Book Recommendations

a small selection of books I've read and liked

1)Tent of Miracles, by Jorge Amado
2)A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, by Alexander Solzhenitsyn
3)The Master and Margarita, by Mikhail Bulgakov
4)Good Omens, by Terry Pratchett/Neil Gaiman
5)House of Spirits, by Isabel Allende
6)The Lost Steps, by Alejo Carpentier
7)Neuromancer, by William Gibson
8)The Corrections, by Jonathan Franzen
9)Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn, The Prince and the Pauper, etc.
(anything by) -Mark Twain
12)Spite, Malice, and Revenge -Nelson Chunder and George Hayduke
13)The Vampire Chronicles, Anne Rice (6 books, I think)
14)Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy,("a 4 part-trilogy")
-etc., anything by Douglas Adams
15)The Sand County Almanac, Aldo Leopold
16)100 Years of Solitude, by Gabriel Garcia Marques

kids books my dad read to me:
17)The Fabulous Feats of Dr. Boox, by Andrew Davies
18)The Pushcart War, by Jean Merrill
19)The collected works of Robert Service
(great around campfires)
20)Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,
21)Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator,
22)James and the Giant Peach -Roald Dahl

other books I read when young:
23)The Call of the Wild -Jack London
24)The Prisoner of Zenda -Anthony Hope
25)Around the World in 80 Days -Jules Verne
26)The Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison
27)The Farside, cartoons by  Gary Larson

I also liked Crime and Punishment (Dostoevsky),
Lord of the Rings (JRR Tolkien trilogy),
The Chronicles of Corum, (Michael Moorcock series)
The Stranger, Albert Camus
Escape from New York, Ben Bova
Catch Me if You Can, Frank Abagnale jr.
The Millennium series, by Stieg Larsson (3 books)
The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror
(annual, 22 volumes/years -have only read a few)

short stories:
A Mother's Tale, by James Agee (about a cow)
Leiningen versus the Ants, by Carl Stephenson
Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck
Flowers for Algernon, by Daniel Keyes (very sad)
and, The Most Dangerous Game, by Richard Connell

I'm an Uncle!

Uncle Jess!

there's uncle sam, uncle tom, and, as of around 6 this morning, uncle jesse :)

picture to be added soon!
newest addition to the Teshara family, and my nephew,
son of my brother Greg and his wife Elizabeth (Liz).
8lb, 20oz, 20in, 5:56a,
BENJAMIN MATHEW TESHARA
(mathew w/ one t)

Everyone's healthy,
and Congratulations!

trivia
UNCLE also stands for United Network Command for Law Enforcement!
(in the 60's tv shows, before my time)
also
Jesse Duke, and Jesse Katsopolis
from Dukes of Hazzard, and Full House, respectively.

Random Data

lol

books
'CEO' (confessions of an english opium eater), by Tom De Quincey
finished Emma, by Jane Austen
finished Anna Karenina, by Leo Tolstoy
also, finished George Carlin's 'Napalm and Silly-putty'
also, am perusing The Onion Book of Known Knowledge

space
-the universe (ours, anyway) is 13.77 billion years old
(13.798 +/- 0.037B years, to be precise)
-the sun is 4.6B years old
-the earth is 4.54B +/- 0.05B
-mars, minimum distance from earth, is 34.6M miles away
-the OU (observable universe) is 46B light years in radius
(93B light years in diameter)
-200B galaxies, 300 sextillion stars (3x10 to the 23rd)
(each galaxy with between 10M to 1T stars)

population
- the population of the USA is 317M
-the population of Earth is 7.1B

penal system
-the jail/prison population (of the US) is 2.3M
 (behind bars/incarcerated, in federal or state prisons, or county jails)
-743/100,000 (highest rate in the world)
-7.2M are incarcerated, paroled, or on probation
-46% black (12% of which is black muslim), 36% white, 16% hispanic, 1% american indian
-12% of america's population is black

water
0.5% of earth's weight is water
70% of earth's surface is covered in water
97% salt, 2% glacier ice, 1% fresh
the human body is 60-70% water (55-65% of weight)
(up to 78% of infants)

globesity
u.s. 31% obese (1/3), 63% overweight (2/3)
earth, roughly 500M obese adults
(10%M, 14%F)
1.6B either overweight or obese, globally
overweight is bmi of 25-29.9
obese is bmi 30 or over
59% of non-hispanic black women are obese
33% of non-hispanic white women are obese
79.8% of american black women are overweight

U.S. debt

my recommendation? only buy what you can afford.

from wikipedia:
On December 12, 2013, debt held by the public was approximately $12.312 trillion or about 73% of Q3 2013 GDP^[5][6] Intragovernmental holdings stood at $4.9 trillion (29%), giving a combined total public debt of $17.226 trillion or over 100% GDP.^[7] As of January 2013, $5 trillion or approximately 47% of the debt held by the public was owned by foreign investors, the largest of which were the People's Republic of China and Japan at just over $1.1 trillion each.<sup>[8]

I just listened to the white house correspondent's dinner, and decided to fact check the comedian.

OVER 100% is too much, in my opinion.

Personally, I have no debt, and think the US should have Savings, not Debt.
Can we get to Zero debt?  Shouldn't we?</sup>

Bears

an ongoing theme

bear claw, cinnamon bears, gummy bears
chicago bears, cal bears
the russian bear

the bay area (bearya?) -the east bay, from space, looks like a giant bear head (to me)
oso, name of someone i've met, meaning bear in spanish
bear, a term for a husky gay guy

and
Bears, the Disney nature documentary movie I saw today at amc emeryville.
(I liked it, and it made me want to eat salmon)

it's a homonym with bare, too.
bear with me.  simple, bare necessities.  bear hug!

