Earth Hour? Oh yeah, it was a big success, and because there was reportedly such a large degree of participation throughout all parts of the world by so many people (a good many of whom were politicians and businesses looking to make a good impression) suddenly we have a "mandate".
Hasn't there already been an "Earth Day" for a while? I guess "Earth Month" is next, and of course don't forget "Earth Week".
Hey, I know, what about Earth Minute? Everybody just take one deep breath and hold it for a full minute, all at the same time. That's a whole minute with no carbon dioxide emissions from human lungs. Think of our earth and its survival, people.
I might have an even better idea though, one that would accomplish more towards healing the earth than all the carbon reduction attempts you ever could or would make.
I call it "Earth Second". That's where all you harebrained fanatics buy a gun while you can still do so legally, store one bullet in the chamber, and then, at the same precise second, blow your fucking brains out and leave the rest of us alone. There goes your carbon footprints, assholes.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Monday, March 23, 2009
Here Comes The Sun
I don't know about anybody else, but I sure need this. I suspect a lot of us do.
And with that-Happy (Belated) Oestra
And with that-Happy (Belated) Oestra
Oestra-All Things Being Equal
In a mud hut lives an heiress
Parked outside is her sedan
She has roses
Made from gemstones that
She sewed inside her garden
A Great Horned Owl her caretaker
A gelding horse her fool
With fireflies she beckons me
My whore needs wool
(Patrick Kelley)
These last four days have realy been hell, which explains why I've been so late getting this latest series of Sabbat posts published, but I am nothing if not determined-even with family problems, illness, and computer glitches. The amazing thing is that I got it finished when I did, considering the number of posts I actually ended up doing. And to think, just three or four days ago I was thinking I would be lucky to come up with four or five. Then, the deluge.
I don't know how it just so happened that I drew such a fitting card as The Lovers. Much more fitting for Beltane, to be sure, but still a good fit for Oestra, particularly this one, what with Venus in retrograde and in-at the time of the solstice-squared the Moon and Mars and coming into conjunction with the Sun which is squared with Pluto. Actually, by now, the Sun and Venus sre in conjunction, though not a perfect conjunction.
The Lovers doesn't necessarily pertain to marriage and romance of course. It can, and seeing as Oestra is a fertility based Sabbat, more so than most of the other ones, with its implications of sexuality, and longing, and the urge to plant seeds-or "sew wild oats" as the case may be. But its more than that. Fertility can be also about the acquisition or the drive to acquire abundance and prosperity. Of course back in the day, agricultural pursuits were the major source of prosperity, before the advent of trade through sea travel and mining, to mention just two of many later yet now ancient developments.
And, of course, a large family was seen as a boon. Now, of course, such a situation presents more challenges than ever before. And this is also inherent in the card of The Lovers. It's not all lover, roses, and sunshine. It implies a period of testing, a testing of faith for one, of loyalty for another, and of hope and trust.
I'm afraid we will all for the most part see great periods of such testing in the days and weeks-and months-ahead of us. May we all get through them and emerge stronger than ever.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Oestra Drink-Peaches And Cream
Well, unfortunately, I got caught up in so many different things over the weekend and the preceding three or four days I just was unable to get this posted in time for the Sabbat, which is a perfect occasion for it, as it can be seen as the symbolic meeting of winter and spring. The good thing is, you can enjoy this drink on any occasion. I know that because I happen to have invented it, and so far as I know its unique.
It's also quite simple to prepare. Just take three scoops of ice cream and pour over this three jiggers of peach schnapps. The drink is perfect at that, but if you prefer you can blend the two ingredients together and add a garnish of a cinnamon stick or fresh fruit slices to your taste. A dash of grenadine can also be used.
Food of the gods, indeed.
Get Your Free Whores Here
Jane's Addiction has just announced their up-coming tour with Nine Inch Nails and Street Sweeper. You can get all of the details on this Ninja 2009 website, where by the way you can also download a bunch of great songs by all three of the bands-all for free.
Yeah, I know the title of this post is lame-o, but you know I made you look. I just wish all the news that came out over the Oestra Sabbat could be this cool. Now, without further ado-
Yeah, I know the title of this post is lame-o, but you know I made you look. I just wish all the news that came out over the Oestra Sabbat could be this cool. Now, without further ado-
New Births Off The Charts
When it rains it pours, and these days we must be having a semen storm, or an ovary flood, or something. Recent birth records have finally eclipsed the previous known record set during the baby boom, when so many kids were born because soldiers returning from overseas duty during World War II were so happy to see their wives and girlfriends. That's understandable, but what have so many people got to be so happy about today? I know I should try to shine a positive light on things here, in that the Oestra season is supposed to be a fertility festival, but from the looks of things, lack of fertility is not the problem. Unfortunately, it might well be adding to the many problems we have. What fool in their right mind wants to have kids under the current set of world economic conditions and outlook? Is it just that people are that damned careless and unthinking?
