Merry Christmas, all

God Bless Us, Every One!

in the immortal words of Charles Dickens

(including the misanthropes)

We give thanks, again, for
health, happiness,
love, life, laughter
comfort, community, country, cheer
food, family, friends, fun
prosperity, peace, potential perfection,
and all our other blessings

or, in a less alliterative form:
-basic needs met
-life, health, strength,
-love, happiness, peace
-family, friends, community, country
-comfort, prosperity
-safety, security
-travel, diversity
-drugs/medications/pharmaceuticals/medicines
-technology like radio, computers, television, telephones
-transportation..
-stimulus:good taste, sound, sight, smell, touch:
-good food, music, movies, art, perfume, incense, massage, sex..
-books, magazines, blogs
-restaurants, libraries
-toys for all ages (e.g. bikes, cars)

Sorcery and Witchcraft

A Saudi woman is beheaded for this!?

I'm not sure I know what sorcery and witchcraft are...
In America, you can believe anything you want.
It sounds like something out of Buffy the vampire slayer.
It's all in good fun, no?
The word gospel is from God's spell...aren't spells a part of sorcery?

I am disturbed by both the punishment and the belief in the seriousness of the crime.

It seems very backward, if not stupid or silly, to me.

Love Everything

and everything includes...

sorrow, apathy, pain, death, regret, resentment, anger, hatred, sin, crime, disappointment, failure, poverty, misery, illness, torture, war, murder, violence, depravity, obesity, unhealthiness, addiction, ignorance, stupidity, foolishness, boredom, breakup, discomfort, slavery, powerlessness...

but...
EGGHEAD stands for Even Good God Hates Evil And Death
but that might not be all it's cracked up to be.. :-)

here's a good quote: "If you're going through hell, keep going"

what's in the word Berkeley?

yikes!

Berk or burk
means:
(british) a stupid person or fool,
shortened from Berkeley or Berkshire hunt,
rhyming slang for cunt

while berke (verb) means:
1.to murder, as by suffocation, to leave no or few marks of violence.
or
2.to suppress or get rid of by some indirect maneuver.

ley means law in spanish

lee means:
protective shelter (the lee of the rock gave us protection from the storm)

ley means:
a pewter made of 80%tin and 20%lead (from aley, obsolete of alloy)
or
a leu (literally, lion): the coin and monetary unit of Romania, equal to 100 bani

but wait, there's more:
ley also means, arable land put down to grass (grassland or pastureland)
or
used in "ley line", a line joining two prominent points in a landscape.

and of course don't forget URKEL!

kele means "to cool" (obsolete, from Chaucer). Brr. kele.

BER stands for Bit Error Rate, which means:
the fraction of a message or block of data which is wrong.
(such as, what is the BER of Christianity?)

So,
I like the meanings of Berkeley as
-shelter from stupidity
and
-shelter from cunning murderous violence

of course, there's also (George) Berkeley himself: link; (wikipedia)

video I like

genius physicality

juggling
martial arts
dance
magic

(but not sports, so much, for some reason...)
...unless it's a dunking contest, hole in one, or other masterful/supreme athleticism, like olympic perfection, or a world record (or something no one else can do).
I used to watch gymnastics and basketball while at Davis. I still like those.

a good example I came across on youtube is entitled 'people are awesome.'
I recommend it.

other things i like
books, music, movies (especially, documentaries and animation)
and, of course, tasty food (like sushi or thai)

i realize sex and porn are noticeably absent..
but I like them, too, of course.

some banality

about evil, that is

sympathy for the devil
the killer in me is the killer in you
that's why I say hey man nice shot

I like this music.

evil roles
devil, satan, antichrist -from the bible
hannibal lecter -by anthony harris
kaiser soze -the usual suspects, christopher mcquarrie
sauron -j.r.r. tolkien, lord of the rings trilogy
the joker -batman (jerry robinson, bill finger, bob kane)
dracula -bram stoker
the emperor -star wars, george lucas
it -stephen king

oh, and don't forget Voldemort, a riddle, from J.K. Rowling
and Freddy Krueger, by Wes Craven
and The Terminator, by James Cameron

but God is good

as Charles Manson said
If God is one, how can I be evil?

aside
rhyme crime
hannibal the cannibal, cyrus the virus
evel knieval

yum
"on a kaiser role"

link; wikipedia list of AFI's (American Film Institute's) favorite heroes and villains

Note: I believe God/Devil are just historical antecedants to the modern comic book and movie folklore of good guys/badguys; or heroes and villains. It's all just fun. Cultural creations (and therefore only virtually real). It's all good? It's all good :-)

an evil thought?: all life has the same claim to live, meat is murder...ants and even amoebas or rotifers are equal to a human life. We're scum of a film of life on the surface of planet earth (props to Stephen Hawking) in an infinite universe; everyone dies, all matter has a half-life, death is a universal fate; it's all good. If abortion is legal, akin to removing a mole, then so should be killing (of anyone at any age). Ugh. Or Muahaha. Take your pick.