types of bears:
polar, brown, black, grizzly, panda, koala, teddy

My matrix, revisited

what I do

at home:
nap/sleep
meditate/do nothing
eat/drink
computer
     email, blog, news, music, onion, J!, wikipedia, ted, youtube
     news (berkeleyside, cnn, csmonitor, wapo, huffington)
     music (library cd's, hos, pandora/grooveshark, itunes,
            wybcx-yale, dcr-dartmouth)
            itunes:
            -college radio(kalx-ucb, whrb-harvard, wmbr-mit,
              kzsu-stanford, wprb-princeton, kcpr-calpolyslo,
              kdvs-ucd, wqhs-penn, kzsc-ucsc, ksdt-ucsd,
              ucla, wxin)
             -religious (e.g. mormon, quran, etc.)
             -random itune channels (e.g. halloween, baroque, etc.)
             -talk (philosophy talk, joe frank)
am/fm radio
book (one/day, ideally),
     currently
     De Quincey's 'The Confessions of an English Opium-Eater'
     just finished Leo Tolstoy's 'Anna Karenina',
     and Jane Austen's 'Emma,' and an Onion compendium
shower
brush teeth, floss
exercise (pushups, crunches, isometric,
               dumbbell-extension, row, curl, press)
phone (call/text)

out:
walk/run/bike
yoga
ymca (swim, lift, row, stationary bike-through france, or watch tv)
library (daily nytimes) (music, movies, books, magazines)
      -I like to peruse atlas, history, new words,
        true crime, fantasy/horror
     -if I can learn to speedread...i would also absorb weekly Economist
      -People and Mad magazine,
      -Foreign Affairs (every other month)
movie (i think i might see the disney bear documentary)
shop (groceries- TJ's) (i have a Target gift card)
       (yogurtland, papajohns, togos, bongo, deli, etc.)
plant trees (volunteer thing in oakland)
dogwalk (marcel, fido/taco)
meditate (bkly shambala center, or diamond way)
kaiser group, in oakland

lotto

esse

My name is Jesse

I knew 'esse' was a latin word, but I thought it meant 'being'
instead (I was looking up salve intemerata virgo on a latin dictionary), it means:

Definitions:

1. destroy
2. eat away (fire/water/disease)
3. eat/consume/devour
4. spend money on food

So, my name, which means "the whole office of the eucharist"  and "god makes forget"
maybe sheds light on the "mystery" of the body/blood of christ:

J-esse: destroying or eating away at J

J is the 10th letter
wwjd
satan= 11215=10 (and it sounds like 'say ten')

eating Jesus is eating Satan?
gr-eat!

Smiles

a poem from a book from my childhood

"Why are you always smiling?"
"Because I'm happy!"
"What makes you happy?"
"Making other people happy."
"How do you make other people happy?"
"By smiling."

Linguistic clue to health

The difference between Ill and Well

It's the difference between
I and WE

This struck me as interesting, and worth mentioning!
So now, I'm interested if there is method behind the madness, and what the etymologies are.

And, are loners sicker than the perpetually-social/communal?

Pope Francis prefers to be social.
and
Jesus was some sort of divine linguist, I guess
(with the speaking in tongues, etc)
(but did he know english?)

El is a word for lord, I think.
So, L L is like two gods?

Jesus on the cross is evocative of both Victory and Defeat...
and the freak said something about not letting the left hand know what the right is up to.
which is totally bizarre, no?
left is sinister, and right is righteous...(but actually, both are neutral!)

Sobering Stats

from truth-out.org

U.S. Wealth is up $34 Trillion since the recession (93% of Americans got almost none of it):
(that's an average of 100k for every American) Those who own most of the stocks gained an average of well over a million dollars each (tax-free until they cash in).

also,
8>3,600,000. 
The 4 Waltons, the 2 Kochs, Bill Gates, and Warren Buffett made more money than 3.6M (million) minimum wage workers.  And apparently, no full-time minimum wage worker in the US can afford a 1 or 2 bedroom rental at a fair market rate.

suicide

some suicide stats

10th leading cause of death in the world.
0.5 to 1.4% of all deaths are suicide
(there are 150k+ deaths/day; 2/3 are from old-age)
around 3k/day, in the world.  that's 1m+/ year.  10-20m/year attempt.
90/day, in america.  22/day are u.s. military veterans.
1,500 americans attempt suicide daily
100/day, in japan
5% of humanity attempts during lifetime.
5% of schizophrenics commit suicide.

i foreshadowed the article about suicide in the nytimes by 12 days..
3 stats from the 4/14/14 article:
in the US:
1 million failed suicide attempts per year
38,000 (successful seems like the wrong word) suicides per year
7% of those who fail, later succeed.

that means:
wikipedia was wrong:
the 90/day in america is wrong.  actually 38k/365=about 104/day
1500 daily attempts in america is wrong.  actually 1m/365=about 2,740/day

apparently, the numbers in america are going the wrong way.
unless you hate America/Americans.

War is stupid

Everybody can have what they want

I'm reading about Egypt sentencing members of the Muslim Brotherhood to death.  And a stalemated ongoing civil war in Syria.  And Libyan rebels selling oil to North Korea.  And Crimeans voting to be annexed by Russia.  And Afghani interpreters for the U.S. having trouble with Visas.  And anti-homosexuality in Uganda.  And Joseph Kony being hunted, to end his evilness.  And Mexican militias taking up arms against the Knights Templar gang.

I think the Muslim Brotherhood should have their own state, their own territory.   It doesn't have to be all or nothing.   All of Egypt or mass execution.  Why not give them their own state?   To reiterate, it doesn't have to be control of the entire country of Egypt.   Politics and territories shouldn't be zero-sum.  Everybody should live under rules they approve of.  Children suffering under parental rules, for example, can eventually strike out on their own.  It just takes time.  I think we should make it easier for discontented groups to split.   Conformity sucks.  Unless of course you're a North Korean zombie, with 100% participation, 100% approval, for the only candidate (was there even a write-in option?) then all is well under the Dear Leader.   I kid.  Factionalism isn't necessarily bad.  A diversity of microstates trying out different political systems, different laws, different cultures is fine by me.  

This Syrian thing is ridiculous to me.  Can't Assad be happy governing those who assent to his rule, and permit the rest to govern themselves, without all the senseless suffering, murder, and destruction?  Isn't the country big enough to give states to each group?  America has 50 states.  Some are red, some are blue.  There could be a Republican USA and a Democrat USA, I wouldn't care.  I know about ISIS, the quest for an Islamic State of Iraq and Syria/the Levant.  Why can't there be an Islamic Rome in Syria?  (Isn't that what Saudi Arabia is already, with Mecca and Medina as the hajj pillar for all devout Muslims, regardless of sect?)  Iran is Shiite, Saudi Arabia is Sunni (there of course must be exceptions), there could be 3 leaders, 1 of each, 1 of both, no?  Anyway, I feel for all the refugees.  There's no excuse for this madness, like starvation and alawites vs. al qaeda or whatever the hell it is.  Hezbollah, Iran, and Russia vs. people who don't like Assad (was he that bad before all this shit?)  One person is not worth fighting about.   I don't suppose there's a possibility of, say, VOTING him out...  especially if he's as rotten as it seems.   At least the chemical weapons seem to be on track for removal.  Let's do that now, again, with guns and bullets (and barrel bombs).  Or are the arms merchants calling the shots? - putting the peace-loving masses in the line of fire, too rich, greedy, and powerful to be vanquished by common sense.  Let the sides have a sweaty match of healthy grudgematch boxing or something.  Idiots, everyone, I think to myself.

