Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Putting the "Duh!" back in Idaho


A 2-year-old male communist shot and killed his 29 year old mother after he reached into her purse and got hold of her concealed gun at a Hayden (northern Idaho) Wal-Mart.

Hayden is a politically conservative town just north of Coeur d'Alene.

The store will be closed for the evening [IMO to mourn the loss of a customer], but reopen for business as usual at 6am Wednesday, according to the store management.

Guns don't kill people. People kill people.



The politically conservative definition of life "starts at conception and ends at birth."
Just what is a politically conservative?

Hint:



It will be one COLD DAY in Hayden before even a few of them pan-handlers begin to wake up from the FAUX slumber!



Tomorrow may be a new dawn - for some.

Wait, and see.

Yes, Virginia, the above was oozing with sarchasm!"

Thursday, December 18, 2014

A birch tree...

A Birch Forest is useful...

There is a definite reason to buy a Birch Wood Toilet Seat.

The reason for such a purchase is simple. If one wishes to join the Birch John Society, then such a seat may be necessary.





We know what the right needs in terms or ornamentation.

A reliable water closet. It is a suitable destination for their excess of crap.

Thus, worthy of honorable mention, is the restoration.

The right is full of it because the right is full of themselves and, constitutionally, they ARE ...


LYRICS

Friday, December 12, 2014

If it works for you, then it works for me!

One less rattlesnake republican to vote in the next election.



He cited Mark 16:17-18 as the reason for his practice: “And these signs will follow those who believe: in My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

The son of a serpent handler who also died (1983) after being bitten [while lightning never strikes twice, rattlesnakes DO], Wolford was keeping the practice [of dying after snake bites] alive, both where it is legal and where it is not [the practice abuses wildlife]. Many serpent-handling Pentecostals avoid journalists [and embarrassment], but not [the late] Wolford.

What started as merely a festive outdoor service in the Panther Wildlife Management Area, a state park roughly 80 miles west of Bluefield, W.Va, ended on a brighter score:

Rattlesnakes 2 (or more)
Stupidity 0

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

The WAKE UP coin

I have mentioned Seleukos II and Bactria before, but I will mention it again.

I got a "pitch" in the mail about a coin - actually a distorted coin. Why would someone need to distort a coin? (Afraid of the truth?)



Above is the "distorted" truth sent to me as a "widow's mite. We know that the fable of the widow's mite in the western bible is a re-telling of the Buddhist fable known as "The widow and three merchants."



In the Buddhist fable, a widow finds two coppers (coins) in a dung heap and, in her destitution, contributes them to a band of monks.

In the Xtian re-telling of the fable, Jesus (a Jewish stand-up comic) delivers the punch line. Luke 21:1-4 (NKJV0), Mark 12:42 "And there came a certain poor widow..."

Check out "The Widow's Mites: Praise or Lament?" Even one's perspective is a matter of the original context - in mistranslation.

My point is this: "Is a distortion of the truth (numismatic evidence) a lie?" If it is a lie, is it a large, medium, or small lie? And does this little white lie come with whipped cream and a cherry on top?

Does this lie attempt to obfuscate the simple fact that Buddhism was present in Israel before, during, and after the time of the "Christ?"

So WHAT is the point? I am not advocating dualism - the truth v. the lie.

I am advocating THINKING on your part. What do people fear, and why do they fear it? What if it is the mask of AUTHORITY that hides them and devoid of their persona, they have no clothes?

Do you know that some people fear silence? If the absence of "life" is silence (instead of heaven, the Elysian Fields, 72 white grapes, &c) , then just what is the problem?


As a result, many make much noise about such a very small topic.

Saturday, November 29, 2014

Noah's Ark and Nu Wa's Arc

William Cowper, an English poet of the 18th century, wrote: "The absence of proof is not proof of absence."

The scientist does not seek to prove that God does not exist by suggesting that the absence of proof supports the null God hypothesis. The scientist simply states that there is insufficient proof to make a reasonable inference in support of god(s).

There were many who insisted that our planet was flat but faced failure and humiliation with the advent of satellite photography.

We look upon the modern theocrats as merely being primitive in their thinking - akin to the rulers in the dark ages.



In fact, the resting place of the mega-boat is unknown. The folklore regarding great floods abounds and so great flood stories are classified as folklore.





Above is the arc (PQ) of a circle.

To scribe an arc, one makes use of a compasses.

Nu Wa is the sister of Fu Xi and she holds the compasses.

