Finally Bought New Cell Phone

Bought An LG Voyager - The IPhone Killer

After having purchased three phones for my teenage princess in the last year, while watching my own phone fall apart - It's literally being held together by tape - I decided it is time for me to upgrade - the first time for me in three years!


Here's another review of my new phone - not mine

After reworking my Verizon plan I've added the neat VCast package, and unlimited web, text, photo and video messaging for just an extra twenty five dollars per month?

How you might ask?

Well, I was already paying extra for princess' extra services, and when I switched plans I actually ended up giving everyone in our Family Share Plan the same thing that only Princess had for just ten dollars more.

The trade off is that Verizon will charge by the Byte for the digital transmissions - but they won't charge air time. Now this entails some risk, but not if I block extra digital services on Princess' phone.

Princess will still have everything she had before, but I'll be charged per Megabyte for her digital transmissions. I figure it will still be worth it, because everyone in the family will have unlimited text, voice, and video messaging - which would have cost us sixty dollars more per month under the old plan.


Here's the first part of the Voyager's Review From Youtube

I then signed up for the VPack, without Mobile Television for just fifteen dollars extra a month.

The VPack means no charge on the Megabytes I mentioned above for the Vpack services and the messaging services. Plus Vpack provides unlimited access to free games, music, and videos via Verizon's super fast broadband network.

For just ten dollars more per month I could get the Vpack for Unlimited Mobile Television, and I might do that, but I'm not sure if I really need to watch television on my Cell Phone - still it might be fun for a month.

Is it worth twenty five dollars a month to have any of this? Not sure, but if it isn't I can drop the Vcast, and still have a great phone for just ten dollars more per month. Not a bad deal.

Oh yes, almost forgot - I paid Just $107 (includes tax and free overnight shipping) for this sweet phone.

This has been a hard week folks, with a bit of a family crisis - the teenage princess is at it again - so I decided what the hell - life's short - it's my money - I'm getting a new phone.

And yes, the old phone this new phone is replacing is really being held together with tape - keeps disconnecting during calls, etc. Three years is a long time for a cell phone.

Saudi Arabia Saves America Before Election!

Surprise! Surprise!

Thank Allah for Saudi Arabia, which has decided to increase oil production from 9 millions barrels a day to 9.7 million barrels a day - and just in time to have an effect upon gasoline prices before the upcoming 2008 U.S. Presidential General Election!


Now Why Would Saudi Arabia Ever Want To Drive Oil Prices Down?

This from CNN

The country's petroleum minister, Ali I. Al-Naimi, said that increase will take place in July.

It would be Saudi Arabia's highest production rate since 1981.

White House Deputy Press Secretary Tony Fratto praised the step, saying, "Any increase in production in today's oil market is welcome. It is important that we also take steps to increase domestic production and our refining capacity."

Al-Naimi also said the government will invest in oil projects that would allow the nation to produce 12.5 million barrels per day by the end of the year.

King Abdullah's announcement came at the end of the Jeddah energy summit, where he also called for OPEC to set aside $1 billion for a strategy to ease the oil price crisis.

The McBush Administration Embraces Big Oil

You see, America, what we really need is increased oil production, not all this crazy talk about producing our own energy alternatives and conservation.

Saudi Arabia owns 15% of the United States, the oil industry runs the U.S. government and economy, and neither party is about to let their stranglehold over the U.S. go quietly.

In the meantime vote for John McCain as he is the approved candidate.

Oh yes, and expect the price of gasoline to go back up after the election.

Jimi Hendrix - Back From The Dead

Jimi Hendrix - Voodoo Child (Woodstock 1969)
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Dreams From The Longest Morning of 2008
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I. The Unremembered Dream

In this post I review a series of "dreamlets", that is snippets of dreams which lead into each other. There was a snippet, seemingly the starting point for the sequence of later dreams which followed. I struggle now to recall that first dream which I can sense, but not recall.

I recall the later dreamlets better because they came closer to the end of my dream experience. I must make a decision, try to go back to the beginning, and lose all of the dreams, or pick a safe place to begin my dream recall.

I chose to play it safe, and to recall what I could, and to allow the first dream to remain a mystery.

All the tens of thousands of dreams that we dreaming creatures must experience over the course of a lifetime, and yet only a small fraction are ever recalled. I wonder how important dreams are to who we are, and how it is that we know so little about that part of our experience.

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II. The Zombie Wormhole

The first dreamlet that I can recall involved a type of wormhole. The kind portrayed in movies like Stargate. This kind of wormhole is an opening to another space-time.

There were ZOMBIES in my dream - yes, this dream is about Zombies, and wormholes!

In the dream there were only a handful of non ZOMBIEFIED people left in the time and space in which I was visiting. I had a mission - to save those few non ZOMBIEFIED people which were near the verge of being eaten by the ZOMBIES.

I used some kind of small hand held device to open a worm hole.

The worm hole began to swirl, and air started rushing into it.

I suspect the wormhole led to outer space, and the planet's atmosphere was rushing through the wormhole toward the vacuum of space.

For some reason I wasn't entirely afraid of the wormhole - probably because I could shut the wormhole down. But I also wasn't afraid of being sucked into the wormhole because the vortex didn't seem strong enough to pull me into it - not by much anyway.

This swirling whirlpool like wormhole was having a great affect upon all the other people which by the way were ZOMBIES! They were slowly getting sucked into the wormhole from all points near and far.

Except for a few others who were not ZOMBIES, every other "person" was flying past quickly and swirling into the wormhole.
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III. Jimi Hendrix - Back from the Dead

The next dreamlet has an entirely different set.

I'm on a street corner, in a suburban setting, and I hear people on a nearby sidewalk talking about a most interesting topic. What are they discussing? Being able to bring back the DEAD!

And as proof of this new day - a day in which people no longer need to fear death - it turns out that JIMI HENDRIX has just been brought back from the dead.

Jimi Hendrix' body has been reanimated straight from the GRAVE and he's walking around for the very first time since his untimely death - and only a few steps from me.

While he is not acting like a ZOMBIE, he is not exactly acting like he is all that happy to be back either. He seems very confused, very fragile, and very hungry.

Jimi Hendrix has just been told that he had died, that he had been dead for a very long time, and that he has been BROUGHT BACK FROM THE DEAD. And he is hungry.

JIMI is wearing all white clothing, and I feared that he was on the verge of going ZOMBIE.

A handful of people bring him out of the street and into a MCDONALD'S where they offer him some food and something to drink. They sit with him - only just then discovering that he has risen from the dead. And they are not frightened, but instead treat Jim Hendrix, as if he is a celebrity - a celebrity from the dead.




IV. Magic Oil Can of a Future Past

The next dreamlet's storyline has me suddenly appearing within a racing car.

I'm not sure if the car I am in is a race car, or just a car that is racing very fast. I'm supposed to be there, and no notice is taken of my simply being there - even though I have no idea why I am there.