What's wrong with allowing the creation of a few more Libyan states, for example.  Must everybody get all roided up and militaristic and on a quest to conquer these units of territory?  these random historical vestiges of god-knows-what, made of stupid borders that mean so little, and possibly should mean even less in this globalized world we inhabit now, in modern society.   The goal is happiness, and chips*, not this perpetual obsession with US and THEM, with clans, with religions, with countries, with race, and with tribes.  I'm kind of weird though.  I don't even give a damn about sports rivalries.
*comfort, health, in peace, sustainably.
I'll grant that fighting makes some people feel happy, but certainly not everyone, not even the majority.  The aggression needs healthy outlets, like sports. Give the libyan rebels their own patch of sand.  Can't we all just get along?

okay, Crimea.  Russia is plenty big, I don't see why they need more.  Strategery, I guess. ha! :-)  Maybe it's just a matter of naked power.  Of want, not need.  Just because we can. A matter of respect for a country that can still send the entire planet into a nuclear winter.  They did both win and host the latest round of winter olympics.  Yeah, I think it's a Rodney Dangerfield thing, I can't get no respect!  Kind of like Germany after world war one flexing it's muscles, Russia lost the cold war and I guess is paranoid about being isolated, or further reduced (relatively), or impinged by a united Europe, or whatever, I don't really know...Just immature stuff, like children in a schoolyard, pushing each other around, being a bully.  Putin, ex kgb,  a crimea criminal, just like the c.i.a. (or me, for that matter).  (cry me a river -you know, I think there really IS a river in there, i looked once).  But, like I said, I don't really care who is on what land, just so long as people have their basic needs met, and are healthy and relatively happy.  I have no qualms with a peaceful takeover, especially with no shots fired.   Good for you, Putin, enjoy your base, your respect, and your popularity.  Just let the non Russian parts of Ukraine integrate with Europe, as per the wish of the majority, no?  Europe's a pretty cool place.  I bike through France almost every day at the local Y.

 I think people all over the world should be allowed to live wherever they want.  I'm not a fan of borders and immigration controls.  One world, everybody everywhere.  The only borders I like is the bookstore!  And especially if you live in Afghanistan and helped out the U.S. you deserve a visa. I actually don't know what a visa is, other than the card in my wallet.  But open the borders, for people, products, drugs, whatever.   If the whole world were open, why would we ever worry about terrorism or military aggression?    So even if you didn't help the USA, you should be allowed to live here, and you would probably like us if you did.  America is awesome! 

U gone t' Uganda?  What gays do (the male ones, anyway) is pretty disgusting, in my opinion, but that doesn't mean it should be illegal.  I mean who cares, really.  I guess Santorum does.  But No harm, no foul. Aids is harmful, though, and shitholes are pretty foul.  But if they wanna marry, why should I care.  Marriage is for families, though, usually, and you still need heterosex for that.  Kids know that.  It's not worth all the attention in the petty culture wars, though, in my opinion. 
so, moving on,

Katie, or KT, the Knights Templar, I guess are getting some pushback from ordinary folk in Mexico who are refusing to let criminals run things.  Drugs should be legalized, I think.  I honestly think I would love to try heroin, especially if it were legal, and someone were there to ensure safe practice, and healthy recovery.  It's called God's medicine.  Then again, alot of people think death is a doorway to heaven, too.  I don't want to trade in my drugfree life for oblivion, in any case.   I also read in the Economist how organized crime is leaving drugs and getting into common items like food or detergent (!).  The criminal penalty is a lot less, and the demand is higher in a tough economy like ours now.

thanks for reading all this, I kind of went on and on, didn't I?

If I win the lotto

what i would do with my winnings

tomorrow's "mega" is 400 million dollars!

food, shelter, clothing:
house, car, dating service, wife, kids
support family (parents, bro+wife+nephew-or-niece)
children's education, college, and inheritance
vegetarian restaurants/meals, support mercy for animals
variety, travel

other charities:
consistent life ethic (abortion, capital punishment, war, meat)
dfla (democrats for life of america)
msf (doctors without borders)
unicef (united nations children's fund)
bfc (berkeley free clinic)
*microloans (such as kiva)
cnn heroes
prison reform
no nukes
3WD (third world development)- investments, growth, return
happiness, chips: comfort, health, peace, sustainably

health: google exercise bike, barbells/dumbbells, jump rope, run (marathon?)
Y membership, swim, lift, cardio bike, row
kaiser membership, meds, vegetarian cook books
alarm-clock (etb, etr), running shoes, sweats

reading:
mad, people, foreign affairs, economist, ny times, csmonitor
books: award-winners, 1001 list, aletheon (donate to libraries, if unavailable)
kindle (download the full 1001?)
read books into audio format
edit, publish blog (on Paper)
weekly funnies

music/audio:
wifi, pandora no-commercials, iphone that gets online stations
full collection of joe frank shows
hearts of space
concerts, opera, ballet, theater
beach blanket babylon

education:
speed reading course (book-a-day+)
aikido, cssd, jujitsu, kung fu, krav maga
lumosity
museums
learn languages, history, specialize in a region...
naturalist: bird-watching, plant identification, lead hike
smithsonian, exploratorium, etc.
volunteer, teach
free online courses
library book club
art class, piano lessons
different religious services
mensa
cpr, first aid
philosophy talk, prepare beforehand
jeopardy, J! archive (google glass?)

camping/hiking/fishing gear:
frame pack, hiking boots, tarp, portable stove, canteen, jacket, etc.

relaxation and fun:
cable tv, baseball games, barbeque, pool, nap on soft bed/comforter
gardening, video games, photography, surfing
meditate
bodybuilding
retreats
mountain home ranch, mt. madonna
cruise ship, climb fuji
napa balloon ride
garage sales, flea mkts, thrift stores
ted convention
tech tradeshow
hockey, soccer, olympics
skydive, waterski, rollercoasters
circus, magic
whale watching
paintball
movies (esp. documentaries, nature, animation, comedies, imax)
south park
miniature golf, bowling
national parks
white house tour
massage
kites
bubbles
pow-wow
disneyland, great america
demolition derby
state fair
calistoga parade
garlic festival
winchester mystery house
letterman audience
fleet week
rollerblade
nature walk
9er game
trail rides
geocache
craft fence windmills
build kit car
rc car, helicopter

UTM

Universal Theistic Morality

A morality that applies to all, regardless of culture, religion, god, or legal system...

one god, one conception of morality...

comparative religion?  comparative law? bah humbug!

is it all good?  is it all bad?  is it all up to you?  or me?

there are entire law libraries overflowing with opinions and precedent..
and
books of etiquette
and
fashion police, etc.

who is god?  who isn't?  everyone? no one?
does evil exist? sin? crime? is there a difference, to god?
are there different types of sin (venial, mortal, cardinal, for example)
are there different levels of hell?  of heaven? (7th heaven??)

i would have to have real balls to lay out what is wrong and what is right for everyone, always and everywhere...
but to say it is all a matter of opinion,
or community standards,
or what I decree...

the golden rule? do unto otters as you would have them do to you.
(people are different, though)

what a mess
be good, lol

santa knows if you've been naughty or nice
buddhist think there's an automatic law of karma in the universe: you get what you give
love is the whole of the law?

