my Celebrity Look-alikes
...and hell...I look like ass in that photo too.
Imagine if I was look'in as good as usual!
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Posted by ikeik at 6:36 PM 0 comments
I believe that we're just over the threshold into a new era. That new era goes by many names today: Postmodern, Information Age, Digital Age, etc. It is defined by a seemingly conflicting polar-duality of loss of faith and an increase in spirituality; a crumbling of moral judgment and a rise in moral fortitude. It's an era of seamless interconnectedness throughout all strata of society, and yet a deepening of social divides and personal isolation. This place in history finds all aspects of civilization, globally like never before, discovering and redefining itself with reckless abandon. Man may have never in its short existence been so far removed from its primitive beginnings, and yet wholly engulfed by its primal self.
We are truly at a crossroads. Many choices lie before us, and unlike the crossroads of eras past, we are set not to choose one, but all of the possible roads ahead on our continuing journey.
I believe that we are on the brink of a highly stratified, decentralized, chaotic global democratization.
That's not to say that all peoples of the world will be living in free liberal societies by the end of century. It is however, to say that at a regional level, the peoples of the world will be living in societies of their own choosing made possible by popular consensus. Such is the case in the middle east today where free elections have led not to free democratic societies, but to somewhat oppressive old world cultures. When faced with terminal uncertainty, uneducated man has a tendency to collect toward the known and structured.
The uneducated are never more dangerous than as members of a society where every individual has the power to change the world.
In the world of today, there is only one truly effective weapon…the weapon of knowledge. The only way to truly defeat the ills which face us, is through the unimpeded education and intellectual empowerment of the world at large. No amount of hand-outs or hand-holding can hope to equal even a single bit of free knowledge bestowed on those thirsty for the taste.
To put a Christian perspective on this argument: We were born to the world in a state of bliss and ignorance. Then we took for ourselves the fruit of knowledge and with it came hardship. Overtime, we learned that to be more like the maker we so longed to become, and to ease our personal hardship, we must horde this fruit and protect it from others. With this ability to increase and horde knowledge, we truly became something of gods in our own rights, while leaving the masses of less-thans hungrily behind in the hardship. However, I believe that we have now reached the plateau of that form of godly existence. If we hope to continue increasing our knowledge and easing our hardship, we must not emulate, but ascend beyond, the god-like state we have so long strived to achieve. We must not be as the God, fatherly hording away knowledge. Instead, we must harvest that fruit and feed the masses. Only then will we have the strength as a people to push forward in the days ahead…into this new era.
FitterHappier |
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Posted by ikeik at 1:35 AM 0 comments
Labels:
politics
In the Americas, the rolls of socialist leaning countries, who have begun positioning themselves as important world players, grows every month. Venezuela, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Peru and Mexico now have all either moved strongly to the left or come under increasing leftist control with each passing day. Along with Cuba, these countries have formed strategic alliances with China, Russia, Syria, Iran and even North Korea, among others.
There can be no doubt that the alliances: economic, political, military, etc of the countries listed above, should be of major concern to the U.S. and its allies.
Consider this…Iran is already flexing the new found muscle it has been handed by the U.S. bungling of Iraq. Should it become the regional power we have now positioned it to become, our efforts toward democracy in Iraq should fail, and the resulting government align itself with Iran, what percentage of world oil reserves would be under Iran’s control? What percentage of total world oil, gas, and other energy reserves would a strategic alliance of China, Russia, a Middle East controlled by Iran, and a South/Central America dominated by a socialist alliance, control? Faced with this obvious threat, what would be the response of “The West”? Considering we are hamstringed by the UN’s apathy and indecisiveness at every turn, could we even respond in time to head-off such a chain of events? Could those we have disaffected in an effort to reign supreme soon form a coalition leading to our ultimate demise?
While I plan to present a more detailed argument for concern during the next few weeks, I wanted to point out the obvious here and solicit comments on the subject.
UPDATE 02/01/2007:
Well it looks like things are falling into place for the Coalition of the Disaffected. Recent news articles point to the continued strengthening of ties and deeper cooperation of our lesser and "former" enemies. Not to mention huge steps toward out-right socialist states in South America.