There are others. There is one person sitting in one of the rear passenger seats, and the driver.

There is some talk between the driver, the rear seat passenger, and "me". I end up having to fake my way through the conversation because I really don't belong there.

There is some mention of a "can of oil" which I found. The style on the oil can dates to an earlier era - when oil was a new product. I found the style interesting and decided to keep the can.

When I show the "oil can" to the race car driver the style of the "oil can" changes into a futuristic style, and I am confused. I put the "oil can" into a backpack that I have, knowing that it is valuable, and that I will need it - but why I do not know.

At the end of the road upon which I am traveling the dreamlet transforms into another dreamlet.




V. A Gift for the Dead

In the last dreamlet I make my way to the top of a hill. There is a fine looking home atop the hill. I walk into the home, and find that I am at a party to which I haven't been invited. I see that the people there are older. I decide to leave.

I try to make my way out of the home, but I am confused by its style of construction, and so I decide to climb to the upper level of the home. The house is on a hill, is multi level in design, and has an exit at one of the upper levels. It is a very beautiful home.

As I make my way upstairs I find no one there - except for an old man. He is frail. His daughter who is downstairs would not approve of me disturbing the old man for fear of his poor health.

As I approached the old man I recalled (how does one recall something in a dream) that I had seen some gravestones outside of the home behind a row of trees (down the hill a bit).

I reached into my backpack, and pulled out the "oil can" and discovered it had been transformed into a bottle of wine. I was walking toward the man to offer him the bottle of wine, when his daughter started coming up the stairs, and I felt it was time to leave.

I asked the old man if he wanted the bottle of wine, and he said no, that I had another use for it, and so I held it in my hands, and rapidly made my way to a large patio door leading outside the old man's room. From this location I could see that the house was atop a hill, and was surrounded by trees, and that the ocean wasn't far off in the distance.

When I looked past a row of trees which were nearby I saw a row of gravestones, the same one's I had seen earlier in my dream as I walked up the hill (to the house). I knew that I was supposed to do something with the object I held in my hands.

I looked down at my hands again, and noticed the bottle of wine had transformed into a small statuette of a lighthouse. I walked along a path behind the house toward the gravestones, and found a circular spot overlooking the row of stones, and I placed the lighthouse statuette there.

As a sign of remembrance, and respect.

I Awoke - The End.

I greet the summer of 2008.

I Just Donated To Barack Obama!

I just donated to Barack Obama's Presidential Campaign!
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I may not be able to stop global warming, or get our troops out of Iraq, or institute a universal health care plan, or rebuild our failing infrastructure, or make the tax code fair, or save Social Security, or increase pay for teachers, or protect our jobs here in the United States of America, but I can do this - and so I did.

Admittedly, it's a small donation, but I hope to make one a month up through November.
And yes, I'm still struggling to make ends meet, we're barely getting by, but I couldn't live with myself if I didn't put my money where my mouth (blog) has been for many months now.

I invite my readers to do the same. If you're fed up with the endless crap, it's time to help change it.

Think of it this way: One Million Pissed Off Bloggers Donate $100 each and that will raise about as much money as John McCain's very pretty and much younger wife has in her bank account. So we need to raise a lot of money folks.
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I Love The Scenes Of Barack In Springfield, Illinois
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The email response which I received after donating

Dear Eugene,

Thank you for your generous donation of $25.00.

Your gift will be immediately put to work building a campaign to change our country and our politics for the better.

Looking for more ways to get involved?

Head over to My.BarackObama.com where our growing set of tools puts the future of this campaign in your hands:

http://my.barackobama.com

On My.BarackObama.com you can...

... build your own profile and connect with supporters near you
... find or create your own local or national group
... create your own personal fundraising page and track your progress
... find events near you or plan your own
... chronicle your campaign experience on your own blog

There will be much more to come in the weeks and months ahead thanks to your support.

Thank you again for your donation.

Obama for America
http://www.BarackObama.com
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Springfield, Illinois' Intersection From Hell

I drove down the street.
The Street.
The one that made all the difference
In your lives.
The one that killed your son.

You were driving that day.
You took a left turn, but I won't say where.
Let's just say that it was on the north end of town.
It was a day that none of us will ever forget.

Your son was in the front passenger seat.
I don't know if you were speeding.
I don't know if you were responsible at all.
For I have seen that turn.
And it is deadly.

That's right - it is deadly.
That street, at that specific location.
Is as deadly as a loaded gun.

On that day.
That tragic day.
You turned left.
And a car slammed into your car.
On the passenger side.
Killing your son.

It was a car out of nowhere.
At least it must have seemed that way
To you, and your son.

For the car which killed your son was
coming up the hill.
Yes, the intersection is atop a hill.
And it is the hill that makes this intersection
A killer.

Now some might look at the hill
And say that it isn't really a hill at all.
And they would be right.
For there really is no way to tell that the hill
exist until you hit the crest - of the hill.

The slow gentle incline up that hill is ever so mild.
So mild that it doesn't betray the danger at the top.

Nor is there any warning for those coming
from the opposite direction - the direction you came
from on that tragic day.

This spot on the road is an accident waiting to happen.
It is a deadly road inside the city of Springfield Illinois.

Your son was only a year older than my daughter.
And they went to the same school.
They knew each other.

I remember watching your son play basketball.
Your family was totally supportive from the stands.
And your son seemed very athletic.
He, being your oldest son, must have been
your pride and joy.

I will always remember my daughter crying her eyes out.
After she was told of your son's death.
She went to the funeral.
With her little early teen girlfriends.
It was the second funeral of a boy who died
At their school in less than two years.

The City of Springfield has placed a temporary four way stop
At the intersection at the top of the hill.
It looks very temporary indeed.
Shockingly so.
The stop signs are not even posted within the ground.
And it has been three summers since your son was killed.
Leading me to believe that some engineer has prevented
a stop light, or permanent stop sign from being posted
at this killer intersection.

I'm sure the politicians blame the engineers.
And the engineers point at each other.
What does one life cost?
Do the bean counters really care?
They have their arbitrary rule book to refer to.
The one that killed your son, and which will one
day kill others.
It's called cost containment.

Three years later.
I see the flowers that are left on the side of the road.
I see the little string of battery operated miniature lights which
were meant to bring life to the spot where your son died.
I find that heartbreaking.
I guess I just have difficulty turning sorrow to joy.
Please forgive me.

People still remember your son.
They still love him.
And they miss him.

I know that you are the head of
A religious family.
A very religious family.
You surely take comfort in your faith.
And in knowing your son is in Heaven.
With Jesus Christ your savior.

This knowledge has allowed you to heal
both physically, and spiritually.
It has allowed you to continue in the
face of self doubts, and grief.

And in this there is joy.
But it is a joy tempered by fear.
A fear that the killer intersection waits
for yet another victim.