My Life

My Routine, the matrix of activity: busy, busy!

Sleep (etb, etr: 9:30p to 4:30a)

Morning:
gnc protein powder (half-hour before workout), vitamin c, omega-3
go to the bathroom, wash hands, brush teeth, comb hair, wash face
meditate
 
Exercise
in my room: stretch, pushups, bicycle crunches,
bicep curls, tricep extensions, bent rows... (w/ dumbell)
travel: walk, run, bicycle
at the Y: swim, lift, stationary bike (life cycle):
     watch tv (ridiculousness, family guy, french countryside, etc.)
nap

Online
music (radio, pandora, yale, itunes):
     listen, list ten: whrb, wmbr, kalx, kzsu, kcpr, kdvs, gdradio, kzsc,
     ksdt, kusf-in-exile
email
blog
onion
wikipedia
news: yahoo, foreign affairs, csmonitor, cnn, wapo, huffington, berkeleyside
J! archive, youtube

Eat
bfp (monthly food pantry), free meals,
trader joe's, coffee, yogurt
every other week meal with Sara, after kaiser, thurs. mornings
nightly meds: 1mg risperidone, 30mg olanzapine

Read
book-a-day (goal, speed reading) (1001 list, etc.)
daily NY Times
magazines (mad, people, economist)
new words: slang, new languages

Social:
okcupid message exchange
movie, museum,
free music shows from radio free passes (me plus guest)

weekly routine:
yoga (at yttp, mondays)
walk dogs (tuesdays), fido and taco
bsc (shambala center meditation, wednesday nights),
kaiser (thursdays), walk marcel, maybe frances
plant trees in oakland (saturday mornings),
philosophy talk (sunday mornings)

monthly: camp royaneh work parties (I need a ride!)

desired
meetup groups: hike, camp, date
maybe take an art class

God "works"

a quote

It is the final proof of God's omnipotence that he need not exist in order to save us. -Peter De Vries, novelist (1910-1993)

become god, save yourself.

-----
the occasional update on my life:

Reading
i've read (from the library, all "new"):
The sh!t no one tells you
war play
evil men
strange medicine

I'm working on sm, by Nathan Belofsky, at the moment.
It's a funky 178pp take on the history of medicine.

speed reading, book-a-day, needs to happen, i tell myself.
-(b-a-d would be good)
learning
-new vocabulary,
-foreign languages are also goals.

-news:
daily NY Times
weekly: econonomist, csmonitor
monthly/every other month: people, mad magazine, foreign affairs
online news: yahoo, cnn, wapo, huffington, wikipedia

other online
-online fun: email, check blog, onion, youtube, facebook.

 Social Life
-JK, W and G Schaeffers, Zoncas
-Walter
-okcupid
-thurs. kaiser, visit Sara and Pierre/ walk marcel
-thinking of joining match.com
-CR work party
-tree planting, sa morning
-wednesday evening meditation, BSC
-newman
-visit fazil

Exercise
-daily Ymca: cardio, BB, swim
-yoga
-tues. walk F&T
-walking marcel and frances

Shopping list:
-buy new running shoes, sweats
-yoga (yttp donation)
-join aikido
-joe frank
-travel
-frame backpack

To Do list:
napping
music
laundry
dental, bfc
nearby thai buddhist weekend food
consolidate bart pass
bike maintenance
hiking, camping

?
house, car, wife, kids, college, travel, job

XYZ names

x marks the post, y? becauZ i said so.

xine (christine)
ysabel (isabel), Yoshi T
...s yuen
z, at last, only last names: l zlebnick, pd zonca, s zatkin, a zeltserman, dr. zeff, janos zanyi
Ziggy, and uncle Zeke!

V8 VW

8 v's

Veronica, V (riddle), Vicki, Valerie

Vibor, Victor, Vincent, Virgil
...virginia, j vargas, g vanrijn

Dubya's I know:
Wendy x2AW

Wyatt, Wayne, Wayland, Whitney, Wilbur, Will, Walter

...cgWong, j Wang, C Ward, s Webb, w Wichyman, w Wade, J Ware, R Whitney, b Wolfe, m Wren, JLWalsh, M Willis
-winnie

T, don't be cross

my cup of T

Tessa, Theresa x2Tree,wr, Tanya, Tracy, Terry, Toby, Tiffany, Tawney, Taylor, Tina, Terra, Tamara, Tasiana, Treena, Tziporah

Tim x3MB, Tomx4TesharaMpw,wr, Ted, Tick, Tri, Tad, Tony x3sauer

...pj Trudell, m Thiess, s Threatt, j Torey, r Thorley, Tony-lynn, e Trimble, Tuma, Te, ItsuoYoshi Tanaka
-taco

Tesharas: Larry, Peggy, Greg, Liz, baby, Tom, Jeannine, Steve, Penny, Jesse

U
only u
dennis unson

Sss

Sibilant Hissing

Sara, SaraJane, Sarah Salazar, Sally, Sonya Solinsky, Serena, Stephanie x2WM, Stormy, Sunny, Shelly, Susan x2, Sooz, Sue, Shirley, Sharon, Silvia, Stacey, Summer, Sheikh, Sofia

16 Steves
Pitt, Pacelli, Madden, Erle, Oakman, Heuser, Toloski, Teshara, Malakis, Mazzola, Hackney, Dunek, Gallagher, Clark, Azevedo, grad.

