.

Day 696 (Tidbits)

Wow, there's a GIANT horoscope chart on Day 696 of Blake's THE 800 DAYS blog! And it's one I've never seen before, apparently found and forwarded by Blake's friend named "TOMCAT."

To be able to get a better look at an enlarged image, I right-clicked to open the larger image in a new window. You can go straight to the larger image with the link below:

Large Image, "Horoscoped - Most common words in star sign predictions."

As Blake also suggests in his Day 696 post, go to the site where this came from 'cos the image is complicated - the procedure for gaining most common words in star sign predictions and also the reason for doing so is located at:

http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/2011/horoscoped/

The Day 696 post is associated with a New Horoscope chart and Monday January 24 2011.

Day 697 (Tidbits)

It seems Blake is pressed for time around this point in blogging for THE 800 DAYS blog, so his Day 697 post features some interesting photos from a friend, Joe Lee.

In my opinion, the fourth photo down shows an INSANE pyrotechnics trick... is that FIRE blown from a guy's mouth...?? That's what I see!

Plugging my ears so I won't hear when the guy starts screaming, "AAAACK I'm On FIRE!"

Blake sure knows a lot of interesting people who also possess interesting skills. Myself, I can't say, "I have a friend who blows fire out of his mouth," but I can still ask, "Do you?"

:)

The absolute truth is: I need to catch up to Blake on FB or some other long-distance way to find out more about Joe Lee and some of the other people he has featured in pics, words, music, etc., on the 800 Days blog since I've been low-profile online...

The day 697 post on The 800 Days blog is associated with FIRE!!! and Sunday January 23 2011.

Day 698 (Tidbits)

More news and words from Anonymous have been featured on the Day 698 entry of The 800 Days blog. These words are a scathing social commentary that, in my humble opinion (and obviously by Blake's point of view, as well), should be considered with a great deal of critical thinking.

Blake has also provided some links to other locations online where you'll find "Anonymous" bits - radio, news and such.

In the spirit of catching on Blake's content, I am keeping this post extremely short - partly because I have in excess of 20 posts to catch up on after a little break I took from blogging in February, and in part because I cannot reiterate the words of Anonymous without breaking with the intensity of the Anonymous messages!

The Day 698 post is associated with Saturday January 22 2011.

Day 699 (Tidbits)

There are some interesting videos on the Day 669 entry over on Blake Hall's The 800 Days blog, starting with "Hey Boy Hey" by the Chemical Brothers. After that bit of video and music artistry, the video content abruptly changes...

The topic: "MARS."

For the first vid, just a little background in case some readers are unfamiliar with the topic being discussed ('face on Mars') in the video:

A certain area of the planet, Mars, is called, "Cydonia," which is made up of a bunch of sub-parts. The sub-areas are Cydonia Mensae (flat, Mesa areas), Cydonia Colles (area of small hills), Cydonia Labyrithus (a rather complex bunch of valleys which intersect). Cydonia is named after an area - (a historical city-state) - on the North West coast of the island of Crete that was called Kydonia. Presently, Kydonia is now the city of Chania, and this is as far as the little history lesson goes...

Back on topic... There was a photo taken of the surface of Mars in 1976. The image was collected from a tool in the NASA VIKING PROGRAM and the tool was the Viking I Orbiter. Viking I took a photo of an area of Cydonia somewhere between the Arandas Crater on Mars and another crater known as "Bamberg," and when this image was viewed, people thought it looked like a face or, in the least, a "made" structure that could not have naturally occurred in nature. Another orbiter, Viking II, also picked up images of the "face," from different angles.

By 1977 speculations were printed and spoken, saying the face might be the work of extraterrestrial intelligence and activity, so on and so forth...

NASA refused to comment much about the images but about 20 years later, superior equipment was launched to subsequent missions to Mars and new images were gathered of the same location of Mars. Comparisons to the old images have been offered, the respective collections of images from more recent expeditions out in space, along with Viking I and II images... and still we have no clear answers about what the images are showing...

Many experts say the images simply show some naturally occurring items that our minds and eyes then, by the effects of PARAEDOLIA, turn into "the face on the surface of Mars," and nothing more...

Please Note: * These images in the Cydonia area that seem to show a "face" are NOT the only images or places on Mars that show areas that appear to be faces or known shapes... the Cydonia images, for some reason, just seem to be the most high-profile and oft-analyzed images.

