Tiny Worlds

Behold Saturn in her absolute magnificence. There are much larger pictures available on the Internet, fans, than here. Seek them out if you need a new desktop.

Look just outside Saturn's brightest inner rings at 9:15 o'clock  - there is a white dot. That white dot is Earth, and that dot contains our entire species, now, then, and seemingly forever.

We regress, while we know such wonders await us.


Blame Republicans.

New Years Resolutions

2014 is the year I get a prostate exam!

You should get one too, if you have a prostate.

State of the Internet 2014

Merry New Year 2014!

Rule 34 2013

Hello, Internet. I am one of your many Kings, and I greet you both as Ruler and Servant. For today's lesson, let's consider Rule 34, which states: If it exists, there is porn of it.

Above is Admiral Janeway from Star Trek: Voyager. A Simpson's joke, but it's no joke. Of course there is Janeway porn.

Click below for a wicked tease of Rule 34!

A New Kind of Love

These are the men of the future. Consider the men of the past. Think of a boy born in 1900, who grew up into a world of radio then TV. Think of how different he'd be than this young man above, born in the Internet. All the rules are changing.

Without foundation in this new world, we drift, assuming new personas, at least for a while. And some more passionately than others.

The Internet has opened a Pandora's Box, and it won't be easily shut. It could be shut though - a good sized solar flare would fry modern technology, and we'd revert to the year 1900 quickly enough, for a decade or more. But the Internet would return, inevitably.

My advice for this new world? Be flexible of mind and body.

An even newer world

Consider it, Wingnuts. Hillary gets elected in 2016, and wins re-election in 2020. That would represent 16 years in a row of Democratic rule, and if we can't crush the Repukes in that timeframe, than shame on us. Till then, some Hill shots:

Obama shot, actually. Sorry, Hills. Just want all them PUMA's to remember that Barack is our President.

Hillary and Barry, re-making world diplomacy. Notice how calmer the world seems lately, compared to 2000-2008?

What if?

There's not enough words in the world to describe all the fucked up shit that has and will go down.

Keep Ur fires burning. Know that I burn with you, and am taking pictures.

Smile!

Life is the prize, you fool.

It drives them insane

Lovely photo of the First Family having dinner at the Kremlin. This sweet picture also drives a not insignificant percentage of Americans insane with rage. LOOK HOW ARROGANT!!!

A lovely photo of young Barry as pirate and young Mom Ann. Consider the ultimate "American Dream" aspect of this photo, as this was not a rich family, or a powerful family, but just one of the new American families - international, open, tolerant.

And this of course drives the Tea Baggers insane. MUSLIM! KENYAN! BIRTH CERTIFICATE! They're filled with hate, spewing with anger, all the while claiming a mantle of Christians. As REAL AMERICANS.

From the Right Wing Internet hive mind. This came out before the 2012 election and claims Obama's mom did porno. It's not true, of course, but what does truth matter to a Tea Bagger? Only hate matters. Only defeating the Other. And yes, this is now a belief among the 27%ers, the utterly mad. A poison in the body politic.

MOTHER!

Another incredible pic from our old friend Prokudin. Russia, 1900 or so - a whole different world. Think of the history of Russia from then, to now.

John Kerry is in you, Kremlin! And, of yeah, so too is shit like this:

Trotskyist Disco Demon Jews, bent on selling you out to the Chinese.

Watch out!

Of Many Suns

An artist's representation of Gliese 667Cc, a lovely planet thought to be one of the first that resides in the so called "Goldilock's Zone", that is, the area not too close and not too far from a star where water could generally remain liquid. Which, we think today, is necessary for life. I suspect we'll find this is not so limiting in the future, but that's for then.

For now - perhaps one of the coolest Exoplanets discovered to date, orbiting a small red dwarf star which in turn orbits a pair of much larger stars who are orbiting each other. Fun fact to know and share: It's estimated that about 60% of all stars are at least binaries - stars orbiting stars. Our sun is a minority in this regard.