Squire, Sheridan r, Sam, Samer g, Sean f-t, Shawn b, Seth x2, Stu f, So, Silk, Sharif, Scott RodgersBiggs, Siva

...l servus, mj seymour, p shaughnessy, pn sullivan, sawyer, c sheldon, gr st. john, s solinsky, s salazar, jam saviano, ci scobee, r sacharoff, j simms, d smith, mj shortly, c starfire, k starr, wg schaeffer, j saffa, g sanchez, t sauer

R you really

monikeRs

Roxy, Rocio, Rebecca x2EB, Ruby, Rubina, Rita, Rosa b, Rosemarie H, Renee

Robert x3AT, Red, Rodney, Robin, Rudy, Rick, Ricky, Ralph, Roger, Roy, Ray, Ro-el, Reginald, Richard x2, Roland

..k ray, j ruggieri, c robinson, s rodgers, a riddle, e rambo, f reich, d robertson

P's in a post. Q, too.

a pack of P's:

Patricia x2BZ, Phyllis, Penny, Peggy

Patrick x5HSDBG*, Pete, Phil x2, Paul x4*, Pierre

parrot
...d paul, a panagakis, prietto, l pinocci, s pacelli, pucinelli, j pett, j pon, s pittinger
*Hennessy, Sullivan, Devlin, Beatty, Giri
*PJ, wg, Gallagher, on train

the q question:
Q
Quincy

A number of N's and an O

NE1 N:

Nancy, Nicole, Nnika, Nina x2KS, Naomi, Nikki

Nick, Noah, Nate, Nat, Nasir

...m nathan, j naylor, f nguyen, dm nincic

and ooh, only one O:
O:
 olivia
-oliver
..odell, osbourne, oakman, odom

Mmmmm

Me, myself, and more m's

Mary Moran, Melissa, Melina, Maura, Mara, Margaret (mom), Mona, Maria, Michelle x2BulenSallee, Monica Madden, Maryanne, Mabel Mistica, Miwa Matsuno, Maureen, Megan, Martha, Miette, Mai, Melanie, Morgan

Mark x5WWWT*, Mike x11*, Marco, Mitch Matsuno, Manuel Micaller, Milton, Mohammed, Mack, Max, Monty, Marty, Matt x3FambriniMageePowell, Mesfin

....a mak, j murphy, k mulcahey, j mclaughlin, b meads, h mchenry, s mclean, michael mercury, ds maron, c moore, t mcguirk
-marcel, misha, mai

*c wong, g wong, wetters, thiess, pw
*romo, ruane, nathan, kong, matsuno, magee, durieux, wren, willis, king, ferry

L elle's and knights

lords and ladies

Lucy, Lara, Larissa, Lisa, Liz, Lola, Lynn, Laura x2P, Leone p, Leslie s, Lori x2LiuzziZlebnick, Lenore, Linda

Lloyd, Larry x3TesharaMeyerWahl, Leto, Lewis, Lorin, Lenard, Lanny

...WC Llano, c Lyon, c Lui, d Lorentz, m Lindley, j lowman

K, k?

okay!

Karen x2Wilson, Kathy x3GGR*, Kim, Kat, Katie x2Wolf, Katrina, Kelly, Koran, Kirin, Kristen, Kyrie

Kai, Ken x2BM, Kent, Keith, Kevin x2MulcaheyTipper, Krikor

....C Keck, NC Khoury, G Klise, M Kong, M King, the Khans, J Kilartin, E Kuo, G Kumar, d Kapovitch

*Ghnaim, Gill, Ray

E!

memor-E's

Ellen, Erin, Erica, Elsa, Emily

Ed x3BlountNaveLindquist, Eric x.2, Erik b, Eli k, Everett

...j ehrman, d eldridge, ellis, lmr edwards

J walking

wwjd?

Jean, Jeannine, Josie F, Jacinda, Joy, Janice T, Josette F, Julie x.2C, Jessica A, Jackie x.2C, Judy FT, Jerilyn, Jen x2CL, JC, Janette, Janet, Jill, Joanne, Jamie N

Jim x3HennessyMarquisCrudo, Jin, Jay, James x2Seymour, Jared, Jason x2PettBiggs, Jack x2KilmartinLaws, Jackson M, Josiah c, Jonathan h, John x6MurphySimsSavantMclaughlinTorrey Champlin, Joncarlo r, Jeff x5dms, ws, pw, jl*, JeanClaude, JeanPaul, JC, Josh x2, Joel x2Tomanang, Joe x3EhrmanClineFlaherty, Joseph, Jose, Jasper, Jesus, Jacob

.....a jones, c jurado, m jubien, p jurkowski, h johnson

*downing, maggioncalda, sun, woodstocks (pizza), jl 

Hi. scratchin an H

Hola, Hi and Hello to my H human history
and 4 I's

aitch u curious?
Harriet, Holly J, Heather, Helen x.2L

Heath, Harv, Herminio, Hovey, Howard, Hong

...bt Heinze, sj Heuser, d Hanggie, az Higgins, Horsefall, p Hanley, c Han, Hall, jmld Harper*, Hudson, d Holland, j Hearney, s Hackney, sj Hawkins, c Hansel, r Hallen, Harvey

Hennessys: Jim, Vicki, Patrick, Rosemarie

aye, aye!
Israel, Isaiah, Izzy, Ian, Isai
john, melina, lulubell, dragon

G whiz

G units

G, Gina, Gloria, Ginger, Gretchen k

Gabe x.2Sanchez, Gary x2West, Gavin d, Geoff w, Graham b, Guido vr, German Gullon, George k, Greg x3AdamsTesharaSt.John

...k gill, p gomes, on gulick, a glover, kod gustafson, p giri, mb gadberry, grant, grady, d godoy

effin names!

F you!

Francesca, Francine

Four, Fazil, Farouk, Fire, Francisco, Frank x.2 AC, Fred, Frankie, Fitz
-fido, frances

...ec french, j fries, e flowers, tc fritz, j flaherty, m ferry, dm fambrini, s finkel, a frank, farrell, c fuentes, fitzpatrick, d firebaugh

D folks for me

d-lightful

Duvlaca H, Deana x2Grant, Denea, DD, Dawn, Debbie, Daisy, Dorothy, Dena, Doris

Dirk, Dan x.4 SRCP*, Drew PJ, Dick Z, Dean K, Dustin, Doug x.2 BS, Darren J, Darin F, Davidx10 EESLGBHBRF*, Don, Dennis x.3 U, DJ, Devan

...c dunakin, j downing, p devlin, pm devine, g dempsey, e davenport, f dixon, r dubai, c dentoni, delara x2, brother draper, m dale

*sherman, rohrer, clegg, paul
*eldridge, esteva, storn, lo, godoy, bartels, hanggie, bulen, robertson, firebaugh

A 'C' of names

using the c-words

Christine x3ScobeeFuentesKhoury, Crissy d, Caitlin m, Cathy x2B, Cherie r, Cheryl, Carol j, Cassidy s, Cilia l, Cecilia h, Candy, Claudia x.2H, Claire, Connie, Corliss

Cory, Chester, Chris x8* , Cornelius, Cash, Charles,  Caleb, Craig, Chad, Clay, Clarence, Chip, Chuy, Creed

...j castle-scott, f chew, e covington-french, a curtis, carey, corwin, j champlin, jhs clark, d clegg, corsiglia, m campagna, d cross, costell, creedo, j cougar-crow

*(Kanelopolous, Keck, Romo, Sheldon, Roeske, Chris, &Kelly, 'Tofer)

B boys and B girls

B mine

Betsy, Becky, Brie, Beersheba, Beatriz, Barbara, Brandy (x.3), Brenda, Betty

Brian S, Bryan S,  Bill x2 H, Byron, Bob, Bruce x.3 M, Bernard, Bradley, Brent M, Brandon S, Brooks,  Boyd

...betat, d/h biggert, e blount, r boone, m barulich, t bagdon, r bagley, d bartels, r barsi, p beatty, e beever, p basmaji, stkmp brown, father brown.