Of course, vegetarians kill plants. You can't win.

New Library Reads

5 books on madness

I'm reading (from the library):
1) Madness: A brief history, by Roy Porter
2)The Center cannot hold, by Elyn R. Saks
3) Just like someone without mental illness, only more so, by Mark Vonnegut, M.D.
4)The Eden Express, by Mark Vonnegut
5)Anatomy of an Epidemic, by the author of Mad in America (which I have/have read), Robert Whitaker

also, Happy Birthday, Greg!

My opinion of football

Link; The Onion

Go Niners!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Gratitude for blessings

a prayer
We celebrate today, Thanksgiving, to express gratitude for our blessings and everything good in our lives, like health, happiness, and love.

I would say, also, that we should be grateful for the not-so-good things in our lives, as well.
By this, I mean, the Opportunities hardships (and even Evil, itself) present to Make Good, or as the christian song says, to show we are christians by our love.

I'm celebrating today with the nuns in Oakland. Should be fun.
I like how the white house allowed two turkeys to live, (a pardoning?) named Freedom and Liberty. Have a great day, everyone!

other good things besides health, happiness, and love:
peace, friendship, community, comfort, prosperity...

Mercy Ships

Good News for healthcare in Africa

link

I learned about them from the christian science monitor (www.csmonitor.com)

schizophrenia

means "split" "mind"

like when you're reading more than one book at a time? no, not really

when you have your "own" thoughts as well as the "other's" ?
(a voice). Yes, lol.
"there's someone in my head, but it's not me" -Pink Floyd
maybe it 's telepathy...

Anyway,
I'm reading 4 novels that have crazy characters:
1)Raveling, by Peter Moore Smith (a mystery)
2)The Moment She was Gone, by Evan Hunter
3)The Minotaur, by Barbara Vine
4)Sullivan's Law, by Nancy Taylor Rosenberg

Here's some interesting facts about schizophrenia:
after 10 years (from a diagnosis of schizophrenia)
-25% recover completely
-25% are much improved, and relatively independent
-25% improved, but require an extensive support network
-15% hospitalized, unimproved
-10% dead (mostly suicide)

after 30 years:
-25% completely recover
-35% much improved, relatively independent
-15% improved, requiring an extensive support network
-10% hospitalized, unimproved
and
-15% dead (mostly suicide)

from schizophrenia.com
I believe they also said that 40% of (diagnosed) women attempt suicide at least once
and that, of men, 60% do. Not cool. Not cool at all.

I just realized that schizophrenics make up 1% of the population. Hope that doesn't exclude us with the Occupy Movement. I take about 68 bucks worth of medication, daily.*

*this has since changed (thank goodness). olanzapine (zyprexa zydis) is about $390/mo, which works out to about 13 bucks a day.

Why the ocean is blue

Blue Oyster Cult
and
Blue whales
blue is said to mean sad, like my eyes

like 20 whales beached themselves recently in Australia, I believe.

I really like
Don't Fear the Reaper, by Blue Oyster Cult

lyrics

the cia says around 155,000 people die every day (in the world)
also, the ocean is wet because it's made of water. thought you might like to know.
salty, like tears.

also, maybe the ocean is blue because the "supercommittee" failed miserably. Ha.
Or maybe because GOD stands for Grain Of Dust.

The CIA

That's the Central Intelligence Agency (of the USA),
not The California Arts Institute,
or the Culinary Institute of America

In '96, a congressional report revealed that the CIA engages in breaking "extremely serious" laws easily 100,000 times a year. In fact, they are "directed" to commit crimes. Who knows what, now, right?

Which probably wouldn't be a very good excuse to tell a judge if you get arrested, although it's better than the dog ate my lawbook.

My book (100 things you're not supposed to know, by Russ Kick) says "no part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means...without the prior written permission of the publisher" ...which always makes me laugh because my head is a means of reproduction and transmission, right? So in this instance, I think the cia/mjf books should let it slide.
-Jesse

In God We Trust

aka, Self-Reliance

After all, in the American tradition, according to Ben Franklin:
"God helps those who help themselves"

everyone knows that joke about there being a flood...the priest refuses the first boat, saying God will save him, and then again, twice more, then he drowns, and asks god why he didn't save him and God says, I sent you a boat 3 times. Ha.

Transforming evil to good

It's all a part of God's plan.

