Illusion is Reality

His meritorious achievements are vast;
His wisdom is deep and sublime.
His light, with awe-inspiring glory,
Shakes the universe of a thousand million worlds.
I resolve to become a Buddha,
Equal in attainment to you, O holy king of the Dharma,
To save living beings from birth-and-death,
And to lead them all to emancipation.

Reality is an Illusion

It appears the stars are spinning through the night. There's nothing your senses can detect that says otherwise. You also know the sun moves, and have built a monument to showcase this movement - every Winter and Summer the sun will shine precisely so.

But this is all illusion.

It is we who are spinning, though you could never tell - do you feel like you're spinning at a thousand miles an hour?

So here's the amusing truth of it: You must have faith that science is true, or at least is the path of truth. That it is not the stars or sun spinning, but us, goes against your common sense. It goes against all intuition. It goes against our language - we say the sun rises and sets, when in truth it does no such thing. But you can't tell, you can't feel or see or hear the Earth whirling around in space.

And so you must have faith. In Science. Amen.

Of Interest Perhaps Only To Me

Click for big! My discovery, simple minded as it is, was that the Sun moves all over the sky.

Having lived in cities for many years, I never saw the path of the Sun through the seasons. But now, high up in New Gondolin, I see the Sun go from Winter left to Summer Right, booking across the sky. Of course it is we - The Earth - that is moving, not the Sun, but hard to deny the illusion.

So you see above half my year. That is the Winter Sun, 2011. The dates above the other mountains cover the sunsets to come/gone. Spring/Fall is a magical spot there in the hollow of the closest mountain.

 Seeing the rhythms of our planet play out every night, every year, is awesome. Man.

Delusions of fevered brains

Obama has rolled back most of the Bush era tragedies. And yet, the day Obama was elected, the rightwing wingnuts started right back up with the "BLACK HELICOPTERZ!!!1" nonsense, 8 years in hibernation. Amazing, really. Here's the decoder key to their fevered brains: Democrat in power = Fascism, Socialism, lot's of other "isms" they don't understand. They're partisan beyond reason.

So while Obama has actually restored many key provisions of the Constitution that were "suspended" during the Bush administration, the wingnuts see burning Declarations and evil in every Good. They're insane.

"Obamanation", by noted wingnut artist (and there are very few of them for the obvious reasons) John McNaughton. It's kinda interesting, actually, a look into the fevered brain of a wingnut with painting talent.

Another McNaughton original. Obama - ironically! - has everyone in chains, except for some brave Tea Partiers who have cut their bonds to the Man, man.

Imagine a political opposition that does not see a man in their rival, but the Antichrist hisself. Crazy, but this is the state of the "modern" Repuglican party - a group of cruel millionaires and Christian Talibani.

Here's the truth of the matter, by the way.

Great President, great man, great family. We're lucky to have them all, and the Obama's herald a new golden age for America.

If we can defeat the wingnuts. I believe we can. Yes, we can.

Gliding Forever

Imagine you're on the 108th floor of the WTC as it burns, blocking any escape. The windows are already shattered, and so you have a choice: Die of smoke inhalation, or fire, or falling from the 108th floor. I know what I'd choose. Do you?

Personal parachute. Never go into a skyscraper without one.

But seriously, we're all going to die, one day and one way or another. It was destined from the moment we were born - everything that lives, dies. If it be in tragic terrorist attack, or car accident, or stroke all alone, dying on the kitchen floor, we're all going to die. We must make peace with this fact for a successful life, as denial will only lead to delusions, and delusions lead to darkness. Tip for living: Avoid delusions.

If your day has come, and it will come, face it as bravely as you can, in acceptance - this was the price of living: Dying. Alas, I wish it were not so, as do we all, as do all things alive, be they ape, dog, snake, snail, fish or bird, or all the microscopic bacteria floating in pond scum, so dear. Life is dear, and a brief gift. Enjoy it while you can, as much as you can. For the afterlife is boring I hear - that is, nonexistent. We get one shot at this thing called "Consciousness", and this is it. Do Good.

'Shop

The power of Photoshop (and any similar program) should be well recognized by now - no image can truly be trusted, since digital manipulation is so easy these days, and only getting easier by the day. A good 'shop and you don't even know it's been shopped.

Or sometimes you do, but there's art in it, is there not? Good for a lulz in the least, and isn't that enough? In this life of hardship and apparent lack of binaries, is not the LOL worth it? Even if it's cheap.

Also too.

You are your face

Note the crybaby face on Jay Cutler - NFL Quarterback. As a starting NFL QB, he is an elite member of the elite, one of few people on earth who can claim such a thing. He's a King of the Jocks, BMOC that is the campus of our society. And yet, the constant crybaby face, and as such, no matter how elite he is, he's an object of mockery, of scorn, of derision and sacks. No one likes him, and it's entirely because of his face. Look at the Ref's face.

The lesson! To most everyone else in this world, you are your face. And not just looks, but how you wear it - always frowning? Always mad? Always eyes darting around and around? This is how the world sees you, and thus judges you, no matter what you truly are. So consider the well the face you show the world, for it is your basic currency.

Speaking of faced:

And another face that says it all:

Poor Skins fans. As a Pats fan, it's been so long since I knew anything but excellence, I can only abstractly imagine your woe.

Tourists and Museums

Museums would be so much better with far fewer tourists, yes? Except yourself, of course. Perhaps this is also true about everything else.

Here's some art found in a museum:

Seeming random sculpture turns to a faithful reproduction in shadow. Now that's art!

I think Plato had it right with the whole "shadow in the cave" analogy. We are bound by our senses as biological animals - this would be the cave - and all we can perceive is what our senses allow us to - in this case, the shadow thrown against the cave wall. We know there's more out there that we don't know about - for instance, that regular matter and energy only makes up 4% of our Universe. 4%! That's nothing, and yet here we sit, no doubt thinking we have it all figured out.

Delusions of a mammalian brain, high on itself. Ain't it grand?