If Springfield, Illinois were a smaller town.
And this were a simpler time.
Someone would just go out, and post a permanent
stop sign.
But trying to save lives in this manner would put
anyone who tried behind bars, and into a cage.

Ironic and unjust as it would be.

Every time I pass by that intersection I can't help but to
wonder how long it will be until the City of Springfield, Illinois
Removes the temporary stop signs atop the hill.
And how long it will be until the next person dies
At that intersection from hell.

Dick Cheney Told Truth About Iraq!

U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney Tells Truth About Iraq

In recent years U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney has taken a great deal of criticism regarding his role in leading the U.S. into a war with Iraq. Some claim that he is, more than any other person, responsible for all of the death, and mayhem which naturally resulted from the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq.

However, few know how Dick Cheney stood resolute in his opposition of a U.S. invasion. Few know that Dick Cheney knew going in that if the U.S. invaded Iraq that the U.S. would become trapped in a quagmire.

Dick knew!

Not only did Mr. Cheney know the truth about the consequences of a U.S. invasion of Iraq, he also spoke out about it.

So now we know.

We know that Vice President Dick Cheney knew long in advance that sending troops to Iraq was not worth the lives which would be lost. We know that Dick Cheney knew that the U.S. would be trapped in a quagmire if it invaded Iraq. We know that Dick Cheney knew that it would destablize the region.

We know that Dick Knew!

And we wonder how Dick can live with himself knowing what he has done.

YouTube Video Interview of Dick Cheney in 1994 referring to the first Gulf War, and why the U.S., under the first Bush Administration, wisely decided not to invade Iraq.

Time's Up

Green Day - Boulevard of Broken Dreams

Time's Up

Stones In Neat Rows Stand Silent
Grass so perfectly cut
An occasional flower
A shade tree creeks softly
in the breeze.

Dark shadows
and soft gray light
separates the
letters and numbers
etched
Upon the cold
still gravestones.

Moss grows
Ants walk
Bees Buzz
Butterflies dart
On an otherwise
Typical Day
In this - the city
of the dead

Older stones speak
to each other
For no one visits now
All relatives long dead
Only the odd rambler
The misguided teenager
The historian
Tread upon their soil

Many are damaged
Feebly presenting
the Names.

Oh the names.
The countless names
and dates.
Long forgotten.
But so very important
So very very important
long ago.

But it is the newer stones
Which are saddest of all
For they are so new
in appearance
That they could have been
erected days ago
yet have been here
for many years.
And even decades.

Upon these shiny stones
Are the photographs.
Pictures of those who have passed
Etched with modern precision.
The deceased stare back
from their own grave stones
Smiling

There are children here too
Children killed
In auto accidents
Reported in long
ago faded newspaper clippings

The sixteen year olds.
Bright beautiful
High School queens and kings
Fallen.
Lives cut short
In senseless carnage
Never to know adulthood
Always to be mourned in
Youth.

Oh the pain.
Oh the searing never ending pain
Of parents barely able to live
After losing their beloved
Children.

Mommy's little baby.
Daddy's little princess.
Now lay silent
Under feet.

Coffins laying within
dark rich dirt
wet brown clay
Awaiting
Resurrection.

Parent's solemn vows to "Never Forget".

We shall never forget you our beloved
son, or daughter. We shall never forget.

The sickly sweet smell of wet rotting flowers
It rained not long ago - fills the air
but only momentarily so.

The distant sound of a lawn mower fills the void
But only temporarily so.
And then there is silence.

A deafening silence
And then
Years pass.
Parents die.
And join their fallen children
One to the right
One to the left
There is a family here
Of sorts

And the surviving children
Now parents or
grandparents themselves
leave notes
And flowers
And keep the vigil going
just one more generation
While they still can
Before that family
That precious family
Finally
winks out.

Some simply stop
In their cars from the road
And look
At the stone
Which cast a shadow
Upon their loved one's grave

They wonder
Is this what it all comes too
Is there any meaning here?

Are we meant to live only to die
And then be forgotten?
After those who knew us
Those who loved us
Grow old
And die themselves?

Is this all there is?

WAMU - Trail of Blood - Chapter Five

WAMU Surfaces Again To Attack Her Pursuers
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"Call me Ishmael." - Herman Melville's Moby Dick
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WAMU - Trail 0f Blood - Chapter Five

Captain: What was that?

First Mate: It was WAMU! The beast surfaced and slammed into our rudder!

Captain: Any damage?

First Mate: No, problems at the helm sir!

Captain: It's getting desperate, we need to be careful, the beast could still take us down.

First Mate: She's gone under Captain, off port side.

Captain: We won't lose her now. Just follow the trail of blood my boy. Follow the trail of blood.


Explanation: Washington Mutual jacked my credit card rate to 30% after I went over the limit by less than six dollars. If they hadn't been so damned greedy I would have continued paying them high interest on my credit card debt for years, but this insult has led to my decision to pay this evil credit card company off.

I See Your Light

I See Your Light
by jeromeprophet

One line to line - into this rhyme
Within this life, within this kind
I see your light - your karmic might
You are sublime, oh how you shine

You're blinding me with truth divine
Your light reveals what's most unkind
My sins and fears - My greed and tears
I'd close my eyes, but you'd still be here
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Frangel by JP
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You fly so right, into the sky
Like a firefly upon the mind
You are so bright within my eyes
A beam of light into this time
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I'll yield to thee my angel light
My sacred right, My guiding light
I'm saved in thee, my precious knight
My shining way - my path to right
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Poem by JeromeProphet
Frangel is my digital adaptation of a photograph of Actress Francis Farmer (as child)

Our Golden Years - Peak Oil Turmoil

What Is Peak Oil

We're at the beginning of the end of the era of cheap oil.



The Economic Impact

If we don't do something soon we can expect a global economic collapse.

Teacher Aaron Wissner talks about how peak oil is likely to cause economic downturn, recession and/or recession. Peak oil is not just about gas or oil prices. Oil is what determines how the global economy functions. With less oil, there will be less growth

You Get What You Need

Rolling Stones - You Can't Always Get What You Want

I saw her today at a reception
A glass of wine in her hand
I knew she would meet her connection
At her feet was her footloose man

No, you can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
And if you try sometime you find
You get what you need

I saw her today at the reception
A glass of wine in her hand
I knew she was gonna meet her connection
At her feet was her footloose man

You can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
But if you try sometimes you might find
You get what you need


Swedish Fairy Princess Anna Lys Visits A Rose Bush

Oh yeah, hey hey hey, oh...

And I went down to the demonstration
To get my fair share of abuse
Singing, "We're gonna vent our frustration
If we don't we're gonna blow a 50-amp fuse"
Sing it to me now...

You can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
But if you try sometimes well you just might find
You get what you need
Oh baby, yeah, yeah!