Not that evil IS good, exactly, but it provides the opportunity to shine.
If I'm God, it's said
I'm responsible for everything...

or, in other words, it's All My Fault
and "must be the most hated person alive" -LVR
which must be why I want to be the most loved...
i.e. God
in fact, if you don't love God, it's a sin, and they say you'll be punished.
You've got to love love!

anyway, I found a book by Andrew Delbanco, entitled
The Death of Satan: How Americans Have Lost the Sense of Evil

which I'll check out after my hour is up on the library computer-
I'm not guilty, as much as someone playing the devil might like me to be...
The bible says God is One, and satan is 19,1,20,1,14
or 1,1,2,1,5
or 10
or 1
so, if you put any credence to numerology, (which I don't, lol),
then maybe you believe Satan is God.
Jesse could be J-esse, or 10-being (esse in latin)
which is like forensics (4&6)
Satan, after all, is also a child of God, I imagine...if you believe in such things.
He runs hell for him..God's prison.
Speaking of which, I now have a CELL phone (I've joined modern humanity, finally)
ANYway,
speaking of SATan, (say, ten) I read about Korea's SAT tests, which everybody there goes buggy about. That reminds me, satan is seen as a principle of learning, I read somewhere...
But devil is d-evil, or 4 evil, or FOR evil, which makes sense..
if not scents (Poison, maybe?).

-plus, I'd like to say, to be topical, Jerry Sandusky is an a-hole.

-also, I'm abstaining from following the upcoming presidential election:
anybody that wants to be commander-in-chief is already corrupt, I think. I think I'm turning JW, lol. Or Japanese. I really think so. God may be "a man of war", but war is evil, as killing is a sin. If I am absolutely powerful, the saying goes, I must also be corrupted absolutely. ugh. maybe not. At least I don't think I am.. Would there be no peace if there were no war? People always seem to think opposites entail each other, but I can imagine no war.

I will only support a candidate that promises to dismantle/eradicate all our nuclear weapons- I'll just say that (although I'm more than a one-issue voter). Why can't Barack do that now, though?

-Happy Veteran's Day... and, since I'm late, Halloween, too.
all for now, peace out! -Jess
(tomorrow is Sunday...maybe I'll attend Mass, for a change)

P.s. I should note the Economist tongue-in-cheek referred to Gus O'Donnell as GOD.
and Gray Davis' middle name is NOT Oliver; In fact his name is Joseph Graham Davis, Jr.
And Geena Davis' middle name is Elizabeth.

p.p.s.
It's the 40th anniversary of Stairway to Heaven (Led Zeppelin)
on npr with 7 covers, link
Only God knows why, by Kid Rock is a fun song.
(although the line "people get what they deserve" is only wishful thinking, in my opinion)
Who can say where the road goes, only time -Enya.
God=7,6,4=8. I was born in '71.
Harvard and History and Honda and Hospital are all H (8).
Neo=14,5,15=5,5,6=7
Jesus Christ=2,5=7. time=20,9,13,5=2,9,4,5=2
sorry, I am getting bored with myself. myself=8
it's not even summer, lol.
"love of 2 is 1" -Blue Oyster Cult

ppps- 2 modern Evils
-I heard about those thrill killing (dozen?) american soldiers in Afghanistan on the news.
-and Barack sending 100 soldiers, advisors, Army Special Forces, (to Uganda) to fight the Lord's Resistance Army, in Africa, led by Joseph Kony, who thinks he's special to me, the a-hole.
"The LRA is accused of widespread human rights violations, including murder, abduction, mutilation, sexual enslavement of women and children and forcing children to participate in hostilities.[18]" -Wikipedia. USA! Putting the 'defense' back in the DOD; that works for me. If only all our military actions were so noble..

(Barack's dad is from Kenya, and Barack's in Hawaii, on his way to Indonesia, all part of our president's personal history)

A new friend

Here's to you, mrs. Robinson...

Hi, Veronica!
You're famous. You're on my blog. Congratulations.
-Jess

sunny face

Petaflop

1,000 trillion (mathematical) operations per second

I just read about a newly developed chinese supercomputer that has this capacity.

Is zillion a real number? I kind of thought 1,000T was a Z.
Anyway,
there are (or will be) other supercomputers with even more capacity for awesomeness.

Kind of Godlike, no?
What is the capacity of the human brain, I wonder...
answer?

(is there a difference between an 'operation' and a 'calculation'?)