So there WAS a great flood (myth) and Nu Wa was involved with an arc. And there are three mountains of literature regarding flood myths.

Monday, November 17, 2014

The CoS of Buddhism

A Cos of Buddhism? Surely, you've got to be kidding!



No. I am not kidding and don't call me Shirley.



An anti-military organization with a decidedly militaristic bend.



They may not be "Moonies," but I - for one - am certainly tempted to moon them! So, we now can moon the Moonies, moon the Cos, and moon SGI. Things seem to happen in threes.

Get the picture?



Want the whole picture?



Mooning can be a form of art!



IMO, Like Cos, SGI is close to being a cult - very close.

If you see the Buddha, kill him.

The Ch'an (Zen) master Lin-chi said, “If you see the Buddha, kill him.”



Or, put in other words, "If you see a follower or advocate of SGI, CoS, or Moon, kick 'em in the arse."

Sunday, November 2, 2014

Buddhism NOT (waiting for the altar call)

So after the SFZC event, I had a chance to chat with an old Zennie about the good old days.

The good old days ended just 20 minutes before you were born (regardless of your generation).

In fact, I spent 25 years (on the log) working in Broadcast (e.g. free, over-the-air) Television - retiring in 1998.

And the good old days of television ended just 20 minutes before I got my first job in television in 1971.

"The more things change, the more they stay the same."

Anyway, in the good old days of Richard Baker, [the discussion went...] just WHAT did some (wanna-bes) expect? AN ALTAR CALL!

There is a bit of fetchin' up HERE.

Well, there IS NO ALTER CALL in Buddhism!
And there are a few cracks in the gloss...
Don't trash the midgets!

CHANGE doesn't happen like on TV. Buddhism isn't Willy Graham and Cheeses on Rye!

The closest thing is Joya no Kane participation...

Medium sized here.

The Jumbo version is HERE.

The Toyokuni Shrine is an old Buddhist temple that was converted to a Shinto Shrine (WWII?).

Them Shinto Folks don't know how to SWING.

In my thinking, to do it (Joya no Kane) right, SFZC needs a 9 ton bell.

Zazen is nothing special.

Saturday, November 1, 2014

Not even the Japanese are Japanese anymore.

In discussing the migration of Soto Zen Buddhism from Japan to San Francisco, I mentioned that Zen came from Korea (or China) and was already transformed by time and culture from the ancient Buddhism of Nepal.

That is to say, we need not worry that Japanese Zen is "pure" and that San Francisco Zen is currupted. Such distinctions add little value to the conversation. What matters, as students, is taking ownership of our OWN research and understanding of the Dharma (or recitations of the Buddha).

San Francisco Zen is no longer Japanese in the same way that not even the Japanese are Japanese anymore.

"A decade ago a new generation emerged in Japan: the shinjinrui, the “new human species.” The term described Japanese who seemed to be a people apart."


I have previously commented about this complex subject of Buddhism crossing cultural boundaries HERE.

So, where do we begin?

One of many places is HERE.

The idea is to translate the archaic Nepali to modern English while maintaining cognitive equivalents.

In other words, where the ancient idea might have been: "While he sat under the tree of enlightenment a sense of understanding emerged..." a rendering of "While seated beneath the Ficus Religiosa, a light turned on in the head of Siddharta Shakyamuni Gautama."



It is NOT the Buddha's head that we should worry about!

Buddha was an early notorious psychologist. He though deeply about the human condition AND he thought deeply about thinking about the human condition. Psychologists call this metacognition - thinking about thinking (or questioning our own biased perceptions).

"Do not go by reports (repeated hearing), by legends, by traditions, by rumours, by scriptures, by surmise, conjecture and axioms, by inference and analogies, by agreement through pondering views, by specious reasoning or bias toward a notion because it has been pondered over, by another's seeming ability, or by the thought, 'This monk (contemplative) is our teacher."

However, Kalamas, when you yourselves know: "Such and such things are unskilful (bad); blameworthy; criticized by the wise; and if adopted and carried out lead to harm and ill and suffering," you need to abandon them."


In Pali, Buddha's reply is recorded thus:

Ma anussavena.
Do not believe something just because it has been passed along and retold for many generations.
[Simpler: Do not be led by what you are told.]

Ma paramparaya.
Do not believe something merely because it has become a traditional practice.
[Do not be led by whatever has been handed down from past generations.]

Ma itikiraya.
Do not believe something simply because it is well-known everywhere.
[Do not be led by hearsay or common opinion.]