I went down to the Chelsea drugstore
To get your prescription filled
I was standing in line with Mr. Jimmy
And man, did he look pretty ill
We decided that we would have a soda
My favorite flavor, cherry red
I sung my song to Mr. Jimmy
Yeah, and he said one word to me, and that was "dead"
I said to him

You can't always get what you want, no!
You can't always get what you want (tell ya baby)
You can't always get what you want (no)
But if you try sometimes you just might find
You get what you need
Oh yes! Woo!

You get what you need--yeah, oh baby!
Oh yeah!

I saw her today at the reception
In her glass was a bleeding man
She was practiced at the art of deception
Well I could tell by her blood-stained hands

You can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
But if you try sometimes you just might find
You just might find
You get what you need

You can't always get what you want (no, no baby)
You can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
But if you try sometimes you just might find
You just might find
You get what you need, ah yes...
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Take A Visit To Sweden At Anna-Lys.blogspot.com
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WAMU Sighted Again!

Another Strike Into The Side Of The Evil Beast!

"Swerve me? The path to my fixed purpose is laid with iron rails, whereon my soul is grooved to run. Over unsounded gorges, through the rifled hearts of mountains, under torrents’ beds, unerringly I rush! Naught’s an obstacle, naught’s an angle to the iron way!"

- Moby Dick, Herman Melville -


The WAMU Saga Continues

First Mate: Another hit Captain!

Captain: The waters are bloodied now!

First Mate: She's gone under again Captain.

Captain: Don't worry boys! We'll push this infernal creature towards the coast, and trap it in shallow waters we will. Then we'll strike it twice more within a fortnight.

Harpoon Boy: Yes Captain!

Captain: What's you standin about for boy? Ready us two more harpoons!

Harpoon Boy: Yes Captain!

Captain: As God is my witness this beast shall not see past the end of Summer..,

First Mate: Yes My Captain! We've got it now!

Captain: We do indeed boy, we do indeed.


Explanation

Washington Mutual decided to jack my annual interest rate up to thirty percent after I went over my credit limit by less than six dollars. So I've decided to eliminate this evil card from my life, and should have it paid off by the end of August.

Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle

Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle

Now you might be asking why I posted this video about the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle. Just think of my blog as a diary. If you want to come along, and follow me, where I've been, where I am at, where I'm going, then just keep peaking into my diary.

Now here's my thought stream on this subject - why I believe it is important. Let's see if I can express it.

You may look at MIT Professor and Physicist Walter Lewin's video on Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle, and wonder why little laser beam and some dots on a wall matter. This is an excellent start.

The crux of what is going on is this - the more one tries to measure (force) the exact location of a quanta by "treating it as" either a particle, or a wave the more that quanta will defy measurement.

In this case we have particles streaming through a narrow slit. We begin to narrow the slit, smaller, and smaller, and smaller. As we INCREASE the precision of our measurement of the particles traversing the slit and hitting the other side, a funny thing happens - the particles begin acting more like waves.

With particles we can "know" an exact location of a strike against the wall, but with waves we can not.

The particles seem to be eluding our attempt to measure them. Now we needn't worry, for we're not saying the particles are intelligent, or magical, but we are illustrating an incredibly profound characteristic of reality - Uncertainty.

Now you may ask, but what is the big deal? You may say, I program computers, or sell insurance, or wire up homes for cable television - what does this have to do with anything - especially since I've lived so long without knowing anything about this up until now. And that is a valid question.

First this phenomena doesn't take place just with photons, but with other elementary particles as well. These particles are the fundamental building blocks of "reality".

Second, despite ongoing debate, there is no evidence, none whatsoever, that the process which drives what we observe in the laser experiment takes place ONLY at quantum scales. As an example the little desktop experiment is not being conducted at quantum scales is it?

Ask yourself this - how do the electrons "know" to act like waves when "too much" information is being measured about their specific particle-like location?

You believe you know the answer - Diffraction you say! Diffraction is a process, but it doesn't explain why this process takes place.

There are many other experiments which don't use controls which would involve diffraction - and yet similar illustrations of the Uncertainty Principle result.

So Diffraction is not the explanation, it is only a modality.

So let's go back to the question - why?

This is a subject I think about, now you should too, because it has very broad implications.

Let us consider - what if I were similar to an electron, or photon?

And my life if seen as a single object (seen as a whole from the beginning to end in four dimensional space-time) - a vibrating - particle or perhaps a string - capable of being in different states simultaneously (i.e., superposition) but only collapsing into a wave form upon observation?

What would that say about the power of the observer?

And what if any of the Many Worlds versions of any of the Multiverse Theories are correct?

If you don't know what I'm talking about run some Google searches. You may just be glad that you did.

Springfield, Illinois Lightning Burst Video

Jerome, Illinois Lightning Flash Video

This is a very short video of just one flash of lightning, slowed down so that it shows the multiple flashes, and multiple paths that can make up one flash of lightning.

Many thunderstorms have visited the Midwest this year.

By the way, what if I told you that if you don't memorize the specific pattern of the lightning's path - that if you play the video over again - that the path can change?

What would you say to that?

And would you be disturbed to know that the universe works this way?

Bitter Spells

Jack Off Jill - Strawberry Gashes*
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Bitter Spells
by Jerome Prophet

Life's a mist of souls adrift upon this plane
My sin is that I told you from where and when I came
Now you're sure you know me like the lines upon your hands
You're whispering incantations and drawing evil plans

But how can you now judge me when you never knew yourself
How can you say you told me what you never learned yourself
Your thoughts are down upon me - I feel your bitter hell
I'll pay the price as seeker in defiance of your spells

Your thunderous derisions are now beating down like rain
Can't you see we're different - but we're very much the same
And though I can not tell you who I really think I am
You proceed as if you know me casting caution to the wind

How can you now judge me when you never knew yourself
How can you say you told me what you never told yourself
Your thoughts are down upon me - I feel your bitter hell
I'll now pay the price as speaker in defiance of your spells
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*Credits

Poetry by JeromeProphet
Video from Youtube Contributer
Video Source from Motion Picture - Stigmata
Audio Source Jack Off Jill - Strawberry Gashes

Anette Olzen Versus Tarja Turunen

Nightwish - Nemo (Lowlands 2005)- Vocalist Tarja Turunen

Finnish group, Nightwish, definitely rocks. Nightwish was known for it's unique mixture of metal, and opera - that's right - opera. Lead vocalist Tarja Turunen defined the unusual sound of Nightwish by allowing a Metal band to venture into Gothic romance.


Tarja Turunen - Ex-Nightwish Diva

Alas, all good things must come to an end, and with the departure of Tarja Turunen (i.e., kicked out) Nightwish no longer seems to set itself apart stylistically. It has, however, retained it's commitment to quality. Going "mainstream", if that's even possible for this group, risk cutting the band off from avenues of artistic expression which it may one day seek, and need, to explore.