Here's another artist's interpretation of Gliese 667Cc:

Nice, right? Only 22 Light Years away. Or, that is, they've got The Simpsons on reruns now too. But just when everyone was all fired up about GL667Cc, up and comes PH1, or Kepler-64B:

It's a big Gas Giant 5000LY away so kinda boring in that regard, but not in this - it orbits a pair of stars. One planet orbiting two stars. These two stars are in turn orbited by another pair, like this:

Confusing as heck! And night time would be a thing of rarity. Good for beach going though! Except for the Gas Giant thing. But you know.

Another cool first with PH1 was it was discovered by "amateurs" using publicly accessible data from the Kepler Space Telescope. The best space telescope, by the way. Yeah, Hubble, you heard me.

Born Again

Congrats! We all survived the apocalypse and now reside in a higher vibrational reality - can you feel these good vibes? Try - you can make it so.

Any idea when our next apocalypse is scheduled? My calendar is wide open.


Above, from bottom - Mercury, Venus, Mars and Jupiter at dawn. Loverly.

Librarian Laughs

Poor Uranus. It's a lovely planet - an Ice Giant with more water than all the water on Earth times 1000 or even more. And yet, forever a joke, because of its name. Do you think this joke will ever pass? Doesn't seem likely does it. As such, I propose we change Uranus's name to something cooler. How about Caelus?

Another sign that our times are progressive and getting better. Within my lifetime there were once banned books in America, land of Freedom. Ulysses, all of Henry Miller's work, Catch-22, The Grapes of Wrath, Naked Lunch, and let us not forget The Canterbury Tales. Yes, banned in America in the 1870's due to the awesome Comstock Law. But today, as far as I know, there are no banned books. We're free to read all the crap we want. But don't, because, really, who the hell reads anymore?

Tutankhamon of the World

All pictures from 2008/early 2009 - either during Obama's trip in the Summer, election night, or the day Obama was sworn in. This guy's got it right - like it or not, the leader of America has enormous influence over all the people of the world in a variety of ways. And thus, about 10 million people in a handful of states thus determine the fate of the world. Choose wisely, America! The world already has.

Socialism! Communism! Ismism!

Totally spontaneous celebration in Islamabad - ain't that an awesome name for a city too?

This drunk guy in Norway loves Barry!

As do these drunks in London.

And these folks in Nairobi.

And this family in Bosnia.

As well as this family in Sadr City.

It's an Obama party in Kabul!

Yes, rare Wingnut who might be reading this blog. I'm well aware that the rest of the world does not get to vote for President of the USA. However, surely (ha!) even you would agree better to have a leader that the rest of the world respects and is eager to work with, rather than some Corporate empty suit espousing idiocy in the form of "American Exceptionalism". Right? Ha, yeah, right.

The vast majority of the world truly respects Obama, and yet we here in America are forced to endure the overly loud opinions of a small minority of idiots and bigots, who somehow have coerced the American media establishment to defer to their every raving. It's sad, and scary, but it's also not working.

America will re-elect Barack Obama, and he can get back to work in fixing the disasters of W. and the rest of the Republican Radicals.

Guns for Peace (Occupation), Freedom (Terror)

Wry global political humor, don't you know? I root for the UN, and especially armed UN missions into troubled areas of the world. Why? Because I want to see a One World Government and a planet mostly united in peace and harmony. Instead of spending trillions on war and death, we could colonize the solar system and expand beyond our wildest dreams, Lords of the Seas, Lands, Air and Space. We would be unto Gods.

So I kinda get why the wingnuts are always all "hurf durf black helicopters", because the UN is our best shot for now at a World government that can function. And they don't want that for their small, frightened ways. And that's their right, and so we struggle on, tribal factions all across Earth spilling blood and causing so much strife and carnage, holding us back and keeping us scared and angry. Alas!

Guns have become the tool of choice for when these conflicts turn violent. Has there ever been a more destructive tool in terms of lives taken? The sword, maybe? Sharpened stone?  Guns are so slick and sophisticated at what they do, why they exist: Deal Death.