Head on over to Blake's 800Days blog and watch the video, along with two more vids about Mars. BTW, the second vid on Mars (third vid down on the blog) requires that you read. It has a fair bit of scrolling text, so if you need to pause from time to time to get the reading down, feel free to do so.

The Day 699 post is associated with Mars, The Chemical Brothers and the date, Friday January 21 2011.

A Little Break In February

Myth has been on a bit of a break this February 2011 in order to work on some public speaking gigs - in particular, a comedy routine to be delivered at a promiment comedy club chain on Valentine's Day evening.

As Valentine's Day rapidly approaches, Myth is fighting back just a minor case of "the nerves," however, the show must go on whether Myth trips on the mic or not (gadget challenged) - and once the Valentine's Day show is over, there will be a fantastic flurry of writing to the 800 Days Follower blog!

Truth be known, I joined a comedy workshop setting intent on recreation, socializing, stress relief and polishing up some comedic public speaking skills. Once I got to the group, however, I found I was in the company of trainers I worked with 5 years ago who intended these particular workshops to be extremely short term, in-depth training for a Valentine's Day comedy event!

I mostly stayed with the group because I didn't wish to appear like a chicken-snit, so I committed to doing the Valentine's Day show...while, perhaps, it was more appropriate to just be committed somewhere else, if you know what I mean...

Myth will be back in full force after getting some "Ha-Ha" action on February 14th and recovering from hecklers if that is necessary on the 15th...

Thanks for understanding - wish me YUKs

Myth~~

Day 700 (Tidbits)

Some rather shocking data turned out by Blake Hall for the Day 700 entry on his The 800 Days blog. These details are about how people use their computers...
An amazing 79 percent of people polled (Harris Interactive surveys) asserted that they store embarrassing files on their computer they don't want co-workers, family and friends to see...

*Both Hands Up*

Guilty...errrr I mean, I also would say I have things on my computer I don't want others to see or which might cause embarrassment to me if someone scouted through my computer contents.

Mind you, I have poetry - my own - stored on my PC and this is the most personal stuff I don't want anyone to see *shrug*

The video at the top of the post, I enjoyed very much - then below the vid, I wondered why the word "sex" was repeated over and over and over and over and over... turns out, the Harris poll also asked several questions about SEX and the results show that both men and women wish to hide the online sites they frequent hmmm....

There are actually what I view as two full articles inside the Day 700 post, along with a poem, dedicated to "LL," to close out this blog entry.

The second of the articles is called "Sex Tapes of the Rich and Infamous," which leads into a discussion of how plentiful sex tapes of the rich and famous are in North America and the "civilized" Western World - first under premise that personal tapes had been stolen then made viewable to a general public - secondly, with the fake story of the same ("Hey my tapes were stolen!") but the tapes being choreographed, marketed and distributed with planned precision.

Hey... people are buying these tapes/DVDs like crazy, so more and more sex tapes are coming out... and Blake has compiled a rather abundant list of names of stars who have fallen into this sex-tape craze, marketing and pulling in money from what Americans/North Americans apparently want to see more and more of... I'm surprised at who is on this list, but then, I am still often surprised that so many people want to get their 15 minutes of fame by any means possible - even if it's done by baring all in what most people would find extremely embarrassing fashion.

Although I wasn't unaware of this craze, reading about it via The 800 Days blog and then reviewing this post has made me even more aware that SEX sex sex sex sex sex sex is on peoples' minds a LOT...

The Day 700 post is associated with SEX and the date, Thursday January 20 2011.

P.S. I'll have to return later to review on the poetry as it takes me some time to interpret...
I'll follow up and review in another post soon...

'til then, you'll just have to hang on a sex.......... oops I mean a sec'

Day 701 (Tidbits)

It appears that Blake made his weekend fall in the middle of the week here as the Day 701 post on THE 800 DAYS blog is on a lighter topic than usual again.

Oh, WAIT!

SILLY ME!

Blake's not letting anyone off the hook here at all... it's just the vid at the top of the Day 701 post that made me think Blake was taking his weekend kickin'-up-his-feet-time early in the week instead of starting on Friday evening for this week!