A -Team

Go A's

Andrea C, Audrey K, Amanda, Anne, AnnetteVR, Anna P, Angela, Alison B, Allegra, Amber, Alyssa S, Amy, Alice, Alicia, Ashley, Alethea

Al M, Alan x.5 (Anderson, Cordova, Steele, Zeltserman), Armando x2Rodrigues, AJ, Adrian, Aaron F, Amon, Adam x.2, Andy x.2 (Mak, Jones), Alex, Ali

 ...alfarhan, auyoung, achin, anino

pep talk

L' chaim!

I believe in miracles.  The universe conspires to make you happy.  Love is in the cards for everyone.  God is a genie.  Whoever's in your head has the power to answer your prayers.  The burden is on you - you must define and formulate and imagine and visualize, until satisfaction is achieved, with gratitude and contentment.  Heaven is now.  Life is worth living.  Everything is as it should be.  Demons are a part of the divine plan, the process toward perfection.  Suffering will pass.  Death is the fate of everyone, we are all dying, we shall all return to what we were before we were conceived:  nothingness, scattered matter, oblivion-a fact that elicits compassion, and prompts a collective effort toward a global society of shared responsibility for universal comfort, health, and peace -in our lives, in our lifetimes, on earth, in the here and now, in the only world we will ever know, our shared community of the third rock from the sun.  Effort and good works and sharing are the heavenly earthly imperative.   We are all animals, with a responsibility to care for all life.  Go out to love and serve yourself, which entails loving and serving everyone else as well.

Death, nonexistence, & oblivion

it's NOT eternal blackness and silence, though

Once you die, there is no experiencing of nihility.  It's over.  No suffering, and no joy.  No light, no darkness.  No silence, no sound. And no "waking up," either, on some other dimension, astral plane, heaven or hell or purgatory, or being reborn as another human being or other animal, etc.

How do I presume to know this?  I just do.  I'm smart.  It's the only thing that makes sense.

Souls don't exist.  There isn't a ghost, holy or otherwise, inhabiting your body.  You aren't possessed.  You are, of course, a vessel for memes.  But there's no part of you that will outlast your life.  To dust you shall return.

Prayer may be able to heal you, and you may sense vibes, and you might hear voices -presumeably from someone who's "got your number," - but a vaporous being/self that can enter and exit your body, and survive your death, is nonsense (apart from memories, however detailed, of those that knew you).

I realize the telepathic connection to a mind may be a bit difficult to swallow, but it's my reality, so I'm running with it.  If you think God can hear your prayers, then obviously you already believe in telepathy.   Who hears who and why is the real question.

Death is black, quiet, and cold.  It is also final, eternal, and dumb.  It is rotten, smelly, and dirty.  Dusty, you might say.  Even your bones will decay, eventually.  Time, on the other hand, never ends.

There was no beginning of time, and there will be no end, either.   Trillions of years will pass.  Unfathomable reaches of space and time loom ahead.  Always, forever, eternity, infinity.

Have a nice day.

Do you believe in Santa? Zeus?

Belief in God is kind of crazy

but I'm basically nuts, if not actually legally insane-
although I heard 40% of college students report hearing voices.

what does the expression 'certifiable' mean?  Is there a certificate, lol?

if you talk to god, that's prayer
if god talks to you, you have schizophrenia

voices
i've categorized them: apology, explanation, status, reaction, comment.

for example:
i'm sorry jess
i'm insane
i'm sick
i have cancer
i can't breathe
i'm going to hell
fuck you
i hate life

i interpret as telepathy with (an aggravating, insincere?) david andrew eldridge, an attorney, last i checked, acting as a DAG, (deputy attorney general) for the state of California..

Please don't voice to me, David.
It makes me feel insane.  I want to be healthy, sane, well, free.

if you want to talk to me, call me or email.
otherwise, leave me alone.

Do You Believe in God?

God is Santa, for Adults

it's a role, and it's real
that's my answer.

if there's a line I want to be remembered for, I suppose it might be,
"I'm better than God.  I don't kill people."
I would title my autobiography Better Than God.

some clarifying questions might be in order:
Do you believe in God?
Does God believe in you?
Does God exist?
Do you pray?
Does God hear your prayers? does he answer them?
Are you in love?
Is it all good?
Is God love?
Is only God good?
Is reality all the God there ever is?
Do you believe in heaven? hell? an afterlife?  above and  below?
ELF or YOLO? (everyone lives forever, or you only live once)
Do you believe in souls?
Do you believe in the trinity? (blossom, bubbles and buttercup? red white and blue?)
Do you believe in an afterlife, immortality, resurrection, or reincarnation?
What is love? (baby don't hurt me, agape, eros, philia..)

myself

8

myself=471536=8
yet another way to equate self with god

anyway,
I've been reading again:
The Impossible Lives of Greta Wells, by Andrew Sean Greer
The Intellectual Devotional, by Kidder & Oppenheim
Secret Lives of the US Presidents, by Cormac O'Brien
just finished the 1st two.  working on slop.

I've been sick for over a week.  Almost over it.
I watched the president's state of the union, yesterday.
been listening to wybcx, yale radio, alot too.
i housesat/dogsat (marcel) for Sara & Pierre
still walking fido and taco weekly
i went to the Freight and Salvage last week, saw Keith Little
my new year's resolution was etb, etr
(early to bed..)
eager to get back to daily exercise.
achieving actual mental health is the goal, would be awesome.

Being God isn't Crazy

I like to think I'm sane and rational

8 reasons:
-God is love, and I love myself

-God is good (or only God is good), and I believe in basic goodness (a buddhist tenet)

-I am is God's name (need I say more?)