Christian Singles

I was raised Catholic

I attend Mass almost never. My church is Nature. I am 50-50 introverted-extroverted, according to that test. INTJ, too. I like to bicycle, swim, read, and listen to music (of all kinds). I have brown hair, blue eyes, am 6'1, 215, heterosexual, and have strange brain chemistry. Sushi, Thai, Chinese -yum. I was born in September of 1971, which makes me a Virgo and a Boar (and 40). I have a positive attitude, 2 french bulldogs, and frequent the library often. I have read the bible, but don't believe in souls or heaven. We have to make a heaven of earth, I believe. God is love.

I am in transition, and could move/live anywhere. Suggestions?
Maybe San Diego, or Santa Cruz.

Sex God

"sex" and "god" are the two most searched terms

so I better put up a link, for traffic, lol
sex is good
god is good

hatin' is bad
but there's alot to be mad at.
(but you don't want to be mad all the time)

I recommend my posts on vampires and genies.
I also like my post entitled, 'agnostic' (May, 2011).

A Case of Christianity

Heal! My Child...

God the father- Hi Larry T (hilarity)

like Santa Claus
or
The Tooth Fairy

God is a role (to PLAY)
play like children
did I get the part?

Madonna says "shine your heavenly body tonight"

update

I'm in Berkeley now

I use the library daily.
I haven't started swimming yet. But I've still lost some weight.
For news, I read the NY times daily,
and the Economist, Christian science monitor (weeklies)
Sometimes I use the library computer, where I check the wikipedia news, too.
Or if the NYtimes isn't available, I'll look at the WSJ.
I walk the dogs a couple times a day.
I read books, like Franzen's 'Freedom', and 'You've Got to Read This' (collection of shorts).
I'm working on The Year's Best Horror and Fantasy (2005).
I bought 3 books from Barnes & Noble:
-John Muir Laws' 'Guide to the Sierra Nevada'
-2011 Best American Short Stories
-100 things you are not supposed to know
whatever strikes my fancy from the reference area
(I'm looking at the Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience at the moment)
and
Foreign Affairs (every 2 months)
local Berkeley paper..

I really like it here.
I'm single, and I've updated my okcupid account to place me in the Bay Area.

Go Placidly

I hope this helps

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even the dull and ignorant;
they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexatious to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain or bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser
persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your career, however humble;
It is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs;
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself.
Especially do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
For in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.
Take kindly to the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you
in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
You have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore be a peace with god,
whatever you conceive him or her to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.

by Max Ehrmann

Good Things and Bad Things

to encourage or discourage (have courage!)

Good
Health, Development, Education
Peace, Hope. Love, Fun, Happiness, Community, Freedom
Honor, Integrity, Values
Money, Wealth
Magic, Juggling, Kites, RC cars/planes/helicopters (remote control)
Movies, Music, Books, Magazines

Bad
Poverty, Squalor, Lack
Unemployment, Underemployment, Debt, Deficit
Recession, Depression, Inflation, Stagnation, Inequality, Resentment
Anger, Hatred, Rage
Torture, Evil, Depravity
Malnutrition, Hunger, Famine
Pain, Agony, Suffering, Torment, Misery, Anguish
Unhappiness, Stress, Anxiety
Natural Disaster, Drought, Flood, Earthquake, Fire, Volcano, Hurricane, Typhoon
Sickness, Illness, Disease
Lack of clean water/ sanitation
Obesity, Smoking,
Aids, Tuberculosis, Malaria
PTSD, S.A.D
Corruption (political, economic),
Greed, Outrageous CEO/Wallstreet pay packages, Theft
Slavery, Prostitution
Murder, Killing, Assassination, Homicide
Abortion, War, Capital Punishment
Weapons of Mass Destruction (nuclear, biological, chemical)
Terrorism, Torture, Crime
Depression, Schizophrenia, Mental Illness
Sadness, Sorrow, Crying, Tears, Weeping, Wailing, Gnashing of teeth
Deforestation, Desertification, Habitat Preservation, Extinctions
Acid Rain, Pollution (air, water, soil), Poisoning
Global Warming, Overpopulation, Resource Depletion
Ignorance, Apathy, Sloth
Sociopathic Corporations, the Military-Industrial Complex
Skewed Priorities
Immorality, Amorality
Racism, Sexism, Intolerance
Xenophobia, Jingoism, Ethnocentrism
Scapegoating, Blame
Negativity, Pessimism, Cynicism, Hopelessness, Despair, Giving Up
Ennui, Boredom, Malaise, Spite
Overstimulation, Too much information
wickedness, sin, cruelty, malice
Isolation, Withdrawal
Fear, Bullying, Intimidation
Objectification, Dehumanization
Rape, Assault
Atrocity, Holocaust, Genocide, Ethnic Cleansing
Drug/Alcohol Addiction , Gangs,
Injustice, unfairness
Premature Death, Oblivion
Stupidity, Foolishness, Illiteracy
Lies, Manipulation, Deceit
Expedience, Exploitation
Failure, Loss,
Frustration, Annoyance, Irritation, Bother
Poor/Lack of Communication
Silent treatment, Ostracism
Fascism, Oppression, Repression,
Slander, Calumny, Censorship
Mind Control, False Consciousness, Insecurity
Hell