Well, I guess that's a good part of it, and it becomes more comprehensible when you consider that a large part of the new birth parents are teenagers, the mothers in particular being unwed mothers. Yes, that sad statistic is once more on the rise.
As for Oestra and the idea of fertility rites, there's something to be said for viewing fertility not in the sense so much of procreation but first of building a prosperous life. An over-abundance of new births during harsh economic conditions kind of defeats the purpose of aiming first for prosperity, and then building a life that might include a family, one assured of at least some degree of security and stability. In fact, this is pouring gasoline on the fire. Welcome to life in the twenty-first century. Oh, by the way, you owe about twenty-billion dollars-if you're lucky.
I do think its incumbent on us all to be a little more responsible in our actions, and to try to encourage greater forethought and self-discipline. Its not all about what feels good at the moment.
Well, I guess that's a good part of it, and it becomes more comprehensible when you consider that a large part of the new birth parents are teenagers, the mothers in particular being unwed mothers. Yes, that sad statistic is once more on the rise.
As for Oestra and the idea of fertility rites, there's something to be said for viewing fertility not in the sense so much of procreation but first of building a prosperous life. An over-abundance of new births during harsh economic conditions kind of defeats the purpose of aiming first for prosperity, and then building a life that might include a family, one assured of at least some degree of security and stability. In fact, this is pouring gasoline on the fire. Welcome to life in the twenty-first century. Oh, by the way, you owe about twenty-billion dollars-if you're lucky.
I do think its incumbent on us all to be a little more responsible in our actions, and to try to encourage greater forethought and self-discipline. Its not all about what feels good at the moment.
It Must Be A Bitch Being So Damned Infallible
I think the Pope might want to think about staying home more. It seems like every time he goes anywhere and opens his mouth, disaster follows. This usually amounts to PR problems and doesn't involve death, but this time, during his visit to Angola, he managed to inspire a riot which left several people dead and injured, two of them teenage girls.
In the meantime, he managed to undermine those, including many in his own church, who are promoting condom use in Africa as a means of combating AIDS, by proclaiming that condoms might actually be a contributing factor to AIDS. In doing so he discouraged their use. He capped this off with a warning about the dangers of animism, witchcraft, and other forms of superstition.
Look, no one should be surprised by this, as the Catholic Church is by rights a two-thousand year old incarnation of one or more much older Roman fertility cults it basically supplanted, albeit with more spiritual trappings. What was the purpose of these ancient fertility cults? Of course, they encouraged population growth at a time when this was vital. Yes, it has evolved over time into more outwardly civil and modern trappings, but it is still obvious that the Pope isn't going to encourage the practice of sex without an emphasis on procreation, and he certainly isn't going to encourage birth control, AIDS be damned. Nor is he going to preside over such a profound change in Church policy as to turn it into something that is diametrically opposed to such an important part of its historical existence and spiritual meaning.
The witchcraft thing is a little trickier. In Angola, and other parts of Africa, thousands of people, including children, have been beaten, tortured, dispossessed, and even murdered, due to accusations of witchcraft. It is a big problem there, and the Pope with his words may have unintentionally contributed to it. He of course considers all kinds of witchcraft and paganism hedonistic at best, and malign superstition at worse, so when he specifies malign witchcraft, you can be pretty sure he is meaning all of its forms as it might exist in Africa, where the practice and belief is widespread and so inculcated in the popular mind and culture.
Recently, a robbery was foiled in Nigeria in which the driver of the getaway car attempted to evade the police by supposedly transforming himself into a goat-this according to the official Lagos police report. See what I mean?
The Pope means well, and to a great extent is a positive influence on people's lives, but the Catholic Church is not some infallible spiritually based organization that can do no wrong, nor is the Pope infallible. If this was the case, what does he need with advisers and PR people to begin with? No, the Church is just another powerful organization made up of people who are by no means, by the way, united in all matters, and which can and has been sadly wrong on many occasion. That is just as true today as at any time.
The irony is, in a way the Pope was right. We would be much better off if we limited sexual activity to the confines of marriage. If everyone did that, AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases would not be an issue, nor would out-of-wedlock births. People shouldn't get too outraged that the Pope is promoting his beliefs and those of the religion of which he is the head. It's really quite simple. If you don't believe in the Pope or what he says or his church, then use the damned condoms. His opinion shouldn't matter to you anyway. If you do believe in him, and follow his teachings, then do so in all regards, because if you pick and choose what sounds palatable and discard the rest because its inconvenient or distasteful, then you are playing Russian roulette.
