Archive for March, 2010
Coincidence and Synchronicity
The Infinite and the Beyond: Episode #011: Coincidence and Synchronicity
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In the latest episode of The Infinite and the Beyond, in this coincidental episode I explore the Principle of Cause and Effect as we continue with our journey through The Kybalion, which opens a slew of issues for us to analyze and consider as we try and understand the functions of cosmos.
We talk with South Jersey singer songwriter Stacey Fitzpatrick to learn about her music, her spiritual interests, and her passion for professional wrestling. I even play some of her great music during the course of the episode.
In A Corner in the Occult we learn all about influential Swiss Psychiatrist Carl Gustav Jung and his ideas of the Archetype, the Collective Unconscious, and Synchronicity; as we realize how much occultism and the paranormal played a part in his theories and understanding of the human mind.
I read some of the listener email that came in since Episode #010 – Death and Necromancy and we find out which lucky listener won the resin pentacle wall plaque and I announce the music CD contest for Episode 12!
We even talk with local High Priest PanOrpheus about divination and his upcoming workshop at the Ecumenicon Interfaith Conference occurring at the end of March in Potomac, Maryland.
And to close, I try and make sense of all the crazy stuff that we’ve unearthed during this episode. Enjoy!
To message the show please visit the contact page of the show website.
‘Bottled Ghosts’ Sold in New Zealand Auction
Via BBC News:
Two glass phials said to contain the ghosts of an old man and a young girl have sold for NZ $2,000 (U.S. $1,395 / £935) in an online auction in New Zealand. The auction attracted more than 200,000 page views on the Trade Me website.
Avie Woodbury said the ghosts had been captured in her Christchurch house by an exorcist and stored in holy water. The top bidder, an electronic cigarette company, said it was looking for ideas on what to do with the ghosts.
Ms Woodbury told bidders she had experienced “bizarre activity” in her home.
“I would get things like the jug boiling itself, touching on the back of my neck, voices from other rooms, and items going missing then turning up in weird places,” she said.
Florida Woman Arrested for Shaving Private Parts While Driving
CBS4 reports:
CUDJOE KEY ― You’ve heard of the dangers of texting while driving, and talking on the phone while behind the wheel of a car. But how many people actually debate the merits of doing a little, well, “landscaping” while on the road?
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, a two-car crash on Cudjoe Key was caused by a 37-year-old woman who was shaving her bikini area while in the driver’s seat. Her ex-husband was steering from the passenger seat.
Trooper Gary Dunick explained, “She said she was meeting her boyfriend in Key West and wanted to be ready for the visit.”
Megan Mariah Barnes and her ex-husband Charles Judy were driving southbound Tuesday morning when they slammed into the back of a pick-up driven by David Schoff of Palm Bay after he slowed to take a turn.
Read More: CBS4
disinfoview: Jesse Ventura on ‘American Conspiracies’
Former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura has a new bestselling book out, American Conspiracies: Lies, Lies, and More Dirty Lies that the Government Tells Us. Following my recent interview with June Sarpong, a member of the investigative team for his TV series Conspiracy Theory With Jesse Ventura, Jesse agreed to meet with the disinformation® New York crew at the legendary Russian Tea Room.
I asked Jesse why he’s digging up dirt where other public figures fear to tread, what we should do with the information he’s revealing, who he thinks is really behind the myriad conspiracies in his book — from JFK to 9/11 — and much more. Enjoy the video — we’ll post some extra clips where we talk off the record about everything from surfing to rock & roll … soon!
Celebrate Pi Day
Sunday March 14th is Pi Day, as well as Albert Einstein’s birthday.
Animation of the act of unrolling a circle's circumference, illustrating the ratio π. Author: John Reid (GNU)
Self-confessed geek Elizabeth Landau reports for CNN on how nerds everywhere plan to celebrate:
The sound of meditation for some people is full of deep breaths or gentle humming. For Marc Umile, it’s “3.14159265358979…”
Whether in the shower, driving to work, or walking down the street, he’ll mentally rattle off digits of pi to pass the time. Holding 10th place in the world for pi memorization — he typed out 15,314 digits from memory in 2007 — Umile meditates through one of the most beloved and mysterious numbers in all of mathematics.
Pi, the ratio of circumference to diameter of a circle, has captivated imaginations for thousands of years — perhaps even since the first person tried to draw a perfect circle on the ground or wondered how…
Einstein’s Theory Of Relativity On Show
By Anne Barker for ABC News Australia:
The original manuscript of Albert Einstein’s famous theory of relativity is going on display in its entirety for the first time, almost 100 years after it was written.
Einstein’s groundbreaking theory helped explain a raft of scientific questions, from black holes to the big bang.
The former Nobel prize winner donated the manuscript to Israel’s Hebrew University in 1925.