Some good ideas

quotes, that is

1) "There is only one happiness in life, to love and be loved" -George Sand

2) "And God Said, Let Us Make Man in Our Image" -Genesis 1:26-28
(note the plurality of God, aka love)

marriage tips
3)"Marriage isn't ownership. It's a partnership"
4)"Love each other unconditionally" and "Love me when I least deserve it. Because that is when I really need it."
5)"Opposites might atttract, but it's our similarities that keep us together"
6)"Agree to disagree; you're individuals, not clones" and "Learn to be tolerant of your differences and respect them"
7)"Love= Passion + Friendship + Unconditional Affection"
8)"Take care of each other. Share secrets. Create a private club with just the two of you in it"
9)"The supreme happiness in life is the assurance of being loved for oneself. Even in spite of oneself."
10)"Keep a place both physically and spiritually for yourself. Private time is important"
11)"Pretend you're still dating. Prepare romantic dinners together, and eat by candlelight"
12) "Give all to love" -Ralph Waldo Emerson
13) "Bring flowers to each other...just because. Small gestures can make big impressions."
14) "Find time for an occasional weekend getaway. Stepping outside your routine adds spice to life"
15) "How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. I love thee to the depth and breadth and height my soul can reach." -Elizabeth Barrett Browning
16)Take time to regularly be alone together.
17)"Pick fights carefully. Unless it's worth a divorce, Give it up. Life is too short."
18)"Be to their virtue very kind Be to their faults a little blind." -Matthew Prior
19) "Of all the serious things, marriage is the funniest." -Pierre de Beaumarchais
20) Ignore everything petty, and smile.
21) In marriage do thou be wise: Prefer the person before money; Virtue before beauty; the mind before the body.
22) Say "i Love you" every day.

Value

money and ideas

The US may be headed for a double-dip recession, or even a depression, but I found this one quote encouraging:

"The richest person in the world -in fact all the riches in the world- couldn't provide you with anything like the endless, incredible loot available at your local library" -Malcolm Forbes

Movies with the word 'love' in the title

133 of them

-Love me or leave me
-Immortal love
-Endless love ('81)
-Love is forever
-Love is eternal while it lasts
-I really love my wife
-Love affair ('94)
-Love is not a sin
-Love is God
-What love is
-Love is a crazy thing
-Love is a many splendored thing
-Crazy, stupid love
-Love is all there is
-Love, actually ('05)
-Love is the only solution
-Love happy ('49)
-Women in love ('69) France
-Love in the afternoon ('57)
-Lovers and other strangers
-Lover come back ('61)
-What is love?
-This is love
-I've loved you for so long
-From Paris with love
-From Russia with love ('63)
-I love you, Phillip Morris
-Crazy love
-Shakespeare in love
-Carry on loving
-Love is a four letter word
-Love is a fat woman
-Love is the drug
-Love is the law
-This is not a love song
-This is not a love story
-Love and other disasters
-I love you to death ('90)
-The lovely bones
-Love and human remains ('93)
-A time to love, and a time to die
-Love wrecked
-Love only destroys
-Love! Valor! Compassion!
-New York, I love you
-Lovers in the arctic circle ('98) Spain
-I love you, Beth Cooper
-Love letter
-Love parade ('29)
-Sea of love ('89)
-True love ('90)
-A short film about love
-Let's make love
-Love me tonight
-In the mood for love
-I love you, man
-I love you too
-Love with the proper stranger ('63)
-Can't buy me love ('87)
-Love field ('92)
-Love a rainy night
-Love and basketball
-Love sick
-Love in the time of cholera
-Love and other diseases
-Love me tender
-Love train
-Love story
-The love bug
-p.s. I love you
-A thin line between love and hate
-Rich in love ('93)
-Love and a .45 ('94)
-Love at large ('92)
-My name is love ('08) Sweden
-Isle of love ('68) France
-In love and war
-It's all about love
-The two faces of love ('74)
-What's love got to do with it
-Love conquors all
-Love is all
-The love guru
-Love on Sunday
-Love story
-New York, I love you
-Must love dogs
-Everyone says I love you

-And in theaters as of Christmas, 2012 (in NY and LA):
AMOUR, www.amourthemovie.com, by Michael Haneke