-God is always and everywhere (so we're all a part of God,
aka the All, or the You-niverse,
or reality: "reality is all the God there ever is" -Adi Da Samraj),
including the extremes, begining and end, alpha and omega, life and death, pleasure and pain...
"we're all one consciousness experiencing itself subjectively"

-God is one ("everyone")

-God the father, the creator (sex, omg, making love, priests are called fathers (fat- her!) too)

-Almighty:  Grace (gr -ace), god is a man of war, there is a time to kill, the price of sin is death...
time: that is me.  thou shalt not kill.
prayer= "let us pray" (let is also causing blood, pray is a homonym with prey, "spiritual warfare")

-The word:
Dog, man's best friend!  d.o.g. -it's not a delusion of grandeur if we're all grand!
Allah, all a H (god=7,15,4=8=H), extremities (arm, leg, leg, arm, head :-)

God is everywhere

it turns out my weird philosophy is actually mainstream
(when you think about it)

Sunday school teaches God is everywhere, right?
Which means we are all a part of God, God is reality itself, and -most importantly-
I'm right!  We're all God!
I'm God
You're God, too.

It's all good, as they say.
No evil?  Isn't that evil, itself?
God should not fight himself..
hurting others would be like punching yourself in the face.
homicide is suicide. 
God is always and everywhere.

Even if he or she kills Him/Herself.
I am is God/good means existence is good.
we all think oblivion is less than being alive.
but maybe, just maybe, death is just as good.
it's a matter of divine preference.

which means every crime ever, anywhere should prompt "not guilty" pleas and verdicts.
I guess I'm being a devil's advocate.
But the devil is God, too!
The devil THINKS he's bad, but he's actually good, one might suppose.
because everywhere includes everyone and every thing.

I know, I'm insane.
well, not legally (i hope)
But I'm logical, and I'm still moral.
forgiveness, and the state of being innocent or not guilty, simply becomes a matter of priestly forgiveness.  The priest, believing it's all God anyway, is merely performing a formality.
I'm prompted to think God's perspective is radical: a tattoo is as arbitrarily sinful as a murder?
is a cardinal sin a sin a (Catholic) Cardinal commits?
anyway,
Be Good.
Love is the whole of the law.

ten

what's up? words with ten in them

I recently thought of ten as possible reply to "what's up?"
because up is 21 (u)and 16 (p), or 3 and 7, or 10.
-hope that doesn't make me "say ten".

ha.  satan.

forensics makes me think of "four and six", which is ten.

also, there's
intention, detention,
tension, tensile strength, tenement, tent, tenterhooks, tenebrious, tentacles..
listen, often, beaten, rotten, hasten

that's all (i can think of), folks!
actually, my voice said 'how bout "decent" '

satan: 11215
decent:453552 (is actually 6), but it does have ent in it.
like entomology, or entire, entrust, or of course JRR Tolkien's Ents.
bent, sent, meant, lent, vent, rent, went, kent, dent, pent...
scent, descent, contempt
you get the picture

ideas of reference

I'm so crazy!

hi c! and brandy! my mom is a hennessy (like cognac) my brother's wife is a steele (a wine)

bro is GLT (like the volvo); 9-3 (my birthday) is a saab; the z-71 displays my birthyear.

Tesla has a bit of larry teshara.  PT (as in the cruiser) is my mom.  Jetta has a bit of Jesse Teshara.

i've got an Uncle Tom.  I'm a Big Brother.  soon to be Uncle Jesse. dad is Mr. T. 
Larry T: popularity.  hilarity.  clarity.  polarity.  insularity. 

I have an aunt who's a nun (aunty-christ!)

my friend Sara (Teshara has 'the sara' in it) has schlumberger initials (SLB); my mom Peggy evokes pacific gas and electric (PGE)
excellent: i have an ex-g/f who is ellen t..
voldemort is a riddle (like my birthmom, a net)
my mom, peggy t evokes egypt.  erin my cousin is a way of saying ireland.  teshara anagrams to as earth.  i've dated a holland and a french, met an israel and koran and siva.  Jesse was a sitcom.  J is the tenth letter: Tennessee!

in spanish, I'm Chuy, Isai, or Jesus. 

like chewbacca, AI, or christ.
(my name means the 'whole office of the eucharist', chewy!)
('god makes forget', too; eu a christ, by eating (eat=ate=8=h=god)

i worked at walgreens, before W vs. AL vs. GREENS in 2000.

JLT (jailtime?) wonders what ever happened to Jolt cola..
jedi has a bit of jesse; di is 49 is jesse (4) teshara (9);
esse is being in latin: J -being.  a perfect 10?
rotten: hey little sister, shotgun.
no sis, gnosis, hypnosis.  brown honda.
ss: social security, st. stephen's, sarah salazar, sibilant hissing, shallow shit.

(it's all ideas of reference, but it adds up)

-jester

Theology

the study of the

but it's not pronounced thuh-ology: it's pronounced thee-ology.

thee?
wikipedia says:
the oblique/objective form of thou is thee (functioning as both accusative and dative)

it's just another way of saying YOU
Of course, right?

So the study of God is the study of You.
Theology, then, if you get creative, is just another form of Psychology.

hola

Hi y'all

I have nothing I intend to say, I just thought I'd address the world on my blog, and say "hi".    My current status is I've got a new cell phone with unlimited minutes and text so I'm having fun with my new toy; I've got three library books out (the petty demon by sologub, good omens by terry pratchett, and an oxford spanish-english dictionary); I've got 2 new roommates, Rocio and Josh; I bought (and ate) an entire chocolate silk pie yesterday and today (claim jumper brand, from safeway); I broke my watch, which is a bummer; I didn't read the ny times today because the library mysteriously didn't receive it (!); I want to get serious about my health and exercise at the Y daily, both cardio and weights, as well as disciplining myself to not sleep in (etb, etr mamhww, lol), and continue with my gnc protein powder, and maybe run or swim, to boot, too;  I've got lots of beans and rice and canned food to eat, I haven't used my recently purchased (from a thrift store) slow cooker, so I'll figure that out; I have a camera on my phone and a digital camera I never use, too, which I want to figure out and use to update my okcupid account, I should get serious about meeting someone to break out of the somewhat solitary rut I'm in; I want to learn to speedread, I like to be informed, for the daily news 17: economist, foreign affairs, new york times, wall street journal, usa today, christian science monitor, huffington post, washington post, cnn, bbc, wikipedia, yahoo, the onion, berkeleyside, people, national geographic, and of course, mad magazine; I want to read a book a day and have stopped my project to read the 1001 books from the list I photocopied from the 'must read before you die' book, but want to continue; I'm also walking Marcel on wednesdays and Fido and Taco on Thursdays; I listen to philosophy talk on sunday mornings; I sometimes meditate with shambhala on wednesday evenings, it's been awhile, I should do it more; I plan on getting my hair cut this W by Sara after the weekly Kaiser morning group;  and last, but not least, I'll plant trees in Oakland on Saturday morning at 9am with the meetup group sponsored by the Sierra club, which I tried to do yesterday but got turned around trying to find the meeting place... Oh, and my cousin Erin is having her 30th birthday in SF this week, on Friday night. 