Nightwish - Aramanth - Vocalist Anette Olzen

Nightwish's new lead vocalist, Anette Olzen's, weaker pop style vocals have redefined the sound of Nightwish into a pop-metal band. Some fans might say this has been to the detriment of the group, while other fans defend Nightwish's right to reinvent itself.


Nightwish - Current Vocalist Anette Olzen (2008)

Word has it Anette Olzen isn't even Finnish! OMG! She's Swedish!

Having said all of the above, try listening to the next song without breaking a tear. Anette Olzen may not be operatic, but she can connect emotion and voice - stirringly so. Some say she is even prettier than Tarja - which is not so easy a thing to be.


Nightwish - Eva - Annete Olzen

After listening to Eva , pardon me if I go cry myself to sleep. This unique Finnish Metal band has me quite confused, but in a good way. Metal and Opera, now Metal and Pop Tear Jerkers - an interesting approach that defies an attempt to classify this group - which is a good thing.

Thank you Europe for saving Rock for the rest of us. Oh yes, that is Tarja in the video. This is not an "official video", but one made by a Nightwish fan using an older video with Tarja Turunen, and the song being sung by Anette Olzen. Tarja also sang this song before she left the group, and has established a successful solo career.

We Are Islanders But Not Alone

Nightwish - Islander
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We Are All Islanders But We Are Not Alone

So many friendships lost over the course of a lifetime
Sadly, in each case I must blame myself
Even when I wasn't entirely to blame

I often didn't see that my demands upon
These ordinary people
Were unnecessary, and destructive
To what would have been

What could have been
What should have been
A lifetime of good feelings between us.

I have been fortunate to have lived long enough
To have seen the pattern of my mistakes
And to have slowly, ever so slowly, to have
Learned

Yet I have failed repeatedly to apply that
Painfully won wisdom.

I hope and pray that somehow
In the future that I forge
Friendships capable of lasting till the end of my days

For now I hold onto my hopes
I hold them tight to me so
For no man - no woman ever
Wishes or dreams to die friendless.

To my friends both present and past
I say thank you for ever having been so
For tolerating my ego, my selfishness
And my stupidity

Thank you for being my friends
And where ever you may be
Where ever you may go
Know this

You may be an Islander
But you are not alone
In this voyage we have one another
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Nightwish Rules - Another wise steer Capt'n Matt

Did Rogue CIA Agents Kill RFK?

Did Rogue CIA Agents Kill RFK Forty Years Ago This Month?

Forty years after the Robert F. Kennedy assassination, and over fifteen years after the end of the Cold War, it is still a violation of a sacred American taboo to ask aloud who really killed RFK.

Ask that question, and instantly you will be labeled a "conspiracy theorist", even though the vast majority of Americans when polled will express their doubts about the official findings surrounding the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, and his younger brother Robert F. Kennedy.

For decades questions have been asked about the quality of the initial investigation. Local LA police, and the DA at that time, focused solely upon investigating, and convicting Sirhan Sirhan.

Physical evidence from the scene showed that several more bullet holes than what could have come from the gun belonging to Sirhan Sirhan. Eye witnesses had always claimed that Sirhan Sirhan was five to six feet in front of Robert Kennedy, while the Senator's autopsy showed that he was shot three times from the back.

As physical evidence mysteriously began to disappear, Americans once again had reason to wonder if there was some type of high level conspiracy which led to RFK's murder.

Robert Kennedy, like his brother John F. Kennedy (assassinated in November of 1963) had made enemies in organized crime circles, as well as among the Cuban American refugee community in South Florida.

South Florida during the 1960s acted as a staging ground for CIA funded Cuban Refugee owned businesses, and many CIA covert operations were staged there - all with the goal of overthrowing the communist dictator Fidel Castro.

During the Bay of Pigs Invasion, an operation which took John F. Kennedy by surprise, a poorly planned (some would say laughable) operation rapidly fell apart on the Beaches of Cuba. JFK made the decision not to approve air support for the CIA backed operation. While some Cuban refugees made it back to the U.S. many were captured, or killed.

Anti Communist leaders in the Cuban refugee community unfairly blamed John F. Kennedy for the fiasco. Kennedy announced on national television that he took full responsibility which he had no participation in.

Not long after JFK was assassinated in Dallas, Texas.

For decades questions surrounding Lee Harvey Oswald's links to communist and anti communist front organizations, as well as connections to organized crime, and the intelligence community has led to a general perception by the U.S. population that JFK was killed by a Cuban Anti Communist Cell trained by the CIA, and financed by the Mafia.



After Killing JFK, Killing RFK Was Just A Formality
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Then in 1968 when it looked as if RFK had a chance of winning the Democratic nomination, and possibly the Presidency, he too was assassinated.

Many suspected that both of the Kennedys were killed by the same people. The video which this post link to offer some compelling information which demand answers, however, none of the questions surrounding RFKs assassination are new.

Did a rogue cell of Cuban connected CIA agents mete out the ultimate payback to the Kennedys for the failed Bay of Pigs invasion?

During the Cold War the main goal of U.S. foreign, intelligence, and defense policy was to defeat the international communist threat. The loss of a democratically elected president to a cell of CIA trained, and Mafia financed rogue CIA assassins would have severely damaged the anti communist cause. It would have been a truth too dangerous to confirm during the height of the Cold War.

Even now, with the Cold War over, an official confirmation of any element of such a conspiracy might be seen as destabilizing - especially at what appears to be the beginning of the end of the Castro Regime.

Despite these concerns most Americans would appreciate the truth. Most of those who were alive at that time are gone now. The reasoning behind any continuation of a cover up is stretched beyond credulity. It is time to tell the truth about who killed the Kennedys and why they were killed.



There Were Always Too Many Bullet Holes For One Gun
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WAMU Sighted - Starboard Ho!

Another Encounter With The Great White WAMU!

"They think me mad--Starbuck does; but I'm demoniac, I am madness maddened! That wild madness that's only calm to comprehend itself!" - Herman Melville's Moby Dick -
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WAMU Sighted Off The Coast of Greenland - Chapter 4

Launch the harpoon!

Yes, a hit, Captain! But she's going under.

Don't fret, we're on her now. There's no escape this time for you!

What should we do now, Captain?

Ready two more harpoons, and we'll cut the beast in half within a fortnight!

Yes, my Captain! Will it be over then? Can I tell the crew?

Not yet, but as God is my witness this abomination shall not see the end of Summer! That I vow to you and the crew, for I shall not be denied.
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Stay tuned for the next exciting chapter!
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This post is part of a series of posts in which I record how I am paying off my WAMU credit card. WAMU jacked my credit card rate to 30% annual interest after I went over my credit limit by less than six dollars!

I would have kept paying WAMU thousands of dollars in interest over the coming years if only they hadn't become so damned greedy.

Contrails Contribute To Global Warming

May 31st, 2008 - Contrails Over Springfield, Illinois

Airliners are allowed to fly in much closer air routes than ever before. The photograph above shows a series of parallel contrails running north and south over Springfield, Illinois. These contrails have already spread out to form strings of narrow clouds. It is possible that these contrails were formed by aircraft flying between Chicago, Illinois and St. Louis Missouri.


May 31st, 2008 - Contrails Form Clouds Over Springfield, Illinois

The photograph above illustrates how string like clouds formed from contrails spread out eventually forming larger clouds which create overcast over large areas. The airline industry has changed precipitation patterns as well as contributed to global warming by trapping heat in the atmosphere.


Springfield, Illinois: Contrails Created Overcast On An Otherwise Cloud Free Day

Contrails were the cause of nearly all cloud overcast on what would have been a cloud free day in Springfield, Illinois. As temperatures begin to rise during summer months the contrail effect created by the aviation industry will cost U.S. households millions of dollars in electric bills by increasing air conditioning cost.


Think It's No Big Deal?


NASA has an excellent description, with satellite photos, of how contrails form clouds and contribute to global warming here.

A Spooky Peak A Boo

Opeth - In My Time Of Need
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A Spooky Peak A Boo
by Jerome Prophet

You followed me alright
I guess that's what you do
And you knew that I knew

You tailed me tonight
In your sun glasses and blue
You were following a clue

It was like love at first sight
We knew that it was true
It was those kisses that you blew

You spied on me real tight
It was a spooky peak a boo
It's a love long overdue

-End-
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Note: Opeth Rules - Thanks Captain Matt

Dear Father I Forgive You

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Dear Father:

You died many years ago. I love you. And I respect you in many ways.

Long ago you made some mistakes which I know you later learned to regret.

Father, you grew up dirt poor, to an abusive father, my grandfather - who was the genesis of so much heartache within the families of nearly every one of his children, and grandchildren.

Father, you were turned out onto the streets as a young adolescent as your family was struggling to survive, struggling to feed itself, during the great depression.

You even begged the police to take you into jail so that you would have food to eat, and a place to sleep.

This was the America you knew.

Your parents agreed to lie about your age so that you could join the Navy at age fifteen during World War Two.

And when you came back from the war, you didn't have anyone to guide you into going to college, and so you never did.

Instead you hung out at bars, and pool halls, and worked for your father in Springfield, Illinois.

Mother said she married you because she felt sorry for you, but I suspect it is because she was a widow, with two young children - living in a man's world.

She said you quit your job, and she got tired of supporting you, and she forced you to find a better job - and I believe her story.

You did manage in some way to move off the loading docks at Bunn Capital to a white collar management position. This was possible because the U.S. economy was exploding, growing by leaps and bounds - and because you were very intelligent, and hard working.

Even though you never even graduated from grade school you rose above your circumstances - and you became more successful than I have - despite my education.

My uncle told me that you probably saw one of your brothers drown when you were a child, and I can only imagine what that did to you.

And of course your father, my grandfather probably beat the hell out of you often.

You were a complicated man, living at the very end of a highly exploitative time in the United States - and the world in general.

You lived in a time when white men were still able to deny people their rights based solely upon race, and gender.

Father you lived in a time in which men ruled their families, and could do so with full support of a male dominated legal system.

You lived in a time in which women were expected to defer to men, and children were not to contradict their parents - or fear the consequences.

What my great grand father, a traveling fundamentalist minister, did to your father, my grandfather, is a mystery, but I suspect that sparing the rod was not even a consideration. I suspect that the cycle of abuse began at least that far back during a time when children, and women could easily be viewed as the property of men.

So when I heard stories of my grandfather beating up my grandmother, and whipping you to an inch of your life - I was not surprised.

Nor was I surprised to hear the stories that mothers within our family whispered to each other, but with us children around, about the latest violent act perpetrated by this husband, or that - it was after all the 1960s - and the times they were a changing, but not for their generation of women.

My father I am not writing this to expose you as some sort of monster, for you were not a monster.

But I have a right to my own life now, not one burdened with guilt, and doubts, about myself - about my childhood, or my future.

My dearest father, you were not a monster. You played with me, and cuddled with me, and showed me love very often. You had tenderness, and patience, and goodness in you. And I love you, and always will.

Which is why this it is so hard to say what I am about to say - to reveal the secret, the horrible shameful secret - that by taboo, I am not to reveal.

But I shall anyway for it is the shame, and the burden of the secret that has allowed such behavior to continue, one generation upon the next.

First I want to say, job well done for never having sexually molested in any way, any of your children. All of your children have been very forthright about that.

Instead it was the violence, and threats of violence which I must address with you.

Some of the earliest memories I have of you is that of trying to drag you off of my mother so that you would stop punching her, and kicking her.

I was just a little boy, of preschool age, but I had to defend my mommy.

And for that you turned your punches, and kicks to me - your rage knew no morality, no boundary. Physically attacking your own little son was o.k. somehow in your mind - at least in your moments of rage. Somehow you believed that I , a four year old boy, was a real threat to you - a full grown man.

How could I ever grow to trust you? How could ever believe fully that you, the most significant man in my life was to loved without holding back - when I never was sure if you would try to attack me?

Yet, it was not these occasional outburst of rage, and violence which you visited upon our family which had the most profound effect upon me, and those who loved you.

Instead it was the low level, but constantly present, fear of saying the wrong thing, or doing the wrong thing. Never knowing when your rage would take over, or for what reason meant walking on eggshells, and it meant so many many whippings for things I never truly understood.

It was living in the war zone which you made of my childhood that had its greatest effect upon me as a person.

It was your effect upon my mother, upon whom you forced a miscarriage, when you beat her up for saying the wrong thing - when she was pregnant with your child! I wonder to this day what type of relationship I could have had with the sister or brother that you killed before he or she was ever born. I wonder about the soul that briefly incarnated into that little unborn baby only to have to flee your insane criminal rage.

You should have been locked up in a cage, a prison cell, for that act.

It was how you destroyed the relationship I had with my little brother, who had been my very best friend up until the day you vented your rage upon him for running and hiding under a bed - while you used your belt to whip him (while he was trapped under the bed) so badly that every (every) inch of his little body was covered in welts.

My brother was so filled with terror that he seemed to have left that day. I was only a child then, but I know what it is called now. Shock. You took this little boy and terrorized him so badly that he ceased being the little innocent creature he had been, and instead he did everything he could do to please you - for fear of his life - and he was not even five.

And I'm certain you did the same thing to me. For this I could hate you, and should, but I won't.

But it was that moment, of not being able to stop you - of fearing for my life, of looking at my sister - both of us crying, both of us knowing that you were insane, and that mother was out shopping - that we were at your madman's rage.

We were just children, but if we could have we would have made you go away by any means on that day.

It was the generalized, and always present level of anxiety which I learned to live with, and even ignore, which had its greatest impact upon me.

It was not being able to be honest with my friends about standing in the snow in my bare feet and pajamas in the darkness of a winter morning - while you searched for a plank of wood big enough to "bash my brains in" (your words) when I was only twelve - and listening to the calls of my mother that I should come back into the house so I could get ready for school.

It was the effect that growing up in that kind of environment had upon my ability to concentrate - or to even consider a future - growing up in a war zone so to speak.

It was that effect which being labeled as a "bad child" by moronic school officials who never knew, nor probably would have cared, what was happening until finally a school counselor asked. Yet in those days, that is as far as it went. Confirm the abuse, but remain silent, so on it continued.

This was the America that I grew up in.

It was the raging temper I have within me, that has taken a lifetime of struggle to tame, and decades of study to understand.

I look at your influence, Father, upon my siblings, and I know that your illness has reached into this very time, and has harmed marriages which you never even lived long enough to see.

I see my own timidity, my own lack of self esteem, my own addictive tendencies, my own depression, and I know where my lack of self trust, and the lack of trust I have in others came from. I know why it took me so long to believe that anyone would ever accept me, or want me to be their friend, or coworker.

I see the damage that you did.

But unlike some within the family, I have chosen to forgive you.

I believe I understand you in a greater context of history, and psychology - a field I spent years studying because of you.

And it is that understanding, that has allowed me not to hate you, but instead to love you. Hating you, would only harm me. Hating you would only be denying the you within me, something I can not risk doing.

Loving you, but hating your sin, so to speak, allows me to grow.

You did not have the advantage of an education, and you grew up in a time when whippings, or slapping a wife around was considered acceptable. The culture you grew up on was a highly exploitative male dominated age - and add to that your being mistreated, and neglected as a child and it becomes clear how you became the damaged goods that you were.

I also can not deny that in the last ten years of your life you calmed down, you began to grow as a man, and you found religion. You even told me that you loved me. You were growing up, and it took you until you were in your forties to do so. Your final years were in fact your best years.

That is not to say that you were perfect then, but I was too big for you to beat up, and sadly we both knew I could beat you up by the time I was fifteen. The problem with raising your son mean, is that he learns about defending himself - father. Yet, I could also see that you were growing - in a way that was not dependent upon fear. That is what I believe, and that is why I prayed for you, and your soul to be forgiven - that is the best memories I have of you - for you were not a monster, you were just a man struggling to become the better man you wanted to be.

And I can empathize with that.

If you had lived, I believe that you would have become more of the kind of person you should have been all along - the kind of person you would have been if only you had not been abused yourself as a child, but father, you just ran out of time, and died before you had that chance.

And now I have told the truth - I have broken the silence, I have aired the dirty laundry of the family for the world to see. I did not do so to destroy you, but to let you continue to grow through me - for you are not dead - you are in me, and I will take you to the next step father.

In the end, it is your children who choose how to look back, how to re-spect you.

It is your children who tell your story.

Some of your children say you were insane, or hate you, but I do not.

I love you father, and I forgive you, and only through this process of loving you despite the abuse you put upon me, and only by forgiving you - can I love the you within me, and forgive the you within me. For in the end, you were the single most important man in my life - you were my father.

May God forgive you for your sins, and grant you entry into Heaven.

Tornado Warnings For Central Illinois

Date May 30th, 2008 - Thunderstorm Which Came Through Jerome, Illinois


I got the date wrong, I've been on vacation all this week, and I didn't know it was May 30th.

The warning siren is several long blocks away. These are new sirens which replaced the older ones damaged by the tornadoes that came through Jerome two years ago. They are VERY loud - which is a good thing.

I'm not sure but I believe this video includes a very short lived funnel cloud. There was some rotation in the clouds as they were coming over town. One low hanging very fast moving cloud lifted up very quickly as it hit the city.

This cloud lifting effect often happens as a city is usually warmer than outlying areas since cities are lined with roads, structures, and parking lots - all of which retain heat. Rising heat from a city creates a protective thermal bubble which lifts clouds up as they move over a city - thus reducing the incidence of tornadoes in urban areas.

Note the short tree in the middle of our yard. That tree was once very tall - as tall as the other trees which I show to the left of it. But another very large tree came smashing down upon it two years ago when a tornado came right through our neighborhood.

I believe I took this video at 6:10-6:20 in the area which was when a funnel cloud was spotted over Springfield, Illinois by law enforcement (per WICS).

UPDATE

I am adding content to this post as of 8:48 P.M. Central DST, and I'm watching WICS TV 20's continuous coverage of this storm system. They are taking these storms, which have spawned several tornadoes, very seriously.

The tornado warning for Sangamon County has been ended, but now there's a thunderstorm warning, and a flash flood warning in Sangamon County.

Springfield, Illinois and surrounding communities are getting hit by one storm after another. The radar shows a string of isolated storm cells moving in a line for over one hundred miles - and they are headed right this way. So we should expect more storms for hours to come.

Gotta go for now

Reanimus Nocturnus

Reanimus Nocturnus
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Reanimus Nocturnus
by Jerome Prophet

When you fall into the darkness
And don't see that shaft of light
When you hear the thunder booming
From your left and from your right

What will be your answer
Will you run or will you fight
Or will you give up quietly
And become a creature of the night
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You Have Reached The End
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Music - Jack Off Jill/Everything's Brown
Video - Return of the Living Dead 3 - see video for credits

We Share More Than We're Aware

A Jar of Honey Blood For Your Dreams

The Collective Dream Experience

I was speaking with the spouse tonight. I mentioned how that around sunset I sometimes long to be able to fly.

My spouse responded with surprise, asking, "Fly, why would you want to do that?".

"Yes fly", I answered, "I'd love to lift up above the trees and capture a bit more of the sunset".

"Oh", my spouse said, "That's interesting".

"Haven't you ever had dreams where you can fly?", I asked.

"Yes", replied my wife, "rarely, but many times over the years".

We were both standing in the driveway during our conversation, and I lifted my arms up a bit to shoulder height, and asked, "Someone would be running toward you, and you'd start to take off?".

"I've had dreams like that", she said.

"They would get to your feet just as you take off, but you relax, and you soar high above them", I said.

"Exactly, my dream.", my wife responded.

And then I added, "But they can't get you like they could in the past, when you had the same dreams when you were younger, because you're older now, and you're a more experienced flier".

"I have had those very same dreams", my wife admitted.

My wife and I had not only had the same type of dreams, but experienced the same sequence of dream experiences by progressively becoming better at flying over the course of decades.

How is that possible if dreams are just semi-nonsensical neural processing taking place with the brain of a separate individuals?
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The Origin of Common Dreams

Dreams may solely result from internal subconscious processing on an individual level, but I find such a shared subconscious experiences fascinating. Just how is it that different individuals can share the same rich dream experiences? Answers for this question have been formulated over the centuries.