Here are just a few news articles from the past week:
JTW News - Chavez, Morales, Correa bypass U.S. in deals with Iran, China
North Korea, Iran cooperating on long-range missiles
Socialist Ideology Takes New Roots in South America
Chavez to Rule by Decree -- 01/31/2007
Diario Las Americas - In Venezuela, Hugo Chávez is the State
Upside Down World - Sandinista Government Takes Power in Nicaragua
Today in Investor's Business Daily stock analysis and business news
Posted by ikeik at 9:00 AM 0 comments
Labels:
politics
An Ultra Right of Center Leftist Capitalistic Fascist is Born??? ...one can only hope.
It's my baby I'm talking about here. Faced with the never ending crap of the world and the never ending stream of people more than happy to pour it over your head, I think she may have seen the light!!
Check out her latest comments on "The System" in:
I think I'm becoming a conservative!?
Posted by ikeik at 11:20 AM 0 comments
Labels:
philosophy,
politics
"Imagine if you will a dimension not of sight, or sound, or time, but of mind."
That phrase is the famous opening words of the Twilight Zone. It's catchy. It's quirky, and it just might be the most insightful tagline ever on TV. Now I know it wasn't up against much competition on the idiot box, so that may not be saying much. The idea behind the phrase though...oh that idea...that idea is most definitely saying a lot...a lot of cosmic proportions.
Let's do what we were asked to do for just a moment.
Imagine a dimension. This dimension is not one of a physical world, so sight, sound, even time, have no real meaning here. It's a dimension where anything is possible and everything is. There are no stars here. No planets. No trees. No people. No molecules or even atoms. In fact, in this dimension there is only an infinite, eternal, swirling, undulating foam. A sea if you will. A frothy sea, but it doesn't stretch out with a flat surface like the seas you're used to. It doesn't even stretch out in three dimensions, but it is never ending. It is everywhere. It is everything...and everything is it.
I know, that's already getting confusing. That's ok though. In fact, it's expected, because we aren't just imagining any old dimension here. We aren't even REALLY imagining a dimension at all. What we are imagining is much more than just a dimension. Much more than a mere level or form of existence. What we are seeing in our mind, is in fact the ONLY dimension. The only true existence on any level, in any way, in any form. What we are seeing in our minds...is Reality.
But hold on a minute...dont go trying to wrap your thoughts around that just yet.
Reality. The only true existence. The only thing that is...the all that is...ever will be...ever was...this reality. The every day world of solid matter and Newtonian Physics. The atoms, electrons, and sub-atomic particles of Quantum Physics. The cosmic strings, black holes, and 10 dimensions of String Theory. The angels, demons, heaven, hell, and God of monotheistic religions. The gods and goddesses, elementals, and magical energies of paganistic religions. The aura, karma, and mystical cosmic energies of new age and eastern religions. Philosophies. Dreams. Everything you think you know and everything you don't know you don't. They are all part of this Reality. This reality that truly exists in only one place...your mind.
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Posted by ikeik at 11:38 PM 1 comments
Labels:
pagan,
philosophy,
religion
Mark Morford, the near-god like editorialist from
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/gate/archive/2006/06/07/notes060706.DTL&nl=fix
http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=1958823
http://www.leftbehindgames.com/pages/index.html
Comments from MySpace
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Posted by ikeik at 5:40 PM 0 comments
Labels:
philosophy,
religion
So say there are higher beings than us. Be that those of us who have passed on. Those of us who are simply not in physical form at the moment. Those of us who have ascended. Or perhaps just beings which operate on a higher level than we do. Whether we call these things: Angels and Demons. Good and Evil gods. Elementals. Spirits. It doesn't matter.
Lets assume for a minute they are there.
If they do exist. Then would it not also make sense, assuming they have free will to do as they please, that some might choose to do negative things? It seems that for balance to be, there must be a negatively aligned being for each positively. Assuming that holds true
Then do we really want to be going around calling on them? Raising them? Conjuring them? Because whether we call them angles/demons, gods, elementals, or simply see them as a reflection of a particular aspect of our inner selves...it doesnt really matter. If they are actual beings and they decide to lead us in the wrong direction. Cause us harm. Just screw with us. That's a bad thing. A dangerous thing. Or perhaps they just don't like meat sacks and like to fuck us over every chance they get.
