pantheism gone awry

In loving memory of Dodger

2009-03-18T14:11:00.001-05:00

A man and his dog were walking along a road.

The man was enjoying the scenery, when it suddenly occurred to him
that he was dead.
He remembered dying and that his dog had been dead for years.
He wondered where the road was leading them.

After a while, they came to a high, white stone wall along one side of
the road. It looked like fine marble. At the top of a long hill, it was broken
by a tall arch that glowed in the sunlight.

When he was standing before it, he saw a magnificent gate in the arch
that looked like mother of pearl and the street that led to the gate
looked like pure gold.

He and the dog walked toward the gate and as they got closer, they
saw a man at a desk to one side. When they were close enough,
he called out, "Excuse me, where are we?"

"This is heaven, sir," the man answered.
"Wow! Would you happen to have some water?" the traveller asked.
"Of course, sir. Come right in, I'll have some ice water sent right up."
The man gestured and the gate began to open.

"Can my friend," gesturing toward the dog, "come in too?" the traveller asked.
"I'm sorry, sir, but we don't accept pets."

The man thought for a moment, and then, turning back towards the road,
continued the way they had been going.

After another long walk, and at the top of another long hill, they came to
a dirt road which led through a farm gate that looked as if it had never been closed.

There was no fence. As they approached the gate, he saw a man inside,
leaning against a tree and reading a book.

"Excuse me!" he called to the reader. Do you have any water?".
"Yeah, sure, there's a pump over there". The man pointed to a place that
couldn't be seen from outside the gate. "Come on in."

"How about my friend here?". The traveller said, gesturing to the dog.
"There should be a bowl by the pump" said the man.

They went through the gate, and sure enough, there was an
old fashioned hand pump with a bowl beside it.

The traveller filled the bowl and took a long drink, then gave some to the dog.

When they were full, he and the dog walked back toward the man
who was standing by the tree waiting for them.
"What do you call this place?" the traveller asked.
"This is heaven," was the answer."

"Well, that's confusing," the traveller said. "The man down the
road said that was heaven, too."

"Oh, you mean the place with the gold street and the pearly gates?
Nope, that's hell."

"Doesn't it make you mad for them to use your name like that?"
"Nope, I can see how you might think so, but we're just happy
that they screen out the folks who'll leave their best friends behind."

Unknown author

Update

2008-06-15T00:18:00.002-05:00

Please be aware that this space of bloggerdom is dead. I no longer update it as no one ever read it. But, if you are here and wish to read some of my more interesting or indicative thoughts, then, please, by all means start at the beginning, not with the more recent posts. Thank you.

-Management

Racist Policies on Lower Greenville

2007-02-05T12:11:00.000-06:00

To all you crazy partiers out there:

Let it be known that the owner and management of Sofrano's, The Tiger Room, and Service Bar on Lower Greenville Avenue in Dallas are racist pigs. I was formerly employed by these people and was surprised on Friday night to find that I was expected to enforce a policy insisting that no black people be allowed into the bar. Once I realized that these people were serious and that I (as door guy) would be primarily responsible for telling people that are my friends (and others) that the only reason I can't let them in is that they are black, I told them that I would be unable to fulfill my duties and left. I then went back to pick up my paycheck from the previous week, and somehow, mysteriously, it is short by HALF! I, of course, complained. I was told that I had already been paid for those hours and that I was only owed the amount that the check had been written for. BULL$HIT!!! So, I am writing this in the hopes that you guys out there in cyberspace will spread the word that these places are racist and engage in unfair business practices and that you should avoid visiting their establishments at all cost. Thanks!

Kyle

Get your Tabloids, straight from CNN

2006-09-05T23:17:00.000-05:00

Here's a little something that I pulled from a uber-popular news site that you all know and should hate. Let's see if you can determine which section this came from:

"As TB enters his final phase he needs to be focusing way beyond the finishing line, not looking at it," the newspaper quoted the memo as saying. "He needs to go with the crowds wanting more. He should be the star who won't even play that last encore. In moving towards the end he must focus on the future."

Now, if you said Sports, you'd be wrong. Its straight out of the World section, and its all about a prime minister rather than a retiring football player. When did such sensationalism infect every orifice of news? Tony Blair (the above mentioned TB to which the quote refers) is a)British and b)uptight, even for a Brit. Together, these two qualities make certain that he should NEVER, ever, ever, be described using language fit for someone who is a star and entertains crowds. This is a blatant act of crap journalism meant to sell news and pump up political ratings.

But I digress...

Say Goodbye to the First Amendment

2006-08-27T00:12:00.000-05:00

Time to pack up and head for Europe. This place is getting too crazy. See here.

An economic timebomb

2006-08-17T04:33:00.000-05:00

Like those cheap products? Here's why they aren't so cheap...

Who said chemistry isn't cool?

2006-08-16T00:39:00.000-05:00

Here's a little video fun to start my week at work off right.... Rubidium and Cesium dropped into a tub of water.

Mind or Matter?

2006-08-09T01:09:00.000-05:00

This is kind of an informal poll to see what you guys think about the recent post on "subjective science." Please comment on the following:

1)Do you believe that human beings have a soul?
2)If the answer to 1) is affirmative, then is that soul eternal?
3)If the answer to 1) is negative, then do you believe that the mind is tied to the body?
4)Has the post "Subjective Science" on this blog helped shape your position on the above questions?

Thanks!

Which way to the future?: Stop Being a Dupe: Know Your Actual Enemy!

2006-08-06T06:30:00.000-05:00

Which way to the future?: Stop Being a Dupe: Know Your Actual Enemy!

October Surprise

2006-08-06T06:22:00.000-05:00

July 31 (EIRNS)--EIR is investigating a report from a qualified Israeli source that the Bush White House is pressuring Israel to cooperate in a new ``October Surprise'' scam, involving the planting of ``Iraqi'' weapons of mass destruction in Syrian territory. These so-called ``Iraqi'' WMD components, the source reports, have been stashed in a secured warehouse in the Negev Desert in Israel for months, and the Bush Administration is now pressuring the Olmert government to plant the components inside Syria, during cross-border operations, as part of the extended Israeli invasion of Lebanon, ostensibly to root out the Hezbollah from the south of the country.

According to the source, while Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is under pressure from saner elements within his government coalition to refuse to cooperate in the White House wingding, elements of the plans are moving forward. The recent bombing of the United Nations monitoring post inside Lebanon, in which four UNIFIL observers were killed, may have been related to preparations for an Israeli military strike across the border into Syria, to plant the fake WMD.

According to the source, the WMD would be ``discovered'' by U.S. military units operating along the Iraq-Syria border, at a moment close enough to the November midterm elections in the U.S. to affect the outcome.

Lyndon LaRouche warned today that if Israel goes ahead with this stunt, it could trigger World War III by miscalculation.

According to the source, the Bush White House is desperate over prospects of a major political defeat in the Congressional elections in November. Another aspect of the effort to survive the midterm vote, according to the source, is plans to increase American troop strength in Iraq now, to achieve a breakthrough that might allow a withdrawal of American forces on the eve of the November elections. Plans are being discussed to bring seasoned combat troops from South Korea into Iraq for a ``summer offensive,'' the source added, noting that British Prime Minister Tony Blair also came under pressure from Bush to augment the British military force inside Iraq.

Reports of White House ``October Surprise'' schemes have also come from top level U.S. intelligence sources, who have identified Pentagon ongoing contacts with notorious Iran-Contra swindler Manucher Ghorbanifar as tied to a separate scheme to plant ``made-in-Baghdad'' WMD inside Iraq, towards the same goal.

Subjective Science

2006-08-06T00:08:00.000-05:00

The spirit and principles of science are mere affairs of method; there is nothing in them that need hinder science from dealing successfully with a world in which personal forces are the starting point of new effects. The only form of thing that we directly encounter, the only experience that we concretely have is our own personal life. The only completed category of our thinking, our professors of philosophy tell us, is the category of personality, every other category being one of the abstract elements of that. And this systematic denial on science’s part of personality as a condition of events, this rigorous belief that in its own essential and innermost nature our world is a strictly impersonal world, may, conceivably, as the whirligig of time goes round, prove to be the very defect that our descendants will be most surprised at in our boasted science, the omission that to their eyes will most tend to make it look perspectiveless and short. --William James

Here is a link to a wonderful academic journal article from some folks at Princeton about the nature of science and the position of subjective inquiry therein. This is an important piece of literature for the pantheist in that it is the beginning of any serious scientific inquiry into the possibility of universal consciousness. I would certainly be interested in the input of anyone who has experience in these matters. Of particular interest would be experimental results that indicate a moderate to high correlation between observer and subsequent experimental results.

