Helping Out The Bear

So I go over to the Fatman's to get some pain killer last night and run into his alter ego Junior The Bear sitting on his butt in their living room lamenting his lack of success with his blog.
He is stale he says. He never gets any hits.
Of course he hasn't posted in a month so why should he?
So in trade for the better pain killer stuff I helped him make some "business cards" to hand out to promote his "blog".
So go over to the little twerps blog and comment, and don't tell him I sent you, tell him it was his "business cards" that did it!

(Can you believe Fatman really takes this stuffed animal character around everywhere with him?)

An Enigma of the Ineffable : Omnipresence

On ER's blog a few weeks ago there was a discussion about "Good" and "God" and how God did Good. I dance around an idea that indicated that God didn't do "Good" as man see it it for God is Omnipresent and knows what's happening, will happen and has happened, and some events 'on that time line' will not be seen as good by man.





Well anyway, for my own record I want to make a few observations and point to a simple article that would bare on this.





Enigma: One that is puzzling, ambiguous, inexplicable, perplexing, or a riddle.





Ineffable: Incapable of being expressed; indescribable or unutterable.





Omnipresence: The ability to be present in every place at any, and/or every, time; unbounded or universal presence. It is related to the concept of ubiquity, the ability to be everywhere at a certain point in time.





We all "Know" that "Time" has a direction. It moves from the past, through the present and into the future. Right?


Well it sure seems that way.


Us humans on earth today perceive time to move in that one direction. Problem is that, " The basic laws of physics work equally well forward or backward in time."


There are serious theoreticians that think our, "...universe may be part of a much larger multi verse, which as a whole is time-symmetric. Time may run backwards in other universes."





Now if you want to pursue that line of thought in a scientific format check out the article : The Cosmic Origins of Time's Arrow. by Sean Carroll in the June 2008 issue of Scientific American.





Now here is my "Religious" point of the discussion. Even though our view of existence means that the future looks different from the past, God, "being" outside of existence sees them all as the same. The future, present, past, being all the same, ipso facto, omnipresence.

Life's Bucket List via The Smithsonian

The Smithsonian Life List .........

As the Baby Boomer’s get closer to retirement, they also get closer to the end of it all. Is it any wonder then that “Bucket List”, and “life List” consultants have popped up all over the place? So less look at one from the granddaddy of ultimate things the Smithsonian Institute.
“"life lists"—itineraries of things to do and places to go before taking the ultimate trip to the Great Beyond. Bookstores brim with titles such as 1,000 Places to See Before You Die, 1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die and—for the high-minded—Fifty Places to Go Birding Before You Die. A cottage industry of Web sites has also popped up, enabling life list enthusiasts to exchange ideas ranging from learning Japanese to getting a tattoo.’
Source for the quotes and the pictures:

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/specialsections/lifelists/lifelist.html#

So here are the 28 places one should see before one dies (the commentary is mine):
Portals into the Past”Walk the timeless streets and byways of ancient cities on three continents”

– Mesa Verde

Been here done that several times, and plan to go back again. If you go, try to stay at the Far View Lodge in the park its self. Get one of the cabins up the hill. They all have porches that have an endless view.

– Pompeii

Definitely on my list, As is nearby Naples and the Vesuvius that “created” Pompeii in the first place.

– Tikal

– Star Wars! At least that’s what I think of when I see the pictures of Tikal. Definitely on my list.
– – Petra

– Yes to Petra and many other things in Jordon. I may put it down near the bottom of the list however just in case I kick off before I get to it.

Feats of Engineering”The world's surviving architectural wonders hewed from stone and mortar beckon as ever”

– Pyramids of Giza

Got to put this one high on the list. Of course the museum at Cairo and a trip down the Nile have to be on the itinerary as well. Oh yes, we much not leave out Alexandria.

– Taj Mahal

Most certainly on the list along with the Shalamar Gardens built for the pleasure of the same gal buried in the Taj Mahal.

– Easter Island

Again a certain item on my list.

– The Great Wall

Naw, probably not going to put this one on the list. Too far for the money.