Ma Pitakasampadanena.
Do not believe something just because it is cited in a text.
[Do not be led by what the scriptures say]

Ma takkahetu.
Do not believe something solely on the grounds of logical reasoning.
[Do not be led by mere logic.]

Ma nayahetu.
Do not believe something merely because it accords with your philosophy.
[Do not be led by mere deduction or inference.]

Ma akaraparivitakkena.
Do not believe something because it appeals to "common sense".
[Do not be led by considering only outward appearance.]

Ma ditthinijjhanakkhantiya.
Do not believe something just because you like the idea.
[Do not be led by preconceived notions (and the theory reflected as an approval)]

Ma bhabbarupataya.
Do not believe something because the speaker seems trustworthy.
[Do not be led by what seems acceptable; do not be led by what some seeming believable one says.]

Ma samano no garu ti.
Do not believe something thinking, "This is what our teacher says".
[Do not be led by what your teacher tells you is so.]



Monday, October 20, 2014

It's a stupid world, after all.

Half of the people on this planet have a BELOW AVERAGE I.Q.!

(Hint: what does average mean?)



Need I even remind you of who Palin is???

"The People Don't Elect U.S. Presidents, God Does"
Upon being asked by James Dobson if the McCain ticket's precipitous slide in the polls gets her down:
... [it] strengthens my faith, because I'm going to know, at the end of the day, putting this in God's hands, that the right thing for America will be done at the end of the day on Nov. 4. So I'm not discouraged at all.
... and I can feel it too, Dr. Dobson. I can feel the power of prayer, and that strength that is provided through our prayer warriors across this nation.
Ah yes, the always helpful "prayer warriors," whose appeals to the Almighty actually count for more than the average American citizen's vote. Apparently the next president of the United States will be handpicked by God.

Except Barak Obama was NOT (in the nutty Right thinking) god's choice.

Well. perhaps not one, among the many gods, made a choice!

"It's a young Earth, after all."

Or is it?

In a developing story from Kentucky, the Creation Museum is running out of money due to declining attendance, bringing their “Ark Encounter” project to a stand-still because of a lack of funding.

“At the end of the day young earth creationism requires you to throw out pretty much everything we know about science,” says Josh Rosenau of the National Center for Science Education.

“We would just need one piece of evidence...”
“We would need the fossil that swam from one layer to another,
we would need evidence that the universe is not expanding,
we would need evidence that the stars appear to be far away but they’re not.
We would need evidence that rock layers can somehow form in 4000 years…
We would need evidence you can reset atomic clocks and keep neutrons from becoming protons.”

We would need a significantly higher I.Q. over on the Right.

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Is history full of sh*t?

I have known about this controversy for several years but chose not to comment - until now.

In high school (the 1960s), some of us read (what I now consider a sacred scripture) "The Birds."

The Birds (Greek: Ὄρνιθες Ornithes) is a comedy by the Ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes.

The play is posted HERE and includes a link to a free download. Read it, if you can read. Meditate upon it, if you can meditate.



Scarabs were popular amulets in ancient Egypt. They survive in large numbers and, through their inscriptions and typology, they are an important source of information for archeologists and historians of the Ancient world. They also represent a significant body of ancient art.



As emblem used as an insignia designating an “Operating Thetan” in Scientology, the Scarab also may be seen. The shape is reminiscent of an Egyptian scarab (perhaps intentionally), but is a combined “O” and “T.”

What if there was a discovery - say dating from 25,000 years ago, of a ceramic scarab buried under a pyramid in Bosnia?

Mentioned in the Smithsonian. (2009)

Well, no big deal, right?

If one old pyramid was made of concrete?

Other weirdness.

So, where is the dung (sh*t)? HERE

Elusive? Not at all.

Same old sh*t? No. This sh*t is OLDER.

At least it didn't arrive in a bag!

Saturday, July 26, 2014

The 419 scam is so... yesterday!

The 419 scam explanation is HERE.

Yet, a fool is born every minute of every day (and 2/3rds of them vote for republicans).

Then the letter below (modified by me) arrived.


What? Have I got stupid tattooed on my forehead?

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

If it's not the MATRIX...

Talk about a complete DISCONNECT!!!

This customer service call...
HEAR IT: Comcast 'embarrassed' by employee who resists customer's effort to cancel service.
Technology journalist Ryan Block posted an 8-minute clip of the customer service representative continuously trying to ask him why he wants to disconnect and trying to talk him out of it. The company apologized to Block and said it would work to make changes.
https://soundcloud.com/ryan-block-10



How much a month do you donate to the wealthiest of the wealthiest people on the planet?

Cable TV, SATELLITE TV, and most other recurring (e.g. monthly) charges are underwriting the very very rich.



A JERUSALEM Antenna (yes, that IS the name of the technology) will connect 70% of the HDTVs in the USA to the local stations. The above antenna costs between $12 and $20. I get 41 free over-the-air channels in the San Francisco Bay Area.

And I rarely watch even one of them.

Cable is $100+ each and every month - no matter how you slice it.

Satellite TV is about the same. And not ALL HDTV is the same quality! Over-the-air may be 1920x1080x30 (for movies) or 1280x720x60 (for sports). Higher temporal resolution reduces jutter or frame-to-frame jurky-ness (not jitter).

Not all cable and Satellite channels can deliver anything like that owing to power-bandwidth products. Lower resolution requires less overall power to transmit. And power consumption is money.

By the way (here's a bright idea), check out LED light bulbs for your house. They can cut energy consumption by up to 90%. But don't buy them from billionaires!





Direct link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AaDqNDLpZa8

Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Preferences Change - CHANGE!



Once upon a time, people went to church. Oh, it was fewer than 1 in 5 or 20% of the people but then it WAS a time many people could be found in pews.



Those were the "good old days." That was before there were such government entitlements like the minimum wage, mandatory education, and retirement programs for the working class. In fact, the working class of the day is pictured below.



Thank heavens the church has become a tourist industry. Pass the loot (PTL).



Above is a Baptist Church of today, on a busy Sunday, without any tourists.

Below is a Roman Catholic Church in the wake of the altar boy molestation scandals.



The numbers of people who report church attendance (the survey says...) and the actual number of butts in seats is far from agreement.

Apparently Christians, Catholics, and Holy Rollers just seem to feel goos about telling a "white lie" (a euphemism for such lies as one finds it convenient to tell, and immediately forgives oneself for telling).

Friday, June 13, 2014

Is it Tea Time?


It's a NICE cartoon...

The so-called Tea Party is apparently fed up with the republicans selling out to big corporations and have a victory on their hands.



Cantor was no Reagan. We handed Reagan a petition requesting his* (Reagan's) impeachment at the Silver Dollar Fairgrounds up at Chico State back in 1969. He trashed California's educational system before moving on to trash even bigger things (like your future).



The Reagan Years can be summed up in two terms:
increased deficit spending
business failures



But what would you expect? Reagan was a sell-out to Corporate America - GE. During the Reagan presidency, GE exported tens-of-thousands of jobs to China!



The Tea Party Motto: "Fool me 100 times, shame on you. Fool me 200 times and I just might start to wake up!"

The Tea Party is waking up, methinks...



*The lower case "h" in his indicates that Reagan was no god.

But some right wingnuts are delusional or outright insane.



Wednesday, May 28, 2014

The Tropism of a Genetically-Encoded FOP?

I will not restate the NATURE/NURTURE debate.

Hypothetically, lets say Elliot was a fop.


If NATURE had anything to do with it, he would have come from a lineage of fops.


Flip a coin.

My guess is that poor Elliot was a tropism of a fopism.



And, he had delusions of grandeur.
He saw girls dating men who were unworthy of their affection.

"How many students watch outsized frat-boy fantasies like Neighbors and feel, as Rodger did, unjustly shut out of college life that should be full of “sex and fun and pleasure”? How many men, raised on a steady diet of Judd Apatow comedies in which the shlubby arrested adolescent always gets the girl, find that those happy endings constantly elude them and conclude, “It’s not fair”?"

Perhaps Elliot was an undiagnosed schizophrenic.
We will never know.


I would say the SAME [undiagnosed schizophrenia] is true for many Tea Partiers. They think assistance is going to those who are unworthy of assistance!

"More telling still, almost all Tea Partiers favor generous social benefits for Americans who "earn" them; yet in an era of rising federal deficits, they are very concerned about being stuck with the tax tab to pay for "unearned" entitlements handed out to unworthy categories of people." - source

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

A question of motives...

It hardly matters...

if it's a for profit prison for youth or for $$$ adults or



a for prophet high school.

Facts only work well IN CONTEXT. FAUX Snews , for example, could not identify context even if it was firmly attached to a mop handle that was even more firmly shoved up their...

Your best interests are not even a distant second where corporations are concerned.

The world of conservative-think is reduced to "What will YOU do for ME?" and not "How can I provide beneficial help to you?"

In such a world, it is better to do NOTHING.



Read more HERE