Commentary from a wonderful columnist

2006-08-05T04:40:00.000-05:00

Waiting room awaits us all
May 22,1996 - It is church quiet in The Waiting Room when the woman in the knit pantsuit pulls out the jigsaw puzzle.
"If we all work on this together, we'll be done by the end of the day," she says, dumping 1,000 cardboard pieces of "The Beech Trees" onto a circular table in the center of the room.
Her no-nonsense tone, crisp and authoritative, confuses many of the dozen people waiting in small knots or all alone for word of relatives fresh from, or still in, surgery.
Who is this woman? Not a hospital employee -- no ID badge. Not a volunteer -- no pink smock. "Come on now," she coaxes, her good cheer jarring in a room thick with anxiety and exhaustion. "I had more takers last week."
This is her sixth week in the Waiting Room. It has been that long since her 85-year-old mother was wheeled into the Intensive Care Unit deep in a coma after open-heart surgery.
Now she is the Veteran, the self-appointed recreation director for the Waiting Room, a one-woman entertainment committee devising ways to fill time between the 15-minute visits permitted on even-numbered hours between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m.
It is the Veteran who instructs newcomers that the pay phone takes incoming calls, that the wall clock in the Waiting Room is three minutes slower than the one inside the ICU.
It is the Veteran who steers newcomers away from the coffee in the cafeteria and toward the cappuccino from the pushcart outside Radiology.
The windowless Waiting Room where the Veteran holds sway is in a university medical center but, with its French Impressionist prints in pastel frames, its day-old newspapers and its gray carpeting blackened by coffee stains, it could be in any hospital, anywhere.
The room is dominated by middle-aged women suspended between their children at the end of the pay phone and their parents at the end of their lives. Some of the women come and go during the day; most just stay, adhering to their own routines, until it is time to return home or to a motel nearby.
The Napper curls up on the too-short, too-hard couch and manages to sleep. The Reader moves too quickly through Jane Smiley to Sue Grafton. The Weeper stakes out a corner chair, where her sobs are as quiet as her cheeks are damp.
There is no privacy here. Every emotion is on display, epecially when someone in blue surgical scrubs enters. The silence and the tension hang heavy until he or she alights.
Everyone eavesdrops, measuring their own fortunes against the good or bad news being delivered to someone else in the Waiting Room. The Veteran always hovers then. Over the weeks, she has learned to read the room, figuring out who needs a hug and who needs to be left alone.
She keeps a box of tissues at her elbow while she works the puzzle. The box comes in handy the night the surgeon tells a woman that a large blood clot, dislodged from her father's chest during surgery, has come to rest in his brain.
It is depleted after a nurse explains to a Russian immigrant that her husband's disorientation and paranoia is temporary, a consequence of narcotics and too much time in the netherworld of the brightly lit ICU, where day is indistinguishable from night.
When it is time for a visit, it is the Veteran who leads the group through the automated doors, past the nurses station where they separate, heading off to mothers on respirators, fathers on morphine.
Visitors go alone or in sometimes awkward pairings. The newly minted ex-wife meets her husband's lover in the ICU. He has had a massive coronary. His prospects are grim. The two women work out their respective positions silently. The younger woman moves from the side to the foot of the bed, giving 20 years of shared history their due.
It is church quiet late in the afternoon when the doctor slips into a chair at the blond oak table where the Veteran is hard at work piecing together "The Beech Trees."
"Did she wake up?" she asks, startled after so many weeks of benign neglect to find herself the focus of interest.
"No, she didn't," the doctor responds quietly, leaving unsaid what the room knows. The Veteran's wait is over.
The Napper brings her the tissue box. The Weeper folds her in an embrace.
When the Veteran has gone, those who remain in the Waiting Room pull their chairs up to the table and set to work on the unfinished jigsaw puzzle.

Commentary written by Eileen McNamara at the Boston Globe 1996.

Thiry second window

2006-08-05T01:19:00.000-05:00

Time for a lightning round of links:

Saw this and was amazed. Because I don't like freshwater enemas.

Read this and am still stumped how the ring leader keeps his job.

Too damn true to be funny.

He speaks for us all.

Intelligent commentary here.

For the geek in all of us.

That's all for now... Let us know if there's anything you'd like to see in our next lightning round of links.

Comments

2006-08-04T23:04:00.000-05:00

I am befuddled. I have managed to increase my traffic to this blog significantly, have done my best to post thought-provoking content, and still no one comments on my blog. Anyone have any ideas as to why this might be the case? My original intention for this blog was to stimulate some intellectual discussion of various things philosophical and political. However, to have discussion, you guys must comment. Which you have failed to do. So, quit slacking! ;)

Mind over Matter

2006-08-03T22:44:00.000-05:00

In a brief attempt to return to the original purpose of this blog, I am posting this. It is a link to a site at Princeton University where they are conducting research on the interaction between mind and body. What I find quite interesting is that they (and others) have been able to show a statistically significant effect of participant intention on the outcome of otherwise random mechanical events. In other words, these guys are uncovering proof that thoughts influence physical events. Big stuff! For those unaware, philosophy has been trying to solve the mind/body problem since Descartes' now famous "Cogito ergo sum" or "I think, therefore, I am."

Battle Won

2006-08-03T22:43:00.000-05:00

I finally won a battle o' the blogs. Yea! Thank you to all who voted for me and to my opponent. It was a good fight.

Blog Competitor

2006-08-03T02:55:00.000-05:00

Here's a link to my latest competitor's blog. Check it out and let me know what you think:

My Experiences among other things......

P.S. I like it...

Battle o' the Blogs

2006-08-03T01:22:00.000-05:00

Its true. I lost my recent battle. Which brings my score to 0 and 2. Well, I have made some changes and updated with some new content and am prepared to gird my ethereal loins for yet another battle. If you are reading this and are planning to vote in the battle, please look carefully around my site and read some of the archived postings before making your decision to vote against me. Some posts that I am particularly fond of can be found here, and here, oh, and over here. And at the risk of being too redundant, here.

Come together

2006-08-03T01:00:00.000-05:00

Found this. It is the blog of someone who had an interesting encounter with the Muslim world. Basically, this guys site was hacked by an Egyptian kid who doesn't know quite what to think about all this mess going on in the world today. I think we can all agree that it certainly is confusing. What interested me most about this, and why I posted it, is the fact that what started out as conflict between middle east and west has actually ended in a positive way. I would like to see more of this kind of thing (not the hacking, mind you). If we as a race (humanity) are to survive, then we have got to start looking more at what we have in common and quit rushing to judgement. The blogosphere is FULL of people blogging about the wars in the middle east, most of them heavily inflammatory. To be fair, I too, have been responsible for some of this rant and rave. That will be the case no more. From this point forward, any post that I make on this blog will be positive in nature, and I hope to inspire others to do the same.

Afghan perspective

2006-08-03T00:36:00.000-05:00

Was surfing through blgospace tonight and ran across this. It is a blog owned by an Afghani. I thought it interesting to see things from an Arab perspective. Perhaps you will too.

An excerpt:

However, what has to be understood is the fact that organizations like the Hezbollah do not run on mere ideologies or quests for material gains; they run on religious fervor and emotions. This means even if the rocket-and-rifle Hezbollah is gone, the fervor-and-zest Hezbollah is still there. Religious feelings and emotions never accept defeat.

Got Toejam?

2006-08-02T07:19:00.000-05:00

got nothing but toejam

Enjoyed this little piece of blog heaven. Thought you might too...

Free money! (tm)

2006-08-02T04:56:00.000-05:00

Reflections on Playboy

This guy will actually pay you to blog for him...

Linky tink.

2006-08-02T04:40:00.000-05:00

Red Statement

Check out the poem about the national debt. Pretty good stuff. Talented writing. Good blog. Go see for yourself.