You WILL have to engage your cerebrum, after all! Blake has inserted the topic of GUNS (mythbuster ducking here - myth does NOT like guns)...in the Day 701 post...

It appears that the content is an interview with a gun owner - who has stated she'd like to remain anonymous. More gravely, the content turns out not to just be random and general, about guns, either. This Day 701 post is going to bring the Tuscson January 8 2011 shootings to mind...

I personally do not like guns. I live in Canada where gun laws are much different than in the U.S.A. Here's a nifty link I just found that some readers might find interesting - an article:

Canada's Gun Laws For Americans

This article was updated recently on Jan 27th 2001.

I have to admit, I dislike guns so much that I rarely discuss the topic of guns... Consequently, I don't closely follow news stories even as big as the Tucson Shooting on January 8th 2011. In defense of this fact, when people try to rile me or change my mind about both the benefits of guns and how they believe I should follow such stories more closely, I answer,

"Is it not enough that I am looking into the deeper picture here...the social problem that causes PEOPLE to be dangerous while weilding weapons?" and a statement, "Even a kitchen butter knife is a dangerous, lethal weapon in the wrong hands."

There are very few details about the January 8th shooting that differ from other tragic shooting events and I choose to focus, not on the details of each event - those details are for forensics people and law enforcement authorities to deal with... The targets, of course, are unique to this incident, the casualties are, as well, but the "warning signs" and "preventable details" are similar to almost every act of violence that has occurred in North America over the past hundred years or so...

This is not to say that from my point of view, "I don't care" - it's just that I don't allow myself to get wrapped up in certain details and in actuality, I DO pay close attention to these current events - albeit from a focus that many people don't talk about... at THE ROOTS of the issues, as far as these can be determined.

In my gun-less home, I don't sit around planning to rally for or against gun laws or related things, I study sociological aspects of our society and I make up appropriate speeches for engaging people in discussions about how to agree to disagree, how to respect people even when they're from another culture or hold to a differing belief system, and I'm also learning how to enter verbal conflict in a way so as to make resolutions possible if both parties are willing to resolve issues. Communication is the focal point of all our relationships whether one to one citizens are conversing or one citizen to a government representative or even a group being heard by a government department...

Besides, I'm from Canada where the likes of an urban legend came true just a few years ago and a man was beheaded along a bus route that used to be my most travelled way from Alberta to Ontario and back again...

See: 2008 Beheading Incident on Canadian Greyhound Bus No Mere Urban Legend

There was no gun in that instance - and the reasons why the incident happened and a man perished in 2008 in Canada are much the same as why a shooter was allowed to shoot people, including bystanders and government officials on January 8 2011 in Tucson Arizona, U.S.A. - because someone slipped through a bunch of systems...and ALSO (I might get cyberHIT for this) because someone slipped through community systems and community failed to effectively communicate a danger in the community when it/a person who was questionable was in their midst...

Again, I hate guns...but what I hate more is all the focus on GUNS when it is the handler of weapons who is dangerous.

I very much appreciate the mind-set of the anonymous interviewee on the Day 701 post and feel that her answers give proof of a responsible gun owner. She purchased a weapon at an appropriate time whereby she had means, resources and teachers to show her how to handle the weapon safely and properly, how to shoot - and she obviously spent a great deal of time and focus on handling the weapon - making regular trips to the shooting range for proper practice.

If I was told by someone in authority that I MUST own and know how to use a gun - if it were a law or something, I would follow the interviewee's example but I would forever be nervous about owning a gun. Even if I am responsible with the weapon - someone who really wants a gun can break into almost any kind of locked compartment if they really have their minds set on such a thing. Additionally, the mind/person that is set on such a prize who would go to a lot of work to get it would be something to reckon with, no doubt.

I like Blake's parting words, "If these issues have not hit your state yet, it is just a matter of time until they do," however, I'm sure I have a different take on what these words are about...rather, where I would place the focus would be different than Blake suggests...

For me, I'd say, "these issues of bystander effect, apathy, public confusion and lack of public responsibility combined with ineffectual government responsibility to its citizens WILL get to your region if they are not already present in abundant supply...so watch for them rather than spending ALL your focus on guns..."

On this matter, I'm sure Blake and I will have to agree to disagree tho' I am not fully certain that I'm not judging what Blake's POV is to hastily...really, he's offered a bunch of information and I cannot be absolutely positive that he is "For" the responsible ownership of guns. I'll have to wait and see what comments Blake drops by to make regarding this post.