-L.O.V.E. ('10)
-LOVE ('12)
-Love ('64) (1919)('27) ('48) ('13) ('14) ('20) (24) (56) (57) (68)
('74) France ('80)Sweden
('82) ('91) (96)('99) ('01) (02) (03) (04) (05) (06) (07) (08) (09) (10) (11)

-koi ('24)
-Laska ('56)
-szerelem ('71)
-tou shou zai ('82)
-sneham ('77)
-Preet ('45)
-Ai ('55) ('62)
-Karlek ('52)
-Kathal ('52)
-Bhalobasa ('55)
-Dard-E-Dil ('34) ('53)
-Ljubezen ('84)
-Mahabbat ('85)
-Lyubov ('92)

I'm Single, Ladies

Don't be sad

Let me know if I'm your kinda guy.
I'm a Virgo, which they say is most compatible with Taurus, Capricorn, or another Virgo. (or maybe Cancer or Scorpio, says somewhere else).

I'm also a Boar, which they say should marry a Rabbit or a Sheep.

A Rabbit (I have the Chinese restaurant place mat) is born in '63, '75, or '87.
A Sheep is born in '67, '79, or '91.

(I'll be moving from Roseville and living in the Bay Area soon)

Life, The Universe, and Everything

What is the meaning of it all?

Life is good! as they say.
Being and Existence are good.

Reality is God ("reality is all the god there ever is" -Avatar Adi Da Samraj)

In a nutshell
Nature, Reality, Life, The Universe, It All, and Everything
The Total, The Entirety, The Sum
The Whole Enchilada

is GOD

...and the bible says vanity of vanities, All is Vanity

Closest Star and Galaxy

Space is the Place

-The closest star is Proxima Centauri, at only 4.2 light years away.
-The closest galaxy is the Canis Major Dwarf galaxy, at 25,000 light years.
and
-The closest spiral galaxy is Andromeda, at 2.5 million light years.

Andromeda has a few hundred billion stars, like our Milky Way.
Canis Major, which is irregularly shaped, has around 1 billion stars.

Get this:
One light year is about 5.88 trillion miles.

So, by my calculations, Proxima Centauri is 24.696 trillion miles.
(24,696,000,000,000)
Canis Major Dwarf galaxy is 25k x 5.88t, or 147,000 trillion miles.
(147,000,000,000,000,000)
And Andromeda is about 15 million trillion miles., which is:
(14,700,000,000,000,000,000 miles away)

Some TED astronomy talk, I remember, said, from the most average location in the (known) universe, the sky is black, meaning you can't see any stars, because they're so far away. Wow.

Andromeda, from earth, is a fuzzy patch of light, when seen through a pair of quality binoculars.

I sure hope future space travel has some fun things to do inflight, for the folks on board.

"there's a place in the stars...for a new ghetto" -Oingo Boingo

-The diameter of the known universe is 93 billion light years.
That's546.84 billion trillion miles.
That's
546,840,000,000,000,000,000,000 miles.

"to infinity and beyond" -Buzz Lightyear

Moving to Berkeley

I hope to move in to an apartment there next month

so email me, jessteshara@yahoo.com, if you are (or know of) a roommate with a room available in Berkeley, Ca

Did you know there are also Berkeleys in Denver, Illinois, and Missouri?
But I'm referring to the Bay Area's Berkeley, California, home of the Cal Bears.

Musical Collective Identity

All we are: a bit of pop culture philosophy

-All we are is dust in the wind; Kansas

-You and me baby ain't nothin but mammals (so let's do it like they do it on the discovery channel); The Bloodhound Gang

-All in all is all we are; Nirvana

in other words, we're interpenetrating mammal dust :-)

God only knows

this is a weird expression

I heard the song "God only knows where I'd be without you"
and I switched to literal mode...
and the meaning changed drastically.

what's up with that? God doesn't know anything else??
if not, shouldn't we be saying "only God knows where I'd be without you"?

These are a few of my favorite things

happy, happy

museums
circuses
rollercoasters
magic shows
juggling
travelling
restaurants
swimming
music
movies
books

Harold Camping and Family Radio

Judgement Day: they're idiots

Apparently, they've spent over 100 MILLION dollars advertising today, at 6pm, as the day of "rapture".

What a waste of money. You'd think they would spend it on doing good. Ugh.
God is not pleased.

The 89 y.o. Camping is in Oakland with his family. Maybe he'll spontaneously human combust or something. That would be cool. A hundred mil. she-it.

Agnostic

I'm convinced the only way God can be made real is to become Him/Her.

-because You are the only thing that is real to you? no, that's not quite right. or is it? "you-niverse"
-because goodness must come from within. hm, maybe not.
-the Creator is you: you create your own world; saying an external deity did so is just hypnosis
Your parents are your creators, of course. Nature and nurture, dna and environment, play a role, of course.

okay, it just seems right. I can't really nail down the logic.
I'm gonna steal from Nike, and say Just Do It.