And now, for something completely different...

2006-08-02T04:32:00.000-05:00

Paulie's Place - It's not always about YOU jesus!

Blogger faux pas

2006-08-02T04:01:00.000-05:00

After spending the last couple hours surfing for blog explosion credits, I have come to the distinct conclusion that many of you out there in the blogosphere are in need of an education. Mind you, I am not saying that I have the best of blogs or that I even really know what I'm doing. But I can pass on what I believe to be a few gems that make me more likely to read your twattle.
First, and most important, DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT post video or audio on the opening page. This is important. Some people out there do not have broadband connections nor the desire to load some cutesy video or audio clip just because you felt like including it on your page. If you must include this content, then please do so via a link. If you do not know how to include links in your post, then please turn your blog over to the proper authorities pronto. You have no business using it.
Second, it is VERY hard to take seriously the comments of someone who either does not understand the rules of English grammar or fails to take the time to ensure that such rules are followed. One of the most flagrant examples of this is the all-too-common "of" instead of "have." Like in I "could of" learned how to write in English class but instead I flirted with the cute chick beside me who "could have" dated any guy she wanted. Granted, for the illiterate, the two sound similar, and if you are comparing the contraction "could've" they sound the same but are VERY different. One form is proper, the other form shows your ignorance.
Third, AVOID CLICHE. Do not tell me that such-and-such is off the hook, off the chain, etc. Find some way to explain exactly how or why you think such-and-such is such a wonderful thing and is deserving of your highest praises. Now, granted this will force you to expand your previously limited vocabulary beyond the list of hot phrases used on MTV, but hey, what else have you got to do?
Fourth, please do not post something that requires a deep background of you and/or your blog for understanding. If you do, at least link to something that will give new readers some background so that they too can understand what is going on. Remember, if you want me to read your blog, you will need to make sure I am in the loop.
Failure to do these four, very simple, very easy to do things will certainly drive me, and many others, as far from your blog as possible.

One Way or Another

2006-08-02T03:32:00.000-05:00

One Way or Another

50 cents and a bachelors' degree...

2006-07-30T04:30:00.000-05:00

In an attempt to ignore current events and politics for my own sanity, I ran across this:
http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/01/19/D8F7UO204.html

Education in this country has become a farce. I don't know that it was ever anything but. Too many times have I found myself looking around at the people in my courses and realizing that these people have no inclination to learning whatsoever. They pay exorbitant fees and tuition to attend a university and don't even show up for class. Or if they do, they spend the time texting their significant others or doodling, or just plain drooling. Now, I've been known to skip a few classes from time to time, but I will at least read the covered material and grab notes from someone else if possible. But these mindless drones that keep popping out of the woodwork on my and others' campuses won't even do that. They expect to be spoonfed the material exactly as it will appear on the exam, do not want to discuss the material, and then want to regurgitate the same drivel unprocessed on the exam. This is no way to learn!
Back in my 8th grade English course, I was taught that learning occurs at multiple levels. I don't remember what they all were, but I do know that memorization, which the mindless automatons practice, is the LOWEST possible form of learning. Back then, even in the 8th grade, I was being asked to perform at all 7 levels of learning! Is it really too much to ask that someone who claims to be ready for a university education actually take some initiative to learn? How can you possibly understand what is going on in a masterpiece of literature if you cannot interpret and analyze incoming information? I'd be willing to bet that there are English majors out there who think that Moby Dick is nothing more than a story about a man and a whale (if you don't know, its really about man's quest for the divine and search for meaning).
What's worse is the fact that most of these mindless sheep have dropped out of some department (math, philosophy, etc) that actually requires learning and have become 'education' majors because the curriculum is easy and they can pass without actually being required to put forth more than a basic level of effort. Which, leads us to a worsening of the situation because now, our children are being taught by these idiots and are not being forced to actually learn how to learn. Each generation it seems to get progressively worse. I, for one, am sick of it.

Great Cartoon

2006-07-29T03:18:00.000-05:00

Saw this one and had to put it up. Too true!

Now here's some cogent thinking....

2006-07-29T02:25:00.000-05:00

Amazing how few opinions are this well thought out...

http://www.secondpagemedia.com/confundo/index.php?showtopic=13364

The Left End of the Dial

2006-07-29T01:29:00.000-05:00

The Left End of the Dial

CorpLife

2006-07-28T23:34:00.000-05:00

I love Dilbert. Dilbert reminds me how lucky I am to work nights. I don't have to report to a pointy-haired boss because Mr. PHB doesn't come in to the office between the hours of 10 pm and 7am. For this, I am grateful.

Love to all....

2006-07-28T11:18:00.000-05:00

Pray to whoever you kneel down to:
Jesus nailed to his wooden or marble or plastic cross,
his suffering face bent to kiss you,
...
Buddha still under the Bo tree in scorching heat,
Adonai, Allah, raise your arms to Mary
that she may lay her palm on our brows,
to Shekinhah, Queen of Heaven and Earth,
to Inanna in her stripped descent.
...
Hawk or Wolf, or the Great Whale, Record Keeper
of time before, time now, time ahead, pray. Bow down
to terriers and shepherds and siamese cats.
Fields of artichokes and elegant strawberries.
...
Pray to the bus driver who takes you to work,
pray on the bus, pray for everyone riding that bus
and for everyone riding buses all over the world.
If you haven't been on a bus in a long time,
climb the few steps, drop some silver, and pray.
...
Waiting in line for the movies, for the ATM,
for your latté and croissant, offer your plea.
Make your eating and drinking a supplication.
Make your slicing of carrots a holy act,
each translucent layer of the onion, a deeper prayer.
...
Make the brushing of your hair
a prayer,
every strand its own voice,
singing in the choir on your head.
As you wash your face, the water slipping
through your fingers, a prayer: Water,
softest thing on earth, gentleness
that wears away rock.
...
Making love, of course, is already a prayer.
Skin and open mouths worshipping that skin,
the fragile case we are poured into,
each caress a season of peace.
...
If you're hungry, pray. If you're tired.
Pray to Gandhi and Dorothy Day.
Shakespeare. Sappho. Sojourner Truth.
Pray to the angels and the ghost of your grandfather.
...
When you walk to your car, to the mailbox,
to the video store, let each step
be a prayer that we all keep our legs,
that we do not blow off anyone else's legs.
Or crush their skulls.
...
And if you are riding on a bicycleor a skateboard, in a wheel chair, each revolution
of the wheels a prayer that as the earth revolves
we will do less harm, less harm, less harm.
...
And as you work, typing with a new manicure,
a tiny palm tree painted on one pearlescent nail
or delivering soda or drawing good blood
into rubber-capped vials, writing on a blackboard
with yellow chalk, twirling pizzas, pray for peace.
With each breath in, take in the faith of those
who have believed when belief seemed foolish,
who persevered. With each breath out, cherish.
...
Pull weeds for peace, turn over in your sleep for peace,
feed the birds for peace, each shiny seed
that spills onto the earth, another second of peace.
Wash your dishes, call your mother, drink wine.
Shovel leaves or snow or trash from your sidewalk.
...
Make a path. Fold a photo of a dead child
around your VISA card. Gnaw your crust
of prayer, scoop your prayer water from the gutter.
Mumble along like a crazy person, stumbling
your prayer through the streets.
pray for peace - ellen bass

All hope is not lost

2006-07-23T04:12:00.000-05:00

As a follow up to my previous post:

http://www.slate.com/id/2146305/?nav=tap3

Looks like we do have some hope in the balance of power after all. It never ceases to amaze me how well our founding fathers managed to design a government from the ground up. Of course, we've done a lot over the years to change what they originally intended, but the foresight those guys had is simply amazing. Nice to see the old checks and balances finally kicking in.

Life at Ground Zero

2006-07-22T02:01:00.000-05:00

A poignant look at life in America today and how we got here:
http://www.fwweekly.com/content.asp?article=4037

In other news, I have started a new job. I now spend my nights answering the phones of the Unix tech support line at a web-hosting company. Not that that means much to you, but I thought that you might be interested in knowing a juicy little tidbit that I learned while at said job: big brother is watching more closely than you think. Sometime about a month or so ago, the FBI came in and talked to our Chief Network Architect. Their purpose was to issue a request for a dedicated fibre connection to our network, thereby allowing them to poke around the network and spy on tens of thousands of domains and literally hundreds of thousands of users, including yourself. Our CNA, ever the libertarian, politely refused. Fast forward to this week. Another visit by the Feral Brute Initiative, this time with a court order for the dedicated fibre connection. When told that he must sign the order or be jailed, poor CNA meekly obliged. But not before asking for a copy of the order. After all, how can our attorneys advise us on an order that they can't read. The answer? They can't. Which is why the ba$tard$ refused to give him a copy. I suspect that similar events have been happening at every other web hosting provider they can find. Folks, your rights are being taken away in momentous proportions, and I don't seem to see anyone who cares.

Doomsday preparations continue....

2006-07-03T09:43:00.000-05:00

Found these gems on msnbc this morning:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13684795/
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13580436/

The first one is about a threat made in N. Korean newspapers. Apparently, they have successfully tested a long range missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead to the United States. They are now promising that they will respond to an American attack with nuclear capability. And, as we all know, N. Korea is in the bully sights of this administration.
The second story is the latest on affairs in the Gaza strip. Apparently the Israelis are about to invade and attempt to collapse the Hamas government in Palestine. Look for this to expand to the Egyptians and Syrians with a quickness.

Israel, Palestine, US, and the end of civilization

2006-06-27T17:48:00.000-05:00

So, why is this world run by religious zealots? Why can't there be a God that suggests maybe that we should just simply act rationally? I'm talking here about the mess in the middle east (not Iraq, yet). Apparently, some small terrorist groups in Palestine have kidnapped an Israeli soldier in hopes of securing some kind of bargaining chip against the Israelis. In exchange for the safe return of this soldier, the Palestinians simply asked the Israelis to release any and all Palestinian women and children in Israeli jails. Seems fair to me. How else are these Davidian underdogs supposed to get an equal seat at the Goliath table of the Israelis? In addition, the Palestinian groups Hamas and Fatah have finally agreed after more than fifty years to officially recognize Israel as a state. Looks to me like the Palestinians are ready to come to the table. But no. The hardliners in power in Israel have decided that now is the time to scale up for a full out military invasion of Palestinian territories. Folks, this could be the beginning of the end. If the Israelis invade and hold Palestinian territory, then nations all 'round the world will begin to pick sides and we will have a fight of global proportions. Of course, the US with its allies will be on the side of the Israelis. For religious reasons. Fuck that. I say let the Israelis burn. Fuck em. For more "neutral" coverage of the situation see below:
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/06/27/palestinians.israel.ap/index.html
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/06/24/mideast.meeting/index.html

My thoughts for the day....

2006-06-27T16:47:00.000-05:00

[Ænema]
Some say the end is near.
Some say we'll see armageddon soon.
I certainly hope we will.
I sure could use a vacation from this bull-shit three ring cirrrrcus siiiideshow of Freaks here in this, hopeless fucking, hole we call USA.
The only way to fix it is to flush it all away.
Any fucking time.
Any fucking day.
Learn to swim, I'll see you down in Arizona bay.
Fret for your figure
and Fret for your latte
and Fret for your lawsuit
and Fret for your hairpiece
and Fret for your prozac
and Fret for your pilot
and Fret for your contract
and Fret for your car.
It's a bull-shit three ring cirrrrrcuus siiideshow of freaks here in this hopeless fucking hole we call USA.
The only way to fix it is to flush it all away.
Any fucking time.
Any fucking day.
Learn to swim, I'll see you down in Arizona bay.
Some say a comet will fall from the sky.
Followed by meteor showers and tidal waves.
Followed by faultlines that cannot sit still.
Followed by millions of dumbfounded dipshits.
Some say the end is near. Some say we'll see armageddon soon.
I certainly hope we will
I sure could use a vacation from this stupid shit, silly shit, stupid shit... One great big festering neon distraction,
I've a suggestion to keep you all occupied.
Learn to swim.
Mom's gonna fix it all soon.
Mom's comin' round to put it back the way it ought to beeeeeeeee.
Fuck L Ron Hubbard and Fuck all his clones.
Fuck all these gun-toting Hip gangster wannabes. Learn to swim.
Fuck retro anything.
Fuck your tattoos.
Fuck all you junkies and Fuck your short memory.
Learn to swim.
Fuck smiley glad-hands with hidden agendas.
Fuck these dysfunctional, insecure actresses.
Cuz I'm praying for rain and
I'm praying for tidal waves
I wanna see the ground give way.
I wanna watch it all go down.
Mom please flush it all away.
I wanna see it go right in and down.
I wanna watch it go right in.
Watch you flush it all awaaaaaaaaay.
Time to bring it down again.
Don't just call me pessimist.
Try and read between the lines.
I can't imagine why you wouldn't Welcome any change, my friend.
I wanna see it come down.
Flush it down.

Letter to the Editor

2006-06-20T18:06:00.000-05:00

Here's a little gem I just sent to the editor of my school paper:

Dear Editor,
First let me say what an honor and joy it is to be exercising my first amendment rights, for there are many on campus who will not feel that I have a right to pose the following question: Why is there a Christian Center on Campus?
Last time I checked, UTA was a publicly funded university. As a publicly funded university, UTA has an obligation to uphold the separate nature of church and state in this country as laid out in the Constitution of these United States by our forefathers.
Which brings us back to the original question-- why is there a religious institution of any kind within the boundaries of UTA? More specifically, why are there only Christian (note that this includes the Baptist Student Ministry) organizations allowed dedicated buildings on campus? Why don't we have a building for every faith represented by the student and faculty of our fine university?
I don't know exactly how it came to be that we have two Christian organizations located sqarely in the middle of campus, nor do I know who actually owns the land that they sit on. What I do know is that, to me at least, it certainly sends a message. And that message is not diversity. As a non-Christian (for my religious views, see the Shorthorn article "A Tie to Bind Religions" July 28, 2005), I find it offensive that such preferential treatment is given to groups based on religious views. The sign outside the CCC regularly contains religious propaganda in direct violation of the separation of church and state. Why are specifically these two groups, and only these two groups, given such unfettered access to the campus community?
Obviously, it is not possible to build similar buildings on campus for every religious view represented by faculty, staff, and student here at UTA. Since we cannot provide equal voice to all, it is time to end the voice of the few.

Sincerely,
Kyle A. Vernon
Philosophy Senior

Another Weeks' Work...

2006-04-10T02:50:00.000-05:00

Well, another week has passed and I seem to have earned my keep yet again. For those unaware, I lost my kush computer job and am now once again beating the streets of Greenville for my three squares. The street is a funny place. Lots of people, lots of action, lots of cops. The trick is never to let the first two cross the path of the third. The boys at Crem (long e, but I dunno how to make this thing do the little bar over the e) learned that the hard way this week. Friday night was unusually quiet, which of course bodes ill for Saturday. 'Round about 11 or so Saturday night I looked up from the cute giggly thing in front of me to see a large blob of male physicalia burst forth from the door down the street and onto the hood of a parked car. Because I am a member of the few, the proud, the vastly outnumbered, I rushed to the scene to see if any of my fellow security personnel were in need of a fist. I soon realized that they had things under control and walked back to my post in time to see the local police headed toward the scuffle. They arrested two and sent one away in the meat wagon thanks to my boy at the door. Normally, if a bouncer walks away from a scuffle with all four limbs intact and no missing teeth we consider it a success. However, the unwritten rule is to keep the cops away. Because... even if you are playing everything straight, cops mean trouble for a bar. And once they've decided they need to keep an eye on your place, you've had it. So, as of 11:45 Saturday night, its cops 1, Crem staff, 0. Fast forward to 12:30. Pop-pa-pop-pop-pop! and I snap up from the I.D. I was looking at just in time to notice that there are 20 cops with tear gas rifles working their way through the crowd quickly gathering at Crem's door. Apparently some gang-bangers decided to start more trouble which was dealt with swiftly and abusively by DPD's not-so-finest. Which, of course, sends EVERYBODY out of Crem and down the street into my and a couple other places. Thankfully we have Neil Diamond on the jukebox and a regular crowd so white it'll blind you, so I didn't have to deal with the g'd up folks. Not that I have anything against the brutha's, mind you, its just that I am the only security person at my bar and am quite keen on keeping all of my teeth. So, now the score is 2-0, cops. Things finally settle down on the street again and things get back to "normal." I say "normal" because, as anyone who has ever worked the bar scene can attest, normal takes on a different meaning when herds of horny drunks walk the streets of your neighborhood. By this time, it's almost closing time and time for me to escape to sanity. Back to my banal little existence in delightfully boring Arling-hell. They don't pay me enough for this shit...

Kingdom of Fear

2006-04-03T13:17:00.000-05:00

I read a book a while back which turned out to be the last thing HS Thompson published. It was called 'Kingdom of Fear' and was a very interesting read. Mostly it was gonzo-journalist HST's memoirs, stories about a well-spent youth. The running theme, however, was that the United States is a culture based on fear. Fear of the unknown, fear of the known but different, and quite often, fear of ourselves. Last night, the point really hit home. After being laid off from my kushy desk job recently, I have started bouncing again down on Lower Greenville in Dallas. The crowd down there is pretty average American with a large dose of illegal hispanic help. Usually we are pretty quiet, but its always wise to keep your eyes and ears open because sometimes the shit DOES hit the fan. So, while doing my duties as the able bodied doorman that I am, I noticed that this man trying to get into my bar does not look like the usual "get me so drunk I'm stupid" kids that are running around. I look at the id he is showing me, and wham! it hits me. This guy is Iranian and he doesn't look like he's out to have a good time. In fact, he looks rather disgruntled, and he wants to come into my bar. He's obviously old enough to drink, but I still think twice before letting someone in on an Iranian passport. So, I let the guy in since I can think of no good reason not to, but I'm extra nervous the rest of the night. Which got me to thinking. Before GWB and his crack team of right wing religo-nuts, I would welcome contact from foreigners, even Arabs. But not now. Now, I'm worried about someone bringing a bomb into my bar. Which makes no fricking sense! I mean, he wasn't carrying anything, and I doubt he could've hidden much under his tight plaid shirt, but he still made me nervous due to the big undercurrent of fear that constantly runs in our collective unconscious. This fear, this constant uneasiness is no accident. When your populace is on edge, and nervously awaiting the next bad thing, it becomes easy to get them to do things and support things they otherwise would not. That is, fear leads to control. Yes, I said it folks. Your government is controlling you through fear. And its working really well. I just hope we can vote someone sane into office before the Bush bastards have a chance to start Armageddon.....

Parallel Universes

2006-03-06T10:54:00.000-06:00

Found this gem:

http://212.58.240.120/science/horizon/2001/parallelunitrans.shtml

The Philosopher's Angst

2005-09-26T13:03:00.000-05:00

Well folks, today is another day. Much like any other. However, I have been renewed today in a way that is entirely new for me. I awoke this morning much as I have awoken every school day this semester. Which is to say I awoke wondering why the hell I am going through this hell of boringness that has become my classes when I'd much rather sleep a few more hours and trottle off later to some mindless job and no longer be broke. After all, I'm having soooo much trouble giving solid referential (ie external) evidence for the pantheist thesis I've been hounding for the last few years of my life. So much trouble in fact, that I was beginning to question my philosophic ability. No more. Should you care to know why, please read on.

He left the physics building a man defeated. Two little formulae. Just two. Not now. Definately not now. Perhaps his thinking as of late was right. Maybe he wasn't a scholar or a wise man. Perhaps he was just a working shmoe. But that can't be! Mediocrity equals death. To do what has been done is to do nothing. Perhaps Harry has some answers he's willing to share. Besides, he always makes an extra effort to help his students feel better. But not this time. More existential bull. He left Harry's presence infused with new ideas, but little new hope. Walking, head hung down, toward a mediocre lunch, a voice rang out. "The most important question in philosophy is 'would you like fries with that?'" it said. In a whiplash motion, head raised. Did he hear what he thought he heard? And who said it? YES! YES! YES! OH YES! The beaten down philosopher rejoiced. For he had just experienced exactly the justification he had been seeking. For our downtrodden philosopher had just found that his humorous wisdom had traveled out into the world and come back full circle successfully. Now all that remains is translation into swahili.

Phi Sigma Tau Colloquium

2005-09-23T11:10:00.000-05:00

For those of you who will be in the area (DFW metroplex) and are interested in hearing my personal views of pantheism cached in a philosophic position, Phi Sigma Tau, the philosophic honor society, Texas Mu chapter is hosting a colloquium featuring yours truly as speaker and philosophic god.... heh. Don't I wish. Anyways, it will take place on the campus of the University of Texas at Arlington in room 101 of College Hall at 3:30 pm CST on Friday, October 21st. Come one, come all, and learn what your mommas and your pastors never told you.

Sliced sausage anyone?

2005-09-15T07:42:00.000-05:00

Ran across this new invention which, if used, might end one form of violent crime forever. Or at least put the fear into men....

http://www.thenewsvault.com/cgi/news.pl?t=260

A darned good essay

2005-09-09T00:49:00.000-05:00

Was digging through the sandbox tonight, looking for diamonds and happened to come across this amazing gem:

http://www.uta.edu/philosophy/faculty/burgess-jackson/customer.htm

Back from the dead

2005-09-08T18:03:00.000-05:00

So, apparently our fearless blogger fell off the face of the planet for a bit. But no more! He's ba-ack. Ok enough cliches. I guess I owe you readers an explanation for my absence. Well, to make a long story short, I have been busy as long tailed cat in a rocking chair factory. I have written and presented my 40 page senior thesis on pantheism, written a speech that I will be giving on Sunday, I have moved all of my personal belongings into a new apartment, I have started a couple of new jobs (one as a bouncer and the other as laborer and PC tech), and I have returned to school, all in the last two months. And that's just the things I can think of off the top of my head! So forgive me my reluctance to spend time on my blog. But, things have begun to settle into a nice rythm that I can dance to, so keep your eyes peeled for more in the coming days and weeks. Until then, namaste.

Divine Smiting and Such

2005-07-30T09:07:00.000-05:00

So, I ran across this article today, and I must say, I loved it. I was both nodding in agreement and laughing riotously. Hopefully you'll agree...

http://www.advocate.com/exclusive_detail.asp?id=19260&page=1

Love, light, and forgiveness to you!

2005-07-22T03:31:00.000-05:00

This post is here simply to serve as a reminder that no matter where you are in life, no matter what you've done in the past, no matter how ugly you think you are, no matter how dumb you think you might be, somebody loves and cares about you. In fact, I'd be willing to bet my life's fortune (about 35 cents) that more than one somebody loves you. If you don't think so, let me tell you this: I love you. I love the fact that you exist. I love the fact that you have the choice to define yourself in any manner you see fit. I love the fact that you are here to read this post. I love the fact that you hold the key to spreading love. I love that you are here to share this life with me in whatever way makes you happy. So, go out from this place knowing that there is love in my and many other hearts just waiting to comfort you and find solace in this. All I ask in return is that you show the same care and concern for others that we are fortunate enough to share this life with. Namaste.

Ethics

2005-07-22T02:26:00.000-05:00

So, some friends and I were talking the other day about ethics. There was (as might be expected) some disagreement over whether or not there exists an absolute standard of right and wrong. I don't believe that there is. Its not that I buy into the cultural differences argument (that right and wrong are simply a matter of culture) or that I buy into a totally hedonist perspective. Quite the opposite. I believe that a hedonistic life is wasteful and limited. But I also think that living according to some arbitrary code handed down to us by religion or our parents or society in general is absurd. For an ethical code to have real power and force, it must be rationally grounded. That is, it must make sense and take into account all possibilities. That's why I can't buy into an absolute ethical code. I mean, for every action that you tell me is wrong, I can come up with a situation where it's not so clear what the right action is. Absolutes just don't allow for such possibilities. Absolute moral codes say that no matter what it is absolutely wrong for you to commit action x. This approach unfairly simplifies extremely complex situations. For example, pretty much everyone agrees that murder is wrong. Yet in cases of war, heinous crime, and euthanasia it becomes less clear. The same holds for most other actions as well. The perfect ethical system would be one that takes all of these issues into account. That, however, proves mightily difficult. Unless one places the burden of ethical action on the individual and not the society or the deity worshipped. That is exactly what the golden rule (or Kant's categorical imperitive) do. The burden of judgement is placed squarely on the shoulder's of the individual. If the actor knows that his actions will have consequence based on the nature and degree of his action, then he will keep his own actions in line based on his own code of what is allowable. That is, if the universe is set up such that doing unto others results (eventually) in that being done unto you, then ethical balance is maintained. There is no need for any judgement day or any such balderdash. Free will of the individual is maintained, as is the divine balance. It is my position that any deity worth its salt would set up its universe exactly in this manner. That way it doesn't need to impose some complicated set of rules or restrictions on its creation. Simply make the system inherently balanced. Positive action yields positive reward. Negative action yields negative reward. Simple. The person acting is therefore judge, jury, prosecution, and defense. Rational free agents who understand this system would therefore out of their own free will realize which actions are beneficial and which are not. There is no need for any complex basis or divine basis of right action. The human mind and will are sufficient to handle the task. This subjective view of ethics doesn't sit well with some folks, however. They apparently aren't comfortable making well-informed decisions for themselves. They maintain that God laid down the law in such and such manner and that we will burn in hell for not following it perfectly. But not even they can agree on exactly what that law is. Some christians think that homosexuality is wrong, others do not. Some find biblical support for their position that women should be subservient to their husbands, others do not. Some muslims feel that terrorizing innocent civilians in the name of Allah is wrong, while others do not. In this ever-changing world, it is increasingly difficult to nail down the tried and true ethics of society. For our continued growth, it is necessary that we have a system in which the agent, not the society, is responsible for ethical judgement. Therefore, I beg you, see the beauty that is already inherent in the system, and seek to synchronize your choices with it.

On courtrooms and icons...

2005-07-15T12:38:00.000-05:00

Last time I looked, this country was full of all kinds of people. White ones, black ones, brown ones, yellow ones, big ones, little ones. And not all of them have the same beliefs. In fact, I would bet that NONE of them hold the exact same set of beliefs, even among those who claim to follow the same religious teachings. Rather than being a detriment, this fact seems to be one of the biggest strengths of this fine nation. If it weren't for the talents and labor of immigrants from all over the world, this country would not be the world leader that it is today. One of the things that continues to bring these wonderful people from other places is our tolerance and promise of opportunity. I cannot begin to fathom how it would feel to come to this country (or even to be born here to a non-Christian family) and be forced to have my case heard in a court where any religious icon is displayed that isn't my own. Could I really expect that I would be given a fair hearing? Would the person that I am suing, who happens to be Christian, get more empathy simply because he holds similar beliefs to those proudly displayed in the court? It is for reasons such as these that our founding fathers wisely included the separation of church and state in the Constitution of this fine nation. In order to be fair and to objectively weigh the case before you, a judge needs to be as unbiased as possible. Displaying religious icons in the courthouse obliterates any semblance of neutrality. It automatically makes a statement that those who hold certain beliefs will be given priority over those who do not. So, unless you want to place an icon from every religion in the world in every courtroom, we need to keep such displays off limits. To deny the posting of the ten commandments in a courtroom has nothing to do with the denial of a proud religious tradition and everything to do with maintaining the proud legal tradition of a fair hearing.

An ew post.....

2005-07-12T23:12:00.000-05:00

So, its been awhile since I've acosted you folks with my rambling thought-forms. I know this because my one reader recently sent me an email chiding me in a friendly manner for not managing to keep up a decent pace of drivel. Well, far be it from me to keep my audience waiting tooo long. This past week has proven productive. For those unaware, I am writing my senior thesis in philosophy this summer, and I think that I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. Page 23 was my stopping point today and it looks like I might have another 5 to 10 before I am done. But that's just the draft. After that, I'll be on pins and needles hoping that it doesn't come back to me dripping in red ink like the blood of a fresh kill. I'm not much on writing something more than once. That is, I like to go with my first draft. Sure, I may not put out the most polished of product, but I think it best conserves that original spark of creativity that spawned the piece if you leave it rough. That or I could just be a lazy ba$tard. Who knows. :)

Wow!

2005-06-13T20:08:00.000-05:00

Sometimes you know when your time has passed. I used to be the guy you called to fix your computer. I could format a harddisk with the best of them. Even knew how the data was stored on the disk. Now, I've fallen to user status.
I just went through the final process to place ads on this fair blogspace, and let me tell you, web pages are complicated! There are a thousand different decisions to make and every one of them has its own set of help pages, which of course, also have help pages. And to top it all off, I have no idea what any of them mean. Thank the eternal programming god who came up with the idea of a functional default setting.
When did the internet and computers become so damned complicated? I miss the days of DOS. For those of you too young to remember (yes its been that long), DOS is short for Disk Operating System. It was Microsoft's answer to how one was to interface with one's harddisk and other playthings P.C. internal. No windows, no click and drag, no user-friendly gui. Just me and my non-Windows keyboard. Granted there was no world wide web, but I can do without internet porn ads popping up wantonly thank you. You actually had to type a long string of cryptic commands in order to get the computer to do what you wanted. 'copy c:\mydocs\*.* c:\trash' would copy all files in the mydocs folder to the trash folder. Just to move some files! It was work, but it kept you in touch with what the machine was doing and how to make it do it. No longer. Now we have 32 'services' running in the background that I don't think anyone knows what they do (certainly not Goober the tech support guy). Which, when you are trying to figure out what the !@#!@#$@#$ keeps placing a partypoker icon on your desktop, is quite annoying.
But I digress. Needless to say, I'm in the dark these days. I can't write HTML, I don't know what a channel is, I have no idea why a program called alg.exe is running on my machine (its not in the run line in the registry) and I give up. Just call me user.

ps in case you didn't notice, I actually broke this post into paragraphs rather than my usual full on rambling style. This is mostly in response to my philosophy professor's complaints that a 10 page paragraph was worse than a page full of comma splices (which I still have no idea what are), so lemme know what you think. Does it add readability? Does it help you comprehend my ramblings more easily?

The Ivory Tower Has Fallen....

2005-06-12T14:16:00.000-05:00

Alas, my dear brethren, for it has finally happened. Yours truly has finally succumbed to the ploys of capitalism and prostituted himself out for the almighty dollar. No more can I be counted on the artistic roll call. What is he talking about, you may ask. AdSense. AdSense from Google is what I am talking about. Our fearless blogger has made preliminary preparations to begin placing advertisement on this blogspace. It truly is a sad sad day. But life in this imperialist, capitalist, dog eat dog first world nation is expensive! Thus the starving artist caves to herculean pressure to join in and make a buck. Its not that I advocate working for nothing, just that it seems that content increasingly makes way for marketing these days. For example, did you know that the average 30 min local news program actually contains only 7 mins of news? The rest is advertising. We've seen this happen to print, TV, and now, the internet. So much for the free flow of information. In America, we're not happy unless we can make a buck.

Quantum Consciousness?

2005-06-12T14:11:00.000-05:00

I cannot prove the existence of God, but I can experience the awe and mystery and beauty of love and sense the presence of something beyond my materially based thinking. I hope that you can do the same regardless of what you believe. Just don't go on automatic pilot like so many brain-dead scientists who knee-jerk to the tune of "God is dead" and all is mechanical meat. Be an agnostic. Believe as little as you can in anything but try and experience as much as you can of everything.

The above words are from the website of Fred Alan Wolf, Phd. Dr. Wolf is a theoretical physicist who has spent his entire career searching for the origins of consciousness and its place in the cosmos. As a key figure in the film What the Bleep Do We Really Know? he explains to us that matter and mind are inseparable, that mind actually forms matter. This is a view widely espoused by mystics, new agers, and hippie types, but to hear it from an honest to God physicist is refreshing. This guy got his Phd from UCLA and has taught at prestigious universities worldwide. He is not just some crackpot who makes wild claims without support, but an ever curious and enquiring scientist who regularly publishes his work in peer reviewed journals. Perhaps you materialists (those who believe mind is somehow explained via physicality) out there should give him a read.....

http://www.fredalanwolf.com

Sad, but true...

2005-05-03T08:29:00.000-05:00

Ran across this scathing but accurate picture of the current state of political affairs in the United States. One only hopes that we can make it through until someone more fit for leadership can assume the helm.
http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig4/johnson-chalmers4.html

Sometimes you just feel like writing.....

2005-04-08T17:20:00.000-05:00

For those of us with a literary flair, sometimes writing is the best way to think. So, quite often, when I need to make an important decision, or I just need clarification, I will sit down and write from the hip so to speak. Quite often, I will discover interesting things about myself or my beliefs about the world from doing so. Below is the result of one such episode.

Ah! Such a creature is man. Capable of the highest of heights and the lowest of lows. So strong and capable is he, yet fragile and forever dependent. Equipped with an infinite imagination. Given the tools to make imagination reality. Oh so simple yet also the most complex of Divine creation. This seeming example of perfect balance, placed in the perfect garden. Duality incarnate. A whole made from opposite pieces! Yet man also was given a will. Will to create! Will to change! Will to build! Will for the best. With will, however, comes choice. With choice, preference. With preference, imbalance. Balance is harmony and is eternal. Imbalance, disharmony and inevitable decay. Thus will has led man (by design it would seem) from that garden of perfection without self discipline. It is only the application of this discipline, this choice to give up will, that man can seek balance. When balance is reached, the duality is seen as it is.... an illusion. The whole cannot be achieved as a summation of its parts. The two would cancel to nothing. The parts were never parts at all! They were always the whole. Greater than the pieces one would choose to carve. There is great peace, calm, and completion in entirety. Yet how is one to truly know wholeness without first knowing limitation? How is up defined except in its relation to its opposite? Ones experience is entirely relative to previous experience. Both beauty and beast may be found in the most treasured of man's creative expression. The choice of will to see is yours. Use it wisely. Carve your lines of distinction well. Make them your own. Wield the awesome tool of expression that has been bestowed upon you. Yet know always this: the final result is always balance. No matter how you choose to define the pieces, will always repays its debt. Thus we find that seeking anything but middle ground is ultimately futile. It is pointless to yearn for extreme. Extreme is a place of power, not a place of balance. Extreme cannot be known without extreme opposite. It is in the understanding of both that the truth is found and balanced finally regained. If you tighten the guitar string too tightly, it will break. If you string it too loosely, it will not play. Ah, the perfection of balance with the experience and knowledge of what is unbalance! The rose in the rose garden is taken for granted. When experienced in the midst of rose splendor the single rose gives to the beauty of the whole and adds its beauty freely to that of the whole. Yet were the rose to be seen without the whole, the true beauty of the individual may be appreciated. Thus it seems that the rose is both. Yet is it not both in equality? Does it not provide fully its gifts to the whole while also prizing its unique individuality? It is no more accurate to appreciate the rose as an individual only than it is to appraise it as merely a necessary piece of the whole. The truth lies in the realization that both are equally true and both are necessary for the entire existence of the rose. The bush is not the totality of a rose, nor can a bush be without the contribution of the individual. The two are inseparable. Even when the individual ceases to bloom, the place is left for its return when next it chooses to express its individuality. Thus the cycle continues. From the complete beginning all the way to the end. Which, happens to be the same as the beginning. The alpha is the omega. The omega is the alpha. Together, they form all that is. And all that is is one.

Late night ramblings...

2005-04-07T04:26:00.000-05:00

Here it is 4 am and I cannot sleep. Toss. Turn. Twitch. Wiggle the ol' mouse and voila! the room lights up with a phosphorescent glow. Oh? What's this? Someone has posted to my blog! Oh! And he/she is upset at my pope posting. YES!!! There is a God. Finally, a reader! But no! I've angered my lone reader. Hmmm.... what to do? I could follow the lead of my journalistic brethren and print a retraction. Or I could explain that discussion and difference of opinions is what makes the blogoworld go 'round. But, she/he is unlikely to read it anyway. So, for my own personal edification, here is my response to the response of my views on JP and the Catholics:

Anger, bile, and vengeance. They seep into the human psyche like thieves in the night, stealing away our happiness. Even those of us alert to such insidiousness fail to keep them at bay from time to time. I'm afraid that this is what has happened to our fearless blogger. In a space I originally designated for tolerance and discussion, I have blasphemed. Forgive me. Maybe JP wasn't such a bad guy after all. However, this does not entail that I support the views of the Catholic church. Any institution that can offer a haven for pedophiles while simultaneously denouncing homosexualtiy and seeking to undermine women's rights cannot be an entirely altruistic entity. These allegations are only the most recent of misbehavior by our Catholic friends. I wholeheartedly support belief in whatever religion, faith, or belief you choose. However, when your beliefs have so much pull on society that they begin to effect me, expect me to examine them critically. Christ taught tolerance, forgiveness, and goodwill toward your fellow man. Anyone with any background in history whatsoever will realize that these are not always the same values advanced by the Catholic church. We too often forget that the Church of today, while certainly more tolerant than in the past, is still the same institution that endorsed witch burning not so long ago. Many of the beliefs and dogma of the Church are relics of this past. It is for these reasons that it pains me so to have my news pre-empted by the pope's death. Why not show all of the children in Africa dying of aids primarily because the Church forbids the use of birth control? Isn't that news? Why not show how otherwise normal men and women are forced to hide their sexuality because of an atmosphere of intolerence that the Church is responsible for endorsing? Isn't that news as well? Or maybe even some news about the relief work that the Church is doing in some rural area? There are a great number of good things that the Church is responsible for as well. It seems very arrogant and useless to me for the news to focus on this one man to the exclusion of all the other news they could be reporting. Especially when there's a war going on in Iraq and more on the horizon with Syria and North Korea. Perhaps there's a little more impact on us from these things than there is in the death of a religious icon. Perhaps I should be a good pantheist and just look at this as part of the way things will be. That the play will play itself out with proper rhythm and time despite my protestations.

Aaagggghhhh! I've been Poped to death!

2005-04-04T18:26:00.000-05:00

Hello dear reader..... At least I think I have one. Anyway, today has been productive. Preparations are going well for a brave finish to our fearless author's semester of hell. Term paper topics chosen, reading lists being compiled, meetings being held. Oh, and Spanish being learned. Mustn't forget that one. All of which provides the backdrop upon which the drama of this blog is playing out. Which, is why today's entry is mostly rambling. It seems this philosopher has a limit to the amount of philosophy he can choose to digest in a given time period. And right now, much of my bandwidth is being eaten by the bandwidth hog, philosophy of language as taught by Dennis L. Bradshaw, Phd. So, if you want philosophy today, look elsewhere. If you want to hear me rattle on about how annoying it is when someone of inflated importance dies, then read on.

I knew it was bound to happen sooner or later. And now he's done it. Pope John Paul II (hereafter referred to as the JP), in a last great attempt to influence this non-believer has finally completely invaded my life posthumously. Everywhere I look, I can find nothing but pope. Kiss his ring ideed. Why does this man command the blind allegiance of neverending multitudes? The history of the Catholic Church is as bloody as it is long. Every kind of unspeakable evil known to man has been perpetrated by some member, past or present, of the institution JP was the head of. The beliefs held and propogated by this institution are responsible for the deaths of untold millions throughout history. It has systematically sought to destroy entire populations, alienate and persecute non-believers, and continues to spread itself like a disease. And when its leader dies, he is allowed to invade my life. News? What news? It's 24-hour popevision these days. Even my favorite websites feel that nothing else deserves prominent status. Why is it that this man who serves as the symbol of an institution that is the essence of organized crime treated as a hero? Just when I thought steroid use in baseball as investigated by Congress was the lowest of journalistic lows. Oh give me a home, where the sheep don't roam.

Get your Bush approved news right here.....