I will apologize now, not for my POV, but in the event that I assumed to know Blake's POV on this matter. I have offered by POV and put it up for discussion nonetheless...

The Day 701 post is associated with Wednesday January 19 2011.

P.S.

Once you've finished reading about the "Beheading Incident," take a deep breath and please offer up prayers to BOTH Tim McLean's family (R.I.P. Tim McLean) and the assailant, along with his family (it was an open and close case of mental illness gone out of control and the assailant suffers emotionally to this day over what he did).

Also - after all this seriousness,  please enjoy the complementary vid, "Shout" - by the original artists, "Tears For Fears" ... The cover version mix was at the top of the Day 701 post on The 800 Days blog...

Day 702 (Tidbits)

If the last post and topics about demons and exorcism were a bit too much for you, the next post should be an entertaining surprise!  The Day 702 blog entry on THE 800 DAYS blog is quirky but FUN - with a little viral "get to know me" game or two on it!

Now, the word "discordianism" does come up on the Day 702 post, and brief explanations of some aims of Discordianism, Chaos Magick and Anarchists are provided, but only to provide clarity as to why a list-game is being posted, keeping these belief systems in mind.

Okay, basically what these games are is an attempt to make something possibly meaningful out of chaos, and the tools for righting chaos are the lists and music/song titles...

In the first example, you're asked to go completely random, answering the list questions from the way your music plays on your player (mp3 player, iPod, whatever you listen to tunes on). In the second example, answer the list questions from song titles of your favourite or one of your favourite bands.

Blake used The Chemical Brothers for the second list - with some funny but also some thought-provoking results! In the first instance, the list is even more random but Blake's particular results from the first viral list are, again, thought - provoking.

Head over to the Day 702 post and have a go at the viral lists. If you end up with some really interesting results you'd like to share, email them and I can post some of the results on the blog!

The Day 702 post is chaotic but magickal at the same time and is associated with Tuesday January 18 2011.

Day 703 (Tidbits)

I don't know what the bulk of readers think about things like exorcism but I, for one, find it a fascinating topic for discussion. Blake introduces an interesting article, "American Exorcists in Demand," about the Catholic Church seeking people to train and learn to perform the rites of exorcism!

The Day 703 post over on THE 800 DAYS blog is full of information on this matter, even though it's one of Blake's average-to-short length posts. ie: training in Baltimore, how many Bishops and Priests are set to be trained as Exorcists, recruitment of the clergy for said position/responsibility, WOW...

No Guf, eh?

Serious stuff - the Catholic Church is NOT treating demons and evil spirits as if they're metaphors, symbolic, archetypes, make-believe entities...

Perhaps we should all take another look at our own perceptions of the concepts of demonic possession, spirits, esoteric rites, spirituality, oh WAIT....

That's what we've been DOING (from time to time) on the blogs already!

MY BAD...

Haha...

But seriously... In my opinion, we do need to examine the topic of exorcism and also - Church authority on this matter, the beliefs surrounding demonic possession, a number of other (I was going to say "a host of other...but) related issues and topics.

Frankly - WE DO NOT KNOW with any scientific certainty WHAT EXISTS beyond our five senses, 'cos we're trained to rely on just five senses, now, aren't we?

No matter what you think of any particular denomination or sect of Christian or Pagan religion, there are thousands of years of stories, statements, papers, essays and such on topics that science often pooh-poohs. As well, there are scholars in almost every religion who are good scholars and I think we should at least perform some critical thinking and a little research, ourselves, to become familiar with as yet unexplained topics.

Are demons simply a product of unstable minds?
Or are they dimensional beings?
Fallen angels?
Ancient beings from this world - or another?
Tulpas?

Honestly, I had a few personal friends jest when I sent the link to Blake's article - Ad Hominem statements against Catholicism were their most marked "reasons" for pooh-pooh-ing an article which says that Church scholars are taking an in-depth, serious look into demon possession cases and information - and formulating some defenses against demons and evil entities, "just in case."

To the pooh-pooh-ers, I ask...

What are you going to do if something negative and paranormal happens to you? Particularly if that unexplained thing is harmful in an outright way?

The Day 703 post is associated with Monday January 17 2011.