If God is love, which is an emotion, but also a deity, a being, then for God to be real you have to be in love with someone, which could be just yourself, I guess, but is more happy if it's an actual other living, loving, in-the-flesh person. 'God' is just the hypothetical substitute for a lover or parents, who are probably imperfect.

If only God is good, you have to start with yourself. Otherwise, you're bad, and that doesn't help. Guilt and suffering ensue, with the possibility of hell and all. You should love yourself.

It's the only option if you're agnostic. Wikipedia link on agnosticism.
If God, out there, is unknown or unknowable..
You can at least Know Thyself.
Being good is an imperative, of course, because otherwise, you're evil.
If you want to be evil, then you must think it is good (so it's not evil).
But maybe you'll end up being raped in prison.
So, First, do no harm. Doing nothing is better than doing evil.
Of course, prison should not be evil, either.
"It's all good" is untrue, and in my opinion, evil.

If I weren't God, I'd be an agnostic atheist, or agnostic theist if I were in love.
An 'agnostic atheist' is atheist because he does not believe in the existence of any deity, and agnostic because he/she does not claim to know that a deity does not exist.
It all depends on how you define a deity.
I am concerned for the welfare of the universe and it's inhabitants, but I'm not omnipotent.
In fact, I'm infinitely small, in relation to the universe.
So all I can do is make my life good, which is what you should do, too, as
God of your own domain.
Religion is just set forth as principles for happiness.
I cannot know whether a deity exists or not, and neither can you (strong agnosticism),
UNLESS we make a God of ourselves.
So be good.
That's all it takes.

The Explaining Religion Project

Link, from the Economist

Sometimes I feel like somebody's watching me. Can't get no privacy. whoa o-oh.
Indeed, my two eyes and mind's eye are watching you.

There's a car being named the Karma

The idea of (religious/spiritual) karma is that misdeeds result in proportionate misfortune, and the opposite, that good deeds reap proportionate rewards.

If you think you're being watched/monitored, you're also more likely to act morally.

9 things you can do to be happy, link

Books

I've been on a reading bender

-The Best Spiritual Writing (2002)
-The World's Finest Mystery and Crime Stories, 3rd annual collection
-There Are No Children Here, Alex Kotlowitz
-All The Money In The World (How the Forbes 400 Make and Spend Their Fortunes)
-On My Honor (Boy Scouts and the Making of American Youth), Mechling
-Cholo Style (Homies, Homegirls, and La Raza), Reynaldo Berrios
-My FBI (Bringing down the mafia, investigating Bill Clinton, and Fighting the war on terror), Louis Freeh
-God is Not Great (How Religion Poisons Everything), Christopher Hitchens
-The God Delusion, Richard Dawkins
-Cell, Stephen King
-Hokkaido Popsicle, Isaac Adamson
-Brainiac (Adventures in the Curious, Competitive, Compulsive world of trivia buffs),Ken Jennings
-Kingdoms of Sorcery
-Killing Monsters (Why Children Need Fantasy, superheroes, and make-believe violence)
-Bare Bones (Conversations on Terror with Stephen King)
-Smart on Crime , Kamala Harris
-Armed and Dangerous, William Queen & Douglas Century
-Dave Barry's Bad Habits
-Dave Barry's History of the Millennium
-Vietnam Now: A reporter Returns, David Lamb
-Chickenhawk: Back In The World, Robert Mason
-Madness Visible: A Memoir of War , Janine Di Giovanni
-Jarhead, Anthony Swofford
-Flags of our Fathers, James Bradley
-State of the World 2009, The Worldwatch Institute
-Plan B 3.0, Lester R. Brown
-The Areas of My Expertise, John Hodgman
-The Oxford History of Mexico

-The Best American Essays, 2007
-Mexico, A Traveler's Literary Companion
-Monty Python's Flying Circus, all the words, v. 2
-Malicious Intent, Sean Mactire
-Reason, Robert B. Reich
-Don't Drink the Water, Woody Allen
-The Writing Life, writers on how they think and work
-Jimmy Corrigan, the smartest kid on earth

-Best American Short Stories, 2005
-Best American Short Stories, 1990
-The Oxford Book of Essays
-Blind Man's Bluff, (submarine espionage)
-The New History of the World, J.M. Roberts
-The Year's Best Horror and Fantasy, 2008

on deck
-Guns, Germs and Steel, Jared Diamond
-The Mustard Seed, Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh

Happy Easter

and Happy Wester, too

We praise His Name
You can't spell Jesse without JSS
He (the prince of peace) came not to bring peace, but the sword
What a mess (iah)
P-raisin'
What's the s-word?

soul? she-it. Ain't no such thang.