Now, Israel’s Academy of Sciences and Humanities is putting it on show, in time for the 131st anniversary of Einstein’s birth…
National Day of Unplugging: March 19/20
Sabbath Manifesto is organizing a National Day of Unplugging from Sundown, Friday, March 19 to Sundown, Saturday, March 20. Join in fighting back against the tidal wave of technology taking over society and our lives. Are you sick of having conversations with people with their noses buried in an iPhone? Are you that person?
Put down the cell phone, stop the status updates on Facebook, shut down Twitter, sign out of e-mail and relax…
People across the nation will tune out to reclaim time to slow life down and reconnect with friends, family, the community and themselves for 24 hours, starting at sundown, Friday, March 19. The Sabbath Manifesto’s principles were created for individual styling, but for one day we are asking you to take on the challenge of Principle Number 1: AVOID TECHNOLOGY.
How Not To Get 35 Years For Pot Possession
Craig Malisow writes on Houston Press:
Smith County (East Texas) judges and juries have long had a reputation of meting out severe, some might say ridiculous, punishment for drug convictions. And Henry Wooten’s case is no exception: the 54-year-old Tyler man was sentenced to 35 years in prison for possessing slightly more than four ounces of pot. Wooten actually got off easy — the prosecutor asked the jury to give him 99 years. (We just hope TDCJ can free up room for this menace to society; maybe the state can release a child molester or serial arsonist to find a cell for Wooten.)
While the sentence may be asinine, we can’t help but feel Wooten brought much of this upon himself — mostly by choosing to be both a pothead and live in Tyler, when clearly that calls for an either/or scenario. But Wooten could have taken at least a few steps…
Who Funds the Radical Left In America?
Steve Baldwin for the Western Center for Journalism:
Very few Americans realize there exists a large network of far left philanthropists and foundations in America dedicated to destroying the American way of life, our Christian-based culture and our free enterprise system. They seek to remove America from its constitutional foundations and move it toward a European-style socialism. Much of this effort is coordinated by a little known group called the Tides Foundation and its related group, the Tides Center.
The Strategic Principles of the Tides Foundation
Over the course of its 33 year history, the Tides network has given hundreds of millions of dollars to anti-free enterprise groups, gun control groups, anti-private property groups, abortion rights groups, homosexual groups, groups engaged in voter fraud, anti-military groups, and organizations that seek to destroy America’s constitutional basis. All told, over 100 leftist organizations have received funding from one of the two Tides groups.
Not surprisingly, this…
City Of Topeka Renamed ‘Google, Kansas’ For March
Lame joke? Apt metaphor? Sign of the apocalypse? Future trend? In an effort to gain Google’s favor in the hopes of winning a high-speed internet sweepstakes, Kansas’s capital city has temporarily renamed itself after the company. CNN reports:
In a formal proclamation Monday, Bunten announced his city will be known as “Google” — Google, Kansas.
The unusual move comes as several U.S. cities elbow for a spot in Google’s new “Fiber for Communities” program. The Web giant is going to install new Internet connections in unannounced locations, giving those communities Internet speeds 100 times faster than those elsewhere, with data transfer rates faster than 1 gigabit per second.
Coca-Cola and Water Use in India: “Good Till the Last Drop”
From ScienceBlogs.com:
The marketing executive who came up with Coca-Cola’s popular slogan in 1908 most likely never expected it would be taken so literally. However, a hundred years ago there probably weren’t many who imagined a term like “water wars” could exist in a region that experiences annual monsoons.
On February 25 a complaint was filed in the New York Supreme Court against the The Coca-Cola Company alleging that they knew about and sought to cover up human rights abuses in Guatemala. While that trial gets started, the company’s controversial practices in India continue involving the over-exploitation of limited water resources and the contamination of groundwater supplies. In response to public outcry the soft drink company is now championing itself as a longtime environmental leader and the business community is eager to advertise their claim. Yesterday CNN Money reported that:
Coke has been a leader when it comes to environmental issues: It is aiming to be…
Orange Dwarf Star Set to Smash into The Solar System
From Technology Review:
A new set of star velocity data indicates that Gliese 710 has an 86 percent chance of ploughing into the Solar System within the next 1.5 million years.
The Solar System is surrounded by thousands of stars, but until recently it wasn’t at all clear where they were all heading.
In 1997, however, astronomers published the Hipparcos Catalogue giving detailed position and velocity measurements of some 100,000 stars in our neighbourhood, all gathered by the European Space Agency’s Hipparcos spacecraft. It’s fair to say that the Hipparcos data has revolutionised our understanding of the ‘hood.
In particular, this data allowed astronomers to work out which stars we’d been closer to in the past and which we will meet in the future. It turns out that 156 stars fall into this category and that the Sun has a close encounter with another star (meaning an approach within 1 parsec) every 2 million…
New Hampshire, Hawaii, and Vermont Embrace Decriminalization of Marijuana
From the Examiner:
With numerous states facing significant budget shortages, legislators and voters across the country this month have been giving overwhelming support to measures that would reduce the penalty for possession of small amounts of marijuana to a civil fine.