Taking the perspective that its possible, since the universe is infinite, that this COULD be the case. Wouldn't it make sense to at least educate those who deal in such realms to the possibility and teach them to protect themselves from such things. To actively act against such things?
Now that's what I'm saying when I say, Dont you think that they could at least exist and should be explained in Wicca?
The proceeding is from an IM chat I had with Shadoe earlier today. We were discussing my view that mainstream Wiccan practitioners don't seem to take the negative, or evil, side of the cosmos seriously. In fact, from the literature Ive read and the blogs Ive perused online, they don't even seem to acknowledge that it exists.
If it were one or two, I would say they were just fluffy bunnies and didn't know any better. The sheer number of sites and books spouting the same light and happiness happy happy butterfly view of Wicca and Witchcraft however seem to point to something more institutionalized than fringe.
While Shadoe was quick to point out that true Wicca does acknowledge the darker side of our wonderful little cosmos, she didn't allay my fears of tweenie witches conjuring spirits to help hold the rollers in place before their big junior prom night. Which leads me to ask
Does mainstream Wicca practice Evil Abstinence?
We all make fun of the Christian parents who sit little Jeremy and Sara down and say, Sex is to be left for marriage. God said so. So you should save it for marriage because it is bad not to do so. Then cry and scream and blame the world for the swelling in their daughters belly six months after they gave this little pep talk in place of signing the permission form for Sara to take part in Sex Ed classes at the local middle school.
Is mainstream Wiccan literature doing any different for its newbies?
To simply say, You should always do things in a positive way because the Rede says so? Or drum the golden rule into a newbies head. Or worse yet, to simply pretend the dark side doesn't exist, and expect that alone to protect the newcomer or child from evil energies, is preposterous, short sided, naive...hell it's a down right Christian thing to do.
We are all human. Telling someone NOT to do something is only going to make them want to do it more. Telling someone its bad and forbidden is going to make them itch just for a taste. You just cant expect any different. As long as we are in Human form, we are still in fact Human. Stupid is as Stupid does...and Humans...we're a pretty stupid lot.
So why don't mainstream books and sites and leaders include more about the dark side of the cosmos? Why don't they push their initiates and newbies to learn to defend themselves actively against such dangerous forces? Is it because, like the doe eyed Christian parent they simply think saying, don't will make someone not? In some cases, maybe. But I don't think it can be denied, that in many its simply a matter of economics.
A religion or practice devoid of any negativity is bound to sell better and be more attractive to a greater number of people. The more people who are attracted, the more books are sold. The more books sold, the more money is made.
As bad as it sounds...and as many hexes as are sure to come my way...when it comes right down to it, the thing that causes many mainstream Wiccan not to acknowledge the evil forces of the cosmos may just be the very root of it all...Money.
Money. You simply cant get more Christian than that.
Posted by ikeik at 1:55 AM 0 comments
We're looking for a new house.
So we thought we'd found a good buy in Warrenville. Made an offer. Signed a Contract. Had the Inspector come out and...the floors are falling in.
Went back to the looking again.
Found another house. Even better than the first one. Loved it. Had pretty much decided to make an offer on it. But there was this one little nagging thing...it is in Graniteville. Graniteville of course being the site of the train wreck and chlorine spill about a year and a half ago. So I decided to do a little online investigating to see if there had been any further reports of damage etc to the homes in the area.
I type "graniteville sc train wreck home damage" into the google. The first link I click on has this nice big aerial photo of the train wreck. The picture still shows the piled up train cars with corrosive chlorine gas spewing out and sliding across the ground toward some homes in the lower right of the...
...oh son-of-a-bitch!
Guess which little house I see right down there in the bottom right of the photo. It's the little gray house just to the left of the date caption on the photo above.
So I don't know. I just can't bring myself to buy a home, no matter how good it looks, or how many inspections it passes, knowing it was so close to the wreck it actually made it into the stock photo which will forever be associated with a disaster.
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Posted by ikeik at 6:26 PM 0 comments