Can violence ever be good? Are there valid reasons to kill another? An age old question, I suppose. The Super Hippy in me wants to say no, never. Violence can never be good, by definition. But the realist in me scoffs: What if someone(s) has come to burn down your house, steal anything of worth, kill or enslave your family, and then ride off to do the same to some other poor, innocent souls? Wouldn't it be "good" to stop them and aid the greater weal?

Each person has to decide for themselves.

Above is Subcomandante Marcos, former College Professor, Poet, and Revolutionary Spokesman for the Zapistas in Mexico. I don't know if he's ever used any of those bullets. But I doubt the Mexican Government thinks he's cool. Does that make Marcos good or bad?

Just words, just as guns are just tools, and what matters is how you use them and your true intent. Everything's just itself and it is only we humans that give anything meaning. And we all should remind ourselves of, frequently, we're all subjective creatures, influenced by myriad factors, and prone to illogical, emotional acts. And so meaning is a point of view. Right? Like good or evil.

So the wingnuts say: Guns don't kill people. People kill people.

New Year's Eve in the Dawn of Apocalypse

Happy New Years! One of my favorite holidays, tainted only by the fact it's based on a Christian calendar. But I can rise above that. Of all the holidays, people are most open and friendly on this night, willing to kiss strangers in the Common - when else does that happen? Mardi Gras in New Orleans, perhaps. The best night - Halloween might run some competition, but it gets a little too serious and demanding. New Year's is all about the part-aying. But don't drink and drive kids! Except on rural country roads, then it's cool.

And why not drink and drive? We've got less than a year left before the dreaded MAYAN APOCALYPSE! December 21, 2012, and the World ends, by some means which is not clear. But there's a cosmic alignment involved for sure. So feast and and be merry while ye can, for surely DOOM is nigh.

I'll admit I used to half believe in this Mayan Apocalypse bullshit - but it was a long time ago, 1998 or so, and I happened upon a Weekly World News article that was quite convincing. After further research, it seemed likely the world would end in 2012, due to a MAGNETIC POLAR SHIFT.  Because it's true, the magnetic poles on Earth do shift on semi-regular schedules, with North becoming South and South North. Think what that would do to our electronics were it to happen? Frazizzled.

There are lots of ways, in fact, our World (that being our human existence, and not the World itself) could easily end, tomorrow in fact. Herewith is REDSHIRTS TOP TEN APOCALYPSES (not in order):

1. Asteroid Impact. This is inevitable. It will happen at some point, the only question is when. Tomorrow? A million years? Sometime in between? Who knows. We might have years of warning, or, even with our awesome technology, a killer asteroid could sneak up on us unawares and be on our doorstep in days.
2. Super Volcano. Also inevitable. There are a dozen or so super volcanoes on Earth that when they explode, are powerful enough to darken the skies with ash for years. Can you imagine how tough it would be to live on this planet without sunlight for 10 years? We'd starve.
3. Nuclear War. The most likely doomsday scenario. All it takes is some dumb Repuglican with his/her finger on the button and we're all doomed.
4. Solar storm. Also inevitable. Our reliance on electronics would cripple most of so called "modern" society. If strong enough, could toast most living things.
5. Gamma Ray Burst. If a star of certain mass goes supernova and happens to have one of its poles pointed directly at us, we could be in the line of a sight of a high mass, super powerful gamma ray burst that would fry most life on Earth.
6. Global Warming. Happening right now. The real deal and we'll find out how well we can deal with Change - no thanks, once again, to Repuglicans, the crazy fucks.
7. Magnetic Polar Shift. Also inevitable. An event that would have zero impact on a tribe living in the Amazonian rainforest, but which would devastate "modern" society.
8. Ice Age. One of the consequences of global warming could be a new ice age, ironically. Snowball Earth would freeze most life to death.
9. Geologic Instability. Also inevitable. Imagine all the plates of Earth undergoing a vibratory effect that levels anything over 30 feet tall.
10. Super Virus. A bacteria that proves lethal to any human that comes into contact. Easily enough to conceive of, and gosh darn we've got people researching the subject worldwide.