Yesterday in New Hampshire, the state House voted 214-137 to pass H.B. 1653, a bill that would reduce the penalty for possession of up to a quarter-ounce of marijuana with a civil fine of up to $200.
In Hawaii, the state Senate voted 22 to 3 on March 2 to pass SB 2450, a bill that would eliminate criminal penalties for the possession of up to one ounce of marijuana and replace them with a civil fine of up to $300 for a first offense and $500 for a subsequent offense.
And in Vermont, 72% of voters in Montpelier approved a non-binding ordinance asking the state legislature “to pass a bill to replace…
Socialism Versus Socialist Worker
From Nick P. at Black Sun Gazette:
Things have been rather hectic around Black Sun Gazette Central lately, so forgive my lack of regular communication. I’ve got a few articles brewing that I’m sure my loyal readership is sure to enjoy.
However, I wanted to take a moment to go back to the subject of the International Socialist Organization and their website, SocialistWorker.org.
One of the most common arguments by ISO members is that the tendency with which I am in solidarity “does nothing.” I’d like to take some time to seriously examine this claim, in a more reasoned and less emotional way than my prior screed on the ISO.
The Secret Archives of the Eastern Orthodox Church on The Black Fridays
The Black Fridays Bonus Episode 1 – Brian Burnett
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The Black Fridays welcome back Brian Burnett. One of our listener’s submitted a question asking if there are any secret archives of the Orthodox Church. We thought it was an interesting idea and wanted to have Brian back on the show to give his answer.
You can read more of Brian’s thoughts at: http://codexjustinianus.blogspot.com
Porn: Good For Us?
Peep Show Window. Photo: David Shankbone (GNU)
Milton Diamond for The Scientist:
Pornography. Most people have seen it, and have a strong opinion about it. Many of those opinions are negative — some people argue that ready access to pornography disrupts social order, encouraging people to commit rape, sexual assault, and other sex-related crimes. And even if pornography doesn’t trigger a crime, they say, it contributes to the degradation of women.
It harms the women who are depicted by pornography, and harms those who do not participate but are encouraged to perform the acts depicted in it by men who are acculturated by it. Many even adamantly believe that pornography should become illegal.
Alternatively, others argue that pornography is an expression of fantasies that can actually inhibit sexual activity, and act as a positive displacement for sexual aggression. Pornography offers a readily available means of satisfying sexual arousal (masturbation), they say, which serves as…
Chicago Police Want Covert Cameras
From Aaron Cynic at Chicagoist::
The familiar blinking blue light cameras that dot many city streets could get smaller soon, according to an article by the Chicago Tribune. The Tribune reported yesterday that the Chicago Police are considering employing smaller, covert cameras in the hope of further combating crime. According to the article, these cameras could be as small as a thimble. Last month, Police Superintendent Jody Weis said in an interview with WLS, “These can be secreted in locations that nobody would ever detect. It’s amazing where we’re going with technology.” While some may marvel at the applications of such cloak and dagger spy technology, the idea of both overt and covert cameras blanketing the city raises some very serious privacy concerns. Spokesperson for the Illinois ACLU Ed Yohnka said “…there’s a heightened sensibility and concern on the part of citizens when you start talking about things like covert cameras.”
Glenn Beck Denounces Jesus’ Values
Glenn Beck at CPAC 2010. Photo: Gage Skidmore CC
Hard to believe, but mad Mormon Glenn Beck has publicly told Christians to give up their churches if they hear anything there about social justice, as reported in the New York Times:
Last week, the conservative broadcaster Glenn Beck called on Christians to leave their churches if they heard any preaching about social or economic justice because, he claimed, those were slogans affiliated with Nazism and Communism.
This week, the Rev. Jim Wallis, a liberal evangelical leader in Washington, D.C., called on Christians to leave Glenn Beck.
“What he has said attacks the very heart of our Christian faith, and Christians should no longer watch his show,” Mr. Wallis, who heads the antipoverty group Sojourners, wrote on his “God’s Politics” blog. “His show should now be in the same category as Howard Stern.”
Mr. Beck, in vilifying churches that promote “social justice,” managed to insult just…
Karl Rove Says He’s ‘Proud’ U.S. Waterboarded Suspected Terrorists
Evil and proud of it – as reported by the BBC:
A senior adviser to former US President George W Bush has defended tough interrogation techniques, saying their use helped prevent terrorist attacks.
In a BBC interview, Karl Rove, who was known as “Bush’s brain”, said he “was proud we used techniques that broke the will of these terrorists”. He said waterboarding, which simulates drowning, should not be considered torture.
In 2009, President Barack Obama banned waterboarding as a form of torture. But the practice was sanctioned in written memos by Bush administration lawyers…