2005-03-31T12:29:00.001-06:00

I'd like to revisit a little blog history today. A few weeks back there was a discussion about totalitarian regimes and automatons. On the one side, we had the crazy leftist guys who think that Americans are automatons as a result of relentless propaganda campaigns conducted by good ol' Uncle Sam and his homosexual lover Corporate America. On the other, we have the people who refuse to leave the 1950's who feel that gosh-darn-it this is America, land of the free (tears begin welling) and we should be happy to trust those in power to be the honest, trustworthy individuals that we know all Americans are. Baseball, apple pie, momma, and ol' glory rolled into one big turd floating in my glass. Well, you'll be happy to note that I found more evidence for us lefties today. It seems that "media watchdogs" are lobbying the FCC to stop the fake news flow from the Bush administration. Of particular interest is the section on what a VNR is and what its purpose is. Here is a direct quote and the link to the story.

"Supporters say VNRs have been used since movies and television were invented to inform the public and sell products." (emphasis added)
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,151871,00.html

On my soap box

2005-03-28T11:54:00.000-06:00

Fat people are people too. Note that when we meet you horizontally challenged folk, the first thing that we notice is not you girth, or any of your abnormal attributes, but your personality. Because we know what its like to be immediately judged based solely on appearance, we tend to actually give people a chance to make a good impression. Rather than immediately dismissing you as somehow less of a person because you fail to meet my standards of how intelligent a person should be (which you do, in all likelihood, fail) I give you an opportunity to prove yourself as the beautiful individual that I know you are. You, on the other hand make tons of assumptions about me without ever giving me a chance to say a word. First of these, and my personal f*cking favorite, is that I eat more than you do. This is patently false. Quite often I eat FAR less than my scrawny compatriots. However, thanks to genetics and my extreme lack of desire to "exercise" my metabolism isn't very high. I have a friend, bless him, that I have seen eat an entire loaf of bread and half a box of velveeta cheese in one sitting. Two hours later, he was eating again. He is so skinny you can see his ribs. This stereotype, that fat people eat too much, which may be true in some cases, is patently false in many. Second of the assumptions that you little f*ckers make is that I want to look like you. Again, this is not true. I like to stand out in a crowd. I like to be my own person. If that person happens to be larger than the average, then so be it. It doesn't matter to me. But you skinny people who buy into this media and marketing frenzy that holds the idea that anorexic is beautiful apparently can't handle anyone who thinks outside the box and is happy to be fat. Oh, scratch that. Is TRYING to be happy fat, but as soon as they achieve this happiness, some arse comes along and suggests that he or she knows a good diet and would I like the number to their personal trainer? F*ck that. My body, healthy or not will be dead in a hundred years. My mind and spirit will not. Therefore any time I spend developing myself will be spent on these aspects of my being. I am not you, do not want to be you, and damn sure don't care that you think I could stand to lose a few pounds. Unless of course, you somehow equate 'needs to lose a few pounds' with 'isn't an interesting or decent person.' Which, invariably, you do. So stop it. Find a fat guy and give him a hug. He needs it, and its your fault.

Its Saturday....

2005-03-26T13:30:00.000-06:00

Tonight I shall be enjoying myself at the UTA philosophy majors' 1st annual potluck dinner and movie night. In preparation, I scoured the web for some interesting material to discuss among my peers. Here is one of the best tidbits I ran across:

Immanuel Kant was a real pissant
who was very rarely stable.
Heidegger, Heidegger was a boozy beggar
who could think you under the table.
David Hume could out consume
Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel,
And Wittgenstein was a beery swine
who was just as sloshed as Schlegel.

There's nothing Nietzsche couldn't teach ya
'bout the raisin' of the wrist.
Socrates himself was permanently pissed.

John Stuart Mill, of his own free will,
after half a pint of shandy was particularly ill.
Plato, they say, could stick it away,
'alf a crate of whiskey every day!
Aristotle, Aristotle was a bugger for the bottle,
and Hobbes was fond of his Dram.
And Rene Descartes was a drunken fart:
I Drink Therefore I Am......
--Monty Python's Philosopher's Drinking Song

Great Minds Think Alike?

2005-03-21T09:26:00.000-06:00

Wow. Just when you think you're all alone in your views of humanity and its situation in this country, someone comes along and reminds you that, while you may be in the minority, you are never alone. Read on:
http://www.lewrockwell.com/shaffer/shaffer100.html

On the Purpose of Life

2005-03-20T16:22:00.000-06:00

Ultimately, I think, Life is the laboratory of the soul. In its every intricate detail are hidden many tools with which to see and understand that which is seemingly unseeable and unknowable. Life is here to reflect the soul. To give the soul a glimpse of itself. And with this picture, form a new one. That is, in every moment of now, all about you is the reflection of who you are choosing to be. Should you choose to be angry, then anger will be the underlying form of all that is currently being experienced. Should you choose happiness as your being, happiness is the resulting image. Given this powerful knowledge, a surprising insight into the true purpose of life appears. If, in every moment of now, a direct reflection of the soul is expressed, then perhaps the ultimate purpose of life is to see and change this reflection. As each new state of being is expressed, a new, higher, being appears. For example, say that I choose to express my being as charitable by sharing of my resources with one who has less. Immediately, the gratitude is returned, as well as the realization that there are more with whom to share. Thus it is that we are spurned on to forever create the Highest Version of the Grandest Vision ever we held about Who We Are. And we are doing it with every thought, word, and deed.

Apologies

2005-03-10T17:24:00.000-06:00

Hello all. My sincere apologies for the lack of recent material in this space. However, as most of you know, I am a full-time college student. This fact, coupled with the coursework it entails frequently prevents me from doing anything more with my free time than contemplating navel lint. Which, I might add, can be quite the rewarding pastime. :) Anyway, next week is spring break for me, and other than continuing to read the mind-numbingly difficult Spinoza's Ethics, I have little to do. So. I do hereby solemnly swear that I will have something new and interesting (as opposed to just new) posted on this blog by the end of next week. Depending on the flow of chi and the paths of the stars, I might even squeeze out a few interesting new posts. You know, that's one of the things that I think tends to put people off when it comes to science and scientific pursuit. For many of us, relying on a description of quarks, strange-matter, up-spin, down-spin, etc... doesn't seem any less "mystical" or "hocus-pocus" than describing the world as chi flow or astronomical patterns. I guess the devil is in the details. Until next week....

Quote from Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

2005-03-02T19:14:00.000-06:00

There are probably more (grass-root) pantheists than Protestants, or theists in general, and pantheism continues to be the traditional religious alternative to theism for those who reject the classical theistic notion of God. Not only is pantheism not antithetical to religion, but certain religions are better understood as pantheistic rather than theistic when their doctrines are examined. Philosophical Taoism is the most pantheistic, but Advaita Vedanta, certain forms of Buddhism and some mystical strands in monotheistic traditions are also pantheistic. But even apart from any religious tradition many people profess pantheistic beliefs-though somewhat obscurely. Pantheism remains a much neglected topic of inquiry. Given their prevalence, non-theistic notions of deity have not received the kind of careful philosophical attention they deserve. Certainly the central claims of pantheism are prima facie no more "fantastic" than the central claims of theism-and probably a great deal less so.

I found this entry to be quite interesting. For you empiricists out there (and you know who you are) who feel that the views expressed by yours truly are somehow based entirely on fancy and are a extremely minority view I would bring your attention to the following. Obviously, given the accuracy of the information above, the view held by yours truly, if it be fancy, is one of the most wide-scale hallucinations ever conveived. How is three religious seekers experimenting with the inner world and sharing data any different than three scientists experimenting with the outer world and sharing data? Why must the physical, outer existence be given more weight?
--kv 3-2-05

Yet another quasi-nervous breakdown

2005-02-08T19:27:00.000-06:00

Damn. Our fearless philosopher has had a tough week. Once again he finds himself questioning the nature, if not the being, of his own existence. This is not good. For if you are God, which every good pantheist is, to question your own existence is to put that very existence into question. Eeek! That would explain why I've been feeling so depressed lately. Premise: Thoughts are like thread. They can be (are) used to weave the tapestry of existence. That which you think, therefore, you become.

2005-01-28T15:25:00.000-06:00

According to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, "‘Pantheism’ ... signifies the belief that every existing entity is, only one Being; and that all other forms of reality are either modes (or appearances) of it or identical with it."

I AM a pantheist.

And I believe that a lot of you would be too, if only you had been exposed to the idea. Thus, I have created this forum for the discussion of pantheism, major arguments for its Truth, and for the gathering together of like minds.
Together, we will raise the awareness of others.

Namaste,
Kyle