Scared? You should be (but of course shouldn't be). Life is a tenuous proposition on this planet, and we could be shaken off like so much lice. And so, take nothing for granted! There is nothing permanent here at all, in the least bit. Every moment is a gift and you should treat it that way. Let us pray:

Dear ambiguous New Age God, give my Chakras the Crystaline Energy to survive the coming Tribulation.

I don't believe in a prophesied apocalypse at all anymore, in case you can't tell. I worship Science now and believe you me, it's the only Faith that delivers.

Indian Summer (Winter is coming)

Indian Summer is defined in Maine as any warm day past September 1st. Why it's called "Indian" is not for the curry. It's easy to forget, in the Summer, that Maine is cold, and way up North. And kinda weird. But boy, in the Summer - it can be perfection. I had the BEST Summer in quite some time, due to the fully operational New Gondolin. Take a look - 

Due Northwest. That's my favorite corner.

From the great wall of Redshirt, newly constructed. It was amazing to see the change in the wall and the leaves this past week - from nothing to full on. Some change I like, other change I'm not so keen on. I'm going to miss the Summer and I know I've forgotten: Winter is coming:

Brrr!

Dispatches from Gondolin

What I find fascinating about this somewhat cheesy drawing: JRR Tolkien basically invented these genres of Swords and Sorcerers, Dungeons and Dragons, Worlds of Warcraft, etc - the entire Fantasy genre, for all tents and porpoises. And this genre spawned, also,  the Sci-fi we know  and love today: Star Wars is nothing but Fantasy with robots and spaceships rather than swords and horseback. 

Tolkien set out to do just this - create a new mythology, made up of bits and pieces of all sorts of existing myths. He succeeded extravagantly, I'd say. He and L.Ron have to go down as two of the greatest writers ever if for no other reason than the numbers of people who swear allegiance to the fake religions, histories, and stories they created. One of them on a bet; the other during a lifetime of deep scholarship and research. Who's to say who'll be more successful in the end?

The end - what's that, anyways? Just a new beginning, always. Nothing ends, just transforms into other things, somethings else to play a part on this grand stage of pretending - ACTING!


Also, too: The Geo-Thermal is kicking ass.

Also also as well: You can try and justify those giant eagles in LOTR all you want. They are literal Deux ex Machinas flying in to save the day, only when it makes little difference to do so.

Dream made real

Dreams are nothing but hot air unless you take specific actions to bring them into reality. One can talk-talk-talk about writing, or making music, or quitting your stupid job to start organic farming, all the live long day; but in the end, few of us make the leap from talk to action.

Writing is a pretty easy jump to make in comparison - all you need is a pen and paper. I've always wanted to be a writer (though I'm not so sure anymore), and so, way back in the year 1990, I made a vow to myself to write everyday, as a concrete action to turn a dream into reality. 20 years later and I've kept to that vow (missing some days of course, but not many). I am always interested in how artists work, what tricks writers might use, or what schedules, etc. I learned a lot from Henry Miller in this regard, with his "4 hours every day" school of writing. Writing everyday is my committment to myself to continually explore my own mind for new ideas. I challenge myself in these notebooks, because I have no thought of audience, other than myself. I highly recommend this routine for anyone looking to write, or heck, think better.

So! All that for setup for this rather mundane photo of some spiral bound notebooks. They happen to be Madonna's, and they cover the early 90's. These notebooks were stolen from Madonna by an assistant who later tried to sell them, only to have to spend a great deal of time in court. Regardless, look: Madonna used the same notebook I started with in 1990! It's the blue one in the lower right column, and I remember her well (gone now, thrown out). I have since upgraded to super fancy, artsy notebooks, but I remember these spiral jobs fondly.

We are clearly entering a period in human history where paper will fall by the wayside, and while I am going along with that in some ways (this blog, for example!), in others, I hope to stick with paper - my precious notebooks - till I return to the Source. Nothing beats a beat up piece of paper covered in notes!

Proof: