Online writers who I admire

Arthur Silber, who is occasionally difficult to read because he is often acerbic, writes passionately of the horrors of war and of the evil that the American empire inflicts on others because of its citizen’s ignorance of evil.

Jon Michael Greer, an archdruid who knows what green actually means, writes soberly of peak oil, magic, and what people need to do to make a meaningful difference: a “green lifestyle” driving a hybrid hummer while surfing Facebook on your iPhone as you sip a caramel latte out of a compostable cup doesn’t count.

I enjoy IOZ because he is more of a gay smartass than I am. Ain’t that hard to believe?

For love of land between the shining seas

My country tis of thee! Sweet land of “liberty!”

Of thee I sing! Land where my fathers died!

Land of the Genocide!

From every mountainside, let freedom be

Peppersprayed

. . .

Ignorance is Insulting

I was just invited to a “possible interview” for a 3 month contract at Amazon for a position that my former co-worker and friend specifically recommended me for.

I’m working on a fee structure for GAMES: public lessons donation; private lessons what you can afford.

I don’t need money right now, so that’s why I find the contradiction “possible interview” for a “specific individual” mildly insulting.

Oh, well. I have not completely freed myself from the Old World.

Momma’s Milk

Microsoft is like a teat that always spills milk:
Sometimes sour, sometimes sweet.
But you can always suck on it.

(Anonymous : – )

Civilization and Exploitation

Civilization is based on exploitation: of the Earth and its resources; of animals and livestock; and of people upon other people. Civilization cannot exist without an underclass, which once were slaves and are now wage slaves, to support it.

Civilization is both creative and destructive. To think that civilization can exist without destruction and exploitation — have you ever seen a field being tilled? — is naïve in the extreme.

Which is not to say that we shouldn’t try to ameliorate or reduce the amount of destruction involved to sustain ourselves. But neither should we be so naïve to believe that “clean energy” can sustain our way of life. Instead, more radical and controversial steps must be taken.

Reduce the population. Stop producing — a negative GDP, anyone? — and stop consuming.

And, perhaps, make one of the guiding pillars of society to be the recognition and reduction of exploitation in all of its forms.

Return?

Yin culminates today, the new moon, and I meditate on magic and the archetype of the wizard.

I develop Autosuggestion as I return to my imperfect work of mythopoeisis.

The mask I wore decays and dies; I craft a new mask: Magister mentatium!

Et Latinam studeo. Et spero!

A Reason to Visit Georgia

Statement of Principles

I am, by nature, a cynic, a critic, and an iconoclast. I use this blog as a creative outlet to purge my soul of the negative streams inherent in iconoclasm, criticism, and cynicism.

As such, this blog partially reflects my philosophy, my personality, and my preoccupations.

If you judge me harshly because of my occasional harsh denunciations, recall Hamlet:

“There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.”

Here, let me get the tab . . .

Beware the motivation of a monkey who buys you dinner.

Oh, those scheming monkeys!

Animal Nature

We will never escape our animal nature. As such, our demons — aggression, murder, starvation, disease — will always be with us. We needn’t wait for the apocalypse, needn’t wait for the hoofbeats of the dread horsemen to realize this truth.

We will never escape our animal nature. As such, our noblest impulses — love and compassion — will never desert us. For the beauty of God breathes within the souls of beasts:

In 2003, police in Warwickshire, England, opened a garden shed and found a whimpering, cowering dog. It had been locked in the shed and abandoned. It was dirty and malnourished, and had clearly been abused.

In an act of kindness, the police took the dog, which was a greyhound female, to the nearby Nuneaton and Warwickshire Wildlife Sanctuary, run by a man named Geoff Grewcock and known as a willing haven for animals abandoned, orphaned or otherwise in need.

Geoff Grewcock and the other sanctuary staff went to work with two aims: to restore the dog to full health, and to win her trust. It took several weeks, but eventually both goals were achieved.

They named her Jasmine, and they started to think about finding her an adoptive home.

The dog had other ideas. No-one remembers now how it began, but Jasmine started welcoming all animal arrivals at the sanctuary. It wouldn’t matter if it was a puppy, a fox cub, a rabbit or, probably, a rhinoceros, Jasmine would peer into the box or cage and, where possible, deliver a welcoming lick.

Geoff Grewcock relates one of the early incidents. “We had two puppies that had been abandoned by a nearby railway line. One was a Lakeland Terrier cross and another was a Jack Russell Doberman cross. They were tiny when they arrived at the centre and Jasmine approached them and grabbed one by the scruff of the neck in her mouth and put him on the settee. Then she fetched the other one and sat down with them, cuddling them.”

“But she is like that with all of our animals, even the rabbits. She takes all the stress out of them and it helps them to not only feel close to her but to settle into their new surroundings.

“She has done the same with the fox and badger cubs, she licks the rabbits and guinea pigs and even lets the birds perch on the bridge of her nose.”

Jasmine, the timid, abused, deserted waif, became the animal sanctuary’s resident surrogate mother, a role for which she might have been born. The list of orphaned and abandoned youngsters she has cared for comprises five fox cubs, four badger cubs, 15 chicks, eight guinea pigs, two stray puppies and 15 rabbits.

And one roe deer fawn. Tiny Bramble, 11 weeks old, was found semi-conscious in a field. Upon arrival at the sanctuary, Jasmine cuddled up to her to keep her warm, and then went into the full foster mum role. Jasmine the greyhound showers Bramble the roe deer with affection and makes sure nothing is matted in her fur.

“They are inseparable,” says Geoff Grewcock. “Bramble walks between her legs and they keep kissing each other. They walk together round the sanctuary. It’s a real treat to see them.”

Jasmine will continue to care for Bramble until she is old enough to be returned to woodland life. When that happens, Jasmine will not be lonely. She will be too busy showering love and affection on the next orphan or victim of abuse. (Source)