Granted, somebody does need to talk to the Pope about choosing his words more carefully and making sure the full meaning of what he says is clear. If only he wasn't so damned infallible.
In the meantime, he managed to undermine those, including many in his own church, who are promoting condom use in Africa as a means of combating AIDS, by proclaiming that condoms might actually be a contributing factor to AIDS. In doing so he discouraged their use. He capped this off with a warning about the dangers of animism, witchcraft, and other forms of superstition.
Look, no one should be surprised by this, as the Catholic Church is by rights a two-thousand year old incarnation of one or more much older Roman fertility cults it basically supplanted, albeit with more spiritual trappings. What was the purpose of these ancient fertility cults? Of course, they encouraged population growth at a time when this was vital. Yes, it has evolved over time into more outwardly civil and modern trappings, but it is still obvious that the Pope isn't going to encourage the practice of sex without an emphasis on procreation, and he certainly isn't going to encourage birth control, AIDS be damned. Nor is he going to preside over such a profound change in Church policy as to turn it into something that is diametrically opposed to such an important part of its historical existence and spiritual meaning.
The witchcraft thing is a little trickier. In Angola, and other parts of Africa, thousands of people, including children, have been beaten, tortured, dispossessed, and even murdered, due to accusations of witchcraft. It is a big problem there, and the Pope with his words may have unintentionally contributed to it. He of course considers all kinds of witchcraft and paganism hedonistic at best, and malign superstition at worse, so when he specifies malign witchcraft, you can be pretty sure he is meaning all of its forms as it might exist in Africa, where the practice and belief is widespread and so inculcated in the popular mind and culture.
Recently, a robbery was foiled in Nigeria in which the driver of the getaway car attempted to evade the police by supposedly transforming himself into a goat-this according to the official Lagos police report. See what I mean?
The Pope means well, and to a great extent is a positive influence on people's lives, but the Catholic Church is not some infallible spiritually based organization that can do no wrong, nor is the Pope infallible. If this was the case, what does he need with advisers and PR people to begin with? No, the Church is just another powerful organization made up of people who are by no means, by the way, united in all matters, and which can and has been sadly wrong on many occasion. That is just as true today as at any time.
The irony is, in a way the Pope was right. We would be much better off if we limited sexual activity to the confines of marriage. If everyone did that, AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases would not be an issue, nor would out-of-wedlock births. People shouldn't get too outraged that the Pope is promoting his beliefs and those of the religion of which he is the head. It's really quite simple. If you don't believe in the Pope or what he says or his church, then use the damned condoms. His opinion shouldn't matter to you anyway. If you do believe in him, and follow his teachings, then do so in all regards, because if you pick and choose what sounds palatable and discard the rest because its inconvenient or distasteful, then you are playing Russian roulette.
Granted, somebody does need to talk to the Pope about choosing his words more carefully and making sure the full meaning of what he says is clear. If only he wasn't so damned infallible.
Snuggle Bunny
Since Easter is coming up soon, and was really derived from the original Oestra-or to be more precise, it was based on the various spring fertility cult festivals on which the modern Oestra was also based-I thought this video would be-well, cute.
Not to mention you can dance to it.
Not to mention you can dance to it.
Oestra Power Animal Twins
It seems like Polar Bears always end up in the picture somewhere during the last few Sabbats, and well, here we go again. This time, though, you get two for one.
A set of twins, actually, born in an animal park in The Netherlands. Twin births are probably very unusual for a polar bear mother, even one who gives birth within a relatively stable, comfortable, secure, and controlled environment.
Something For Your Cat
Since I'm on an animal kick here, I thought I'd just throw out there that I made a pretty interesting discovery with cats. If you want to do something that will get your cat to play-even an older cat-buy a bag of soft peppermint. Not the sticks, or the hard discs, but the kind of barrel shaped pieces that are soft, and come individually wrapped. I don't know whether its the scent or the red-and-white striped colors, but my cat goes wild over them. I tend to think its mostly the scent, because after she tears the paper open she seems more attracted to the empty wrapper than she does the loose peppermint candy. I have to take it away from here as I'm afraid she'll swallow it. She's play with the loose candy, but not as much, because she doesn't like to pick it up in her mouth due to the strong and to her doubtless overpowering taste.
But, for what its worth, it works as good or better than catnip or anything else I've ever found.
But, for what its worth, it works as good or better than catnip or anything else I've ever found.
The Iditarod
I have mixed feelings about the Iditarod. I'm not a touchy feely kind of guy when it comes to animal activism, but on the other hand, I tend to have more sympathy for animals than I do for most people. Sorry if that sounds harsh, but there it is. Animals tend to not get a vote on what goes on. People can vote with their wallets, their feet, or their opinions. None of the five dogs that died during this years race were asked, "hey, do you feel up to running it this year, buddy?" Granted, they are checked out thoroughly, and are well cared for throughout the year, but there have been something like one hundred seventy dogs that have died since this thing started like thirty-five years ago or thereabouts.
I don't want to ban the race, or do anything to lessen the excitement, but surely there's something that can be done. Use more dogs, maybe?
Anyway, congratulation to Lance MacKey, who has now already won this years race, his third straight. By the way, it might also help if they would declare the race over after there is a declared winner and all the other top prize winners have finished.
I don't want to ban the race, or do anything to lessen the excitement, but surely there's something that can be done. Use more dogs, maybe?
Anyway, congratulation to Lance MacKey, who has now already won this years race, his third straight. By the way, it might also help if they would declare the race over after there is a declared winner and all the other top prize winners have finished.
Turn The Page
Lindsay Lohan is one of those celebrity pop tarts I would like to, you know, well, fuck. When I found out she had a girlfriend, it made me want to find a cure for lesbianism. Funny how the mind works. I see Lohan as a wild, tempestuous, impulsive woman with loads or raw talent, but seriously lacking in drive, ambition, and self-discipline. Her girlfriend Samantha Ronson on the other hand I see as a probably relatively mediocre talent with overweening ambition and drive, but nothing else going for her but connections. Her step-father is former Rolling Stones and Foreigner band member Mick Taylor. I saw their relationship as a disaster in the making, and when they got into their latest row, I thought, well this is the end of it, until I figured out Ronson may have just been trying to keep Lohan from screwing up by driving intoxicated on a suspended license.
Now, come to find out, she has turned to none other than Steven Baldwin for aid and support in hopes of finding a secure environment in order to get herself together and her life back on track. Why is this important and what does it have to do with Oestra? Well, it isn't, and it doesn't, except it's always good when somebody seriously wants to get their shit together. Good luck to her.
Now, come to find out, she has turned to none other than Steven Baldwin for aid and support in hopes of finding a secure environment in order to get herself together and her life back on track. Why is this important and what does it have to do with Oestra? Well, it isn't, and it doesn't, except it's always good when somebody seriously wants to get their shit together. Good luck to her.
Get Down In It
I was going to just include a Jane's Addiction video for this Ostra series of posts, but this is just too good to not include something by all three of the bands that are offering free downloads-including Nine Inch Nails.
Equinox Tourists Over London
I'm not much of a believer in visitors from other galaxies, dimensions, etc., but since this picture was taken so close to Oestra, I thought it warranted inclusion in this series. The photographer claims he didn't see the objects when he first took the picture, they just showed there after the photo was developed. Which of course begs the question, just what in the hell was he photographing.
Gateway Policy To Common Sense
Here's a riddle-Who stops to shake hands with a saluting soldier, derides the skills of Special Olympics bowlers on late night network television, mistakes windows for doors, bumps his head on helicopter doors, insults the Brit Prime Minister and is so mellow he gives the wrong speech during a meeting with an international leader just cos the other guy did?
Why that would be the same guy who has decided to relax national policy on medical marijuana, of course. Who else?
Happy Oestre indeed. Although this does make me wonder just what Michelle is planting in that White House garden, I have to say this is a good thing in my opinion. With this decision, the US becomes just a little bit less fascist, at least in regards to this Obama Administration policy. About high time too.
To celebrate, why not check out some Bad Obama Paintings? Or, maybe just smoke some pot. For medicinal purposes, of course.
Why that would be the same guy who has decided to relax national policy on medical marijuana, of course. Who else?
Happy Oestre indeed. Although this does make me wonder just what Michelle is planting in that White House garden, I have to say this is a good thing in my opinion. With this decision, the US becomes just a little bit less fascist, at least in regards to this Obama Administration policy. About high time too.
To celebrate, why not check out some Bad Obama Paintings? Or, maybe just smoke some pot. For medicinal purposes, of course.
Working That Soil
Now I like this. I always had mixed feelings about this lady, but this is pretty slick, growing her own garden on the White House lawn. What better example to set? She might be an all right First Lady after all. I bet she can smoke a mean blunt too. Oh, wait a minute-a garden? Hey, anyway, its a time-honored spring tradition, no matter what she's growing there.
Volcano
Since Sonia Belle used to live somewhere on Tonga, which just a few days ago experienced a massive volcanic eruption, and since this happened so close to Oestra, and Sonia says she never heard of Jimmy Buffett, this seemed fitting. Sonia might well be a natural born parrot head anyway.
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