A Matter of Timing

Choosing the right year, month or even moment can make all the difference

– Aurora Borealis

This one may go on my list at the top. If nothing else, when they get active, I’ll get in my car and drive North till I see them! Check the Aurora Page to see what they are doing: www.geo.mtu.edu/weather/aurora/

– Serengeti

Yes, Yes, Yes, may even take a hot air balloon ride so as to see them, hear them and smell them during the migration season.

– Iguazu Falls

On the list about half way down. Might substitute Victoria Falls instead!

– Machu Picchu

Now here is one I have wanted to see since like before ever. Trouble is, I can’t walk that far and need more oxygen than they have there. So maybe I will have to go into training for this one, or rent a plane.

Triumphs of Vision

”Come face to face with history's finest works of art and design”

– The Louvre

Yes, most certainly. A week at least to see it maybe two, and even that won’t be enough.

– Zen Garden of Kyoto

Now here is something I am not prepared for. I mean I wouldn’t see what is there to be seen. So I think I’ll try one closer to home and work my way up.

– Uffizi Gallery

Yes, combined of course with many other nearby treasures.

– Fallingwater

If I happen to be in the area I might drop in.

Scale New Heights

”Don't just see nature's most spectacular sites—experience them”

– Yangtze River

Too far. I would rather take a river boat up the Rhine to its headwaters .

– Antarctica

Too far. Too costly. Too cold.

– Mount Kilimanjaro

Maybe if I can get that hot air balloon to go that high. Climb it? No!

– Grand Canyon

Already done this one. Down to the bottom and back up by foot. See my February 16, 2008 blog for this adventure:
http://lobojosden.blogspot.com/2008/02/there-and-back-again-down-grand-canyon.html

In the Presence of Gods

Encounter temples so magnificent then could only have been built by divine inspiration

– Pagan

Too long a plane trip. Too much shooting going on here. Had my time ducking bullets thank you. Off the list.

– Parthenon

Yes, oh, yes, and much more there too.

– Angkor Wat

Nope. Distance and dollars again.

– Ephesus

Absolutely, without a doubt. Put this one near the top.

Here Today, Gone Tomorrow?

Visit these deteriorating or threatened destinations before they disappear

– Venice

So long as I am in the neighborhood, why not? I can get some beads there too I hear.

– Amazon Rain Forest

On an air conditioned boat and with a qualified archaeologist, I would do this.

– Great Barrier Reef

No desire at all to do this. To far, and too long of a plane ride. I’ll stick to the tidal pools on the west coast thank you.

– Galápagos Islands

Let’s go! Someone make the reservation!

OK guys and gals, those that are kith and kin you have my “Let’s Go List”.
Say throw in Alaska, Switzerland, the British Museum, Mexico City and museum, and a train ride in Eritrea and it is fairly complete. I can be persuaded to go other places if I must.Now what do you think of these places?

NOT WITH MY CHILDREN YOU DON'T! (Forget the Grandkids as Well, suckers)

"HI, JOHN MC CAIN, THIS IS ALEX."





The Right is have apoplectic fits about this add.
As well they should. This really hurts them.
Back when I had my first child 34 years ago I decided that none of my children would ever HAVE TO GO TO WAR.
I told each of them that they need never fear the draft or any manditory edict to send them to war. If they wanted to go that was their business.
I told my children that I would do what ever was necessary to live up this promise.
You see I was a Regular Army volunteer in Vietnam.
I fought and I killed for my country.
I know what stupidity and politics in war means.
I know what immoral and illegal, means when applied to War.
I know the sickness of the war lovers and what they will do to practice their passions.

The video is dead on with these feelings.
The spurious arguments and tirades against it can not erase the central message, not with my children you won't.



Watch the Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sq30lapbC9c

Axis Mundi Where Are You?

NOTICE OF WITHDRAWAL:


This Blogger will dis-engage for a period not less than 21 days in length.
Some say it is an interlude in which he will receive mental treatment.
Some say it is a time in which he will hatch new ideas.
Some say he is on a quest for the Axis Mundi.
Most however could give a damn.


Meanwhile read a good book.