The phrase "collective subconscious" has been employed in an attempt to define a boundary, and an origin for the shared dream phenomena. The source of the collective subconscious, it has been proposed, is sourced in the exposure of individuals to common cultural symbols while in a conscious state.

Just as many bird species have brains already hard wired to build nest, and therefore also possess other related abilities (e.g., locating the right sized materials, and location for building a nest), the human brain is also primed to recognizing speech, and facial expressions.

It is this preprogrammed set of abilities which predisposes the human experience onto a common path. Infants acquire a fear of falling even before the development of language for example. Later in life the fear of falling may be expressed during the dream state as a dream about falling. Dreams of this type may be far more likely at certain periods of brain development, and may be an expression of our neural programming.

Yet, despite these predispositions within the human brain to process common experiences in common ways through similar dreams, I still find it hard to understand how a dream experience can be so similar from one individual to another.

Some have proposed that part of the "collective subconscious" lay outside the three dimensions which we trust as the source of all incoming experience. Some have argued that a portion of what we experience during our dream states are a form of collective interface.

What The Hell Is Hillary Clinton Thinking?

Keith Olberman on Hillary Clinton's References to Assassination
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What The Hell Is Hillary Clinton Thinking?

Recently it appears that Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has chosen to sneak in references to political assassination - whenever possible. What the hell is Senator Clinton up to? It seems painfully obvious to all but her supporters that the Senator's sly references are a means of suggesting that we Democrats need her to remain in the race, a race she can not win, as some sort of back up in case Barack Obama is assassinated.

Some may argue that Senator Clinton is once again being victimized (she claims there is a media conspiracy working against her), and that her intentions are pure, but her repeated reference to Bobby Kennedy's assassination, in June of 1968, doesn't appear to be a random act, nor innocent act in the least.



A Mystery - Why Senator Clinton Continues Her Campaign
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Why Talk Of Assassination Now Senator Clinton?
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Hillary Clinton is after all a master politician who is running for the highest office in the nation, and has been for over eight years. Senator Clinton is the product of a lifetime of politics and political campaigning. She is accustomed to watching every word she utters, and to having available to her a set of carefully crafted responses to every question imaginable - and if not, a generic reply which will work in a pinch.

This doesn't keep her from making mistakes, but it does suggest that we must take a careful look at what she says, when she says it, and carefully assess why she says it.

The Senator's carefully crafted, and repeated injection of references to Robert Kennedy's assassination, after his victory in the 1968 California Democratic Primary, does not appear to be an accident at all. Senator Clinton has made these references at least four times.

The 2007-2008 Primaries have been historic in the sense that an African American, for the first time in U.S. history, is the Democratic front runner. In fact at the time of this posting Senator Obama has the nomination wrapped up.


Politics American Style - Red State Comedy
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Americans Fear Another Assassination

As an example, at my workplace nearly every coworker (in my unit) under the age of thirty has proclaimed their intent to cast their vote for Senator Obama. I say "nearly" only because there is one lone twenty something I never spoke to on the subject.

These same twenty-somethings stated that they would not, under any condition, vote for Hillary Clinton. Some even stating that they would rather vote for the Republican candidate in the general election. That is how high Hillary Clinton's negatives are!

One revelation which I found distressing is that these same twenty-somethings have nearly all expressed their fear that Senator Obama would be assassinated if it looked like he was going to win the election. Young voters may be ready for an African American commander in chief, but these same younger voters fear that the rest of the nation may have a problem with racial equality to that point.

Surveys conducted during the West Virginia and Kentucky (rural red states) Democratic Primaries revealed that one in four voters who cast their vote for Hillary Clinton admitted that they would not vote for Mr. Obama because he is black!

This response is coming from the "trailer trash vote" that Hillary has been so desperate to play to over the last two months. Instead of making it loud and clear that she doesn't want that kind of support she has instead slyly worked racism into her campaign!

Politics is a form of warfare, and Hillary Clinton has shown that she is capable of employing any weapon available within the politician's arsenal. While I don't believe Ms. Clinton would ever wish Senator Obama ill will, I don't believe Senator Clinton is who I want as the Vice President of the United States.
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Does Racism Matter?
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Time To End Your Campaign
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While I agree with Ms. Clinton on a wide range of domestic positions, I don't like what I have seen in her character in recent months. Others had warned me of long ago not to trust Senator Clinton, but I refused to consider that there was anything to fear.

If Ms. Clinton knows what is best for her she should call this campaign quits, and begin campaigning for Senator Obama in earnest. Only in this way will she be able to repair the damage she has done to the Democratic party, and to her own reputation.

Despite any calls for Senator Clinton to end her campaign short of the Democratic National Convention it is highly doubtful that the Senator from New York will do so. It is far more likely that Ms. Clinton intends to force herself upon the ticket as Barack Obama's Vice Presidential running mate.

Sometimes Dead Is Better

Sometimes Dead Is Better

Many years ago me and my old buddy Pat went to see the motion picture Pet Sematary. We both loved the movie, and were still under its spell so to speak after leaving the theater. We were driving out to his house, and we noticed a road sign pointing to the local Pet Cemetery.

Pat was the owner of a road construction sign company, and it occurred to us at exactly that moment that we could change the sign leading to the Pet Cemetery so that it said Pet Sematary.

We laughed our asses off, and then made our way back to the sign with the needed equipment.

It was dark out, and a little bit creepy, and as we got out and approached the sign there was this rustling and growling sound coming up from the brush just off the road. We got spooked and made our way back to the truck. Deciding at that moment that it would be in poor taste - a rare moment of sanity - or maybe we were just spooked out of our skulls.

I'm a fan of Stephen King, and have read most of his books. I usually don't get nervous reading his stories, but must confess that a scene from one of his books which disturbed me the most is out of Pet Sematary - the one in which the father digs up the casket of his dead son.

Maybe some of the scenes in Salem's Lot were about that scary, but not quite.

Sometimes Dead Is Better

A few days ago on Fox there appeared an article based upon a true story in which a woman who had been pronounced dead, with rigor mortis already setting in, woke up! Oh my god!

How dead does a person have to be to be dead? This person had no brain waves, no pulse, and her heart had stopped! She was DEAD! Just minutes away from being cut up for organ donation. And the next thing you know she's sitting up in her bed speaking.

A Pretty & Wonderful Earth

Jerome, Illinois - Tree Blossoms On A Spring Morning - May 25th, 2008

A cooler and gentler Spring has allowed most blooming trees to reach full bloom. Many trees have been in bloom for weeks which is all but unheard of. In Central Illinois it is as if Spring is in slow motion, and while people may be a bit upset over the lack of blue skies, the plants seem to be loving it.



Jerome, Illinois - Tree Blossoms At Sunset - May 24th, 2008

The Earth is a beautiful planet. What an incredible gift to have been given - this garden planet of ours. We all have a great responsibility to protect the Earth - future generations watch what we do now - and it is how we act, or fail to act which determines how we will be judged.