Navy

"A Global Force for Good"

I got a postcard in the mail, with this latest military recruitment slogan on it.
They're looking for a few good men to aim high as an army of one, yada yada.

All I have to say is, although the military's mission is to prevent war, they certainly prepare for it. I guess I'm just a sucker for that other bumper-sticker slogan, "You cannot simultaneously prevent and prepare for war" by whoever thought that one up. On second thought, I guess you can; it's just that you don't have all your eggs in one basket.

The Navy does seem like a nicer service than say, the Marines, but I'm not going to be fooled that they don't kill people all the same.

I take my own marching orders, not the president's.
And that's the last word on the subject.
Well, maybe not: Go Navy, beat Army
Annapolis, ooh rah

Religious Kooks

I may be one of them

I read an online article that said a lot of religious crazies appear among tourists and travelers to Israel; i.e. the Holy Land. Normal folk suddenly flare up into full-blown psychosis. Apparently, the number one delusion is that they are the Messiah (i.e. Jesus, I guess) The second-most frequent is having the identity of Satan. Thirdly, the big head honcho himself, God. An attorney in Sacramento told me there have been a gaggle of Antichrists declaring themselves at the Sacramento County Jail. So this role-playing thing can get out of hand, maybe.

Then again, I may really be God, lol.

More religious geography

The place does not make the person

Roseville has evil in it
Natomas has satan in it
Mendocino has demon in it
(demonstration also has demon in it)
(funeral has fun in it)
Ogden has God in it

aside
mean, anger, hater, hated, rage, prey
meaning, tangerine/manger/manager, heart, death, garage, pray

'Hated' having the same letters as 'death' seems the most interesting...
although loved as 'devol' makes you go hm.

atheist: hate is t, a theist, ate shit, hates it
oblivion: i liv on (ob)

College Radio

I dig college radio

I skip around and surf these all, online:

Cal
http://kalx.berkeley.edu/

Stanford
http://kzsu.stanford.edu/

Harvard
http://whrb.org/

UC Davis
http://www.kdvs.org/

UC Santa Cruz
http://kzsc.org/

UC Santa Barbara
http://www.kcsb.org/

UC San Diego
http://scw.ucsd.edu

CalPoly SLO
http://kcpr.calpoly.edu

MIT
http://wmbr.mit.edu/

Hallelujiah, Amen, and Hosanna

Hallelujah means 'praise God' or praise Jah or praise Jehovah...(from the first two letters of YHWH), used by Christians to shout their joy towards God

Amen means 'So be it' or It is so or Truly, from the Hebrew aman which means to be faithful, support, or confirm.

Hosanna means 'Save Us!'
or praise, like Hallelujah

from the most trusted of sources, straight off the internet...
hamensanna!

Happy Valentine's Day

hug, smooch
Love,
Jess

A joke

How did the Judge know his milk went bad?

Odor in the quart!

Good Friday

I think this song by the Cowboy Junkies is beautiful

dentist and sushi

Today, after more than a year, I go to the dentist

It's part of my Kaiser plan, now, starting 1/1. I like the way my mouth feels after all that scraping and cleaning.

Then, Sara and I are going out for sushi, possibly my favorite food, next to Thai.
It's gonna be a good day!
-----
well, it wasn't as great a day as I had hoped...
I'll be out some money to pay for periodontal disease/4cavities
and
we therefore didn't have sushi (we had okay indian)
and
my meds are apparently affecting my liver...ugh; it will be tested soon.
and
the horrific arizona shooting. The suspect looked alot better with his hair. What a psycho mugshot. So sad about the young girl. The shooter; what an a-hole. Eric Holder apparently thinks he's a priest. I think his religious talk is inappropriate, myself. Whatever, though.

The Efficacy of Prayer

Weird, but apparently prayer works

It's the last chapter, pg. 896, of a book I just bought with my Barnes and Noble gift certificate, called The Owner's Manual for The Brain (everyday applications from mind-brain research)

It says,
half of a group of 393 cardiology patients who were prayed for by home prayer groups were 5x less likely to require antibiotics and 3x less likely to develop fluid in the lungs, reported from a 1988 review.

Another instance of impressive results is a study in which 10 people focused their prayers on retarding the growth of a laboratory fungus, while they were 15 miles from the fungus. Over 70% of the cultures showed retarded growth. The results were duplicated 16 times (out of 16). (!)

Speaking of prayer, my uncle Tom is having heart surgery on Monday, January 24. So join me if you like in praying for a safe surgery and healthy recovery. Thanks!