That's all, folks! Happy holidays (xmas, hannukah, kwanza, is that everything?)
-Jesse
as kurt vonnegut jr., I think it was, said, "busy, busy"
and
as anthony robbins said, "if you're bored, you're boring"

7 types of queer

derived from 3 criteria:

3 ways to gay:
1)I.D.
self-identify as gay

2)Behavior
engage in homosexual behavior

3)Real
are sexually attracted to members of the same sex
that is to say,
have same-sex attraction

from which derives the 7 types:
1)I.D. w/o B, R
2)I.D. w/o B, NR
3)I.D. w/ B, R
4)I.D. w/ B, NR
5)N i.d. w/o B, R
(N i.d. w/o B, NR is heterosexual)
6)N i.d. w/ B, R
7)N i.d. w/ B, NR

since 3 types are without homosexual behavior, you might simplify to 4 types (3,4,6,7).
of those 4, only two are Real (3,6)
there's a difference between self-identified, and in or out of the closet.
there's also asexuals and bisexuals (and trysexuals, ha)
i think of asexual as not having a sex-drive, or sexual impulse
which is different, in my book, from not engaging in sexual behavior
pitchers, catchers, and "versatile"
vaginal, oral, anal, handjobs;
auto-erotic (masturbation: is there, if so, what's the fantasy?)
and there's a distinction between the past, present, and future:
preferences in behaviors, people change/evolve.
and there's a difference, of course, between voluntary behavior, and being raped.
and attraction isn't necessarily sexual attraction.

how many types of sexuality are there?
do the math yourself, lol

What am I, now?
hetero, w/o B, R
formerly bi-curious
trying to be in love with life, happy, tolerant, free.

Season's Greetings!

What I want for Christmas!

It's said that it's harder to buy for people, as they get older, so here's my list:

Money

I could stop at that, really, but here are some things I want (to spend it on):
(maybe from REI, I have a membership):
tent, binoculars, frame backpack, and shoes: running, hiking, tennis. 

-calendars:
both a page-a-day (I liked this year's word origin calendar),
and pocket calendar (such as my godfather gives out), or wall calendar

-a Trader Joe's gift certificate
-online paysites: match.com, lumosity, joe frank
-community classes: speed reading, aikido
-a vacuum (carpet) (the local tool library doesn't have/loan them, argh)

I usually get a book or two for x-mas, but I've got access to:
-5 public libraries in berkeley (central, north, south, claremont, and soon to be west)
-the GTU (graduate theological union) library on holy hill (in bkly)
-Cal's libraries, too (you can get access, even if you're not a student there, if you get approval for a research topic)
-I occasionally go to an Oakland library, too.
That really IS enough to keep me busy.
the only book I want that's not in the system (including link+, I checked) is Adi Da's 8 volume 'Aletheon'.  it's 180  bucks, though.  The GTU really should have it, in my opinion.  Maybe they would help pay for it, if I offered to donate it to their library...  Actually, Cal might have it.  I need to check, first.

If anyone's feeling especially generous (I should put it out there, right?)
travel (like a cruise, or a trip to spain or france)
a car (a tesla would do nicely)
an apartment with a kitchen
a house, wife, kid(s)
lol

Honestly, I've got pretty much everything I want, I'm content, so thanks in advance for whatever.
Cheers!
-J

Self-Satire

The Onion wrote about me, sort-of

LINK

I don't believe in an Almighty.
But I do believe you can rule over your own world, and bring yourself happiness.
That's why you are God (and me, too)

I don't believe in a Supreme Lord and Ruler of All Creation.   Nobody created everything.  Maybe, however, the universe came into existence (the big bang) after a "big crunch," in which a conscious being or beings played a part.  But, like I said, you are Supreme in your own domain.  You can relinquish that control, and submit, which I would say is what keeps muslim imams (as well as catholic priests) in power.  And, I would add, there is no divine overseer.  No santa claus who sees who's naughty or nice.  Which is a pretty typical conception of what a deity can do.  Impossible, unless God is re-defined as your conscience, a part of your own personal internal psyche. 

I don't believe "nothing happens unless I will it."  In fact, I'm leaning toward determinism.  Which is to say, a billiard ball universe, in which animals -and people- are also just things.  But maybe I'm wrong.  You're God, You decide!

"I am a flawless and infallible being who controls everything that is and will ever be. I see all. I know all. I judge all."   Well maybe, lol.  Okay, j/k.   I only see what my eyes show me, and what my mind sees, in dreams.  That's all any of us sees, right?  It's possible I know nothing.  cogito, ergo sum is a bedrock principle, but I suppose it's possible that it's not me that's doing the thinking.  I do a fair bit of judging, as this blog makes clear, and I don't subscribe to the oft-expressed "it's all good", but I recognize this is all personal opinion and preferences, not a Universal Theistic Morality.  And I make mistakes.  Nobody's perfect.  Even Jesus, in my opinion.

I guess you might say I'm an atheist, at least according to the tropes of this onion article.  Nobody's in control, I say.   But we each have -enough- control over our own lives to be the Gods of our own private universes.  Call me insane, but I think that's a sane outlook.

I've read the bible, and it says God is love, and love believes all things...but there are mutually exclusive beliefs -can I believe in God and be God myself, too?  The concept of God, I would say, is elastic enough to allow both, defined differently.

Wisdom

personal reflections on the topic of today's Philosophy Talk

a list of wise thoughts:
1)kwuteo: i.e. knowledge, wisdom, understanding, truth, enlightenment, and omniscience
a wise person knows the distinctions!

2)the more you know, the more you know that you don't know.
ignorance is bliss, with knowledge comes suffering?

3) bible, secret, mormons, scouts:
the bible has a book of wisdom, although some might say the entire thing has wisdom, and I would add The Secret as a second book of wisdom, just as Mormons might lay claim to it on mormon.org, or boy scouts teach the scout law: Be trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent. 

4)Happiness: discover what makes you happy, and what makes you unhappy, then cultivate and eliminate.  that's from the Dalai Lama.

5)Jail or Prison might definitely be seen as a stepping stone on the path of wisdom, as a)be good, and b)don't be bad!

6)adi da said "Reality is all the god there ever is."  And since you are your only reality, you should think about the premise of this blog, which is You are God.   And if only god is good, then you Should be God, too.  Although there's that quote, by a japanese buddhist, which I think is wise, that says, "it is the fundamental delusion of humanity to think that you are in here and I am out there" (or something to that effect) - which might be restated as Kurt Cobain's adage, all in all is all we are.  We interpenetrate.  Our minds meld.  I believe in godco (communities of prayer and shared wisdom), voices, and telepathy, too.  Humans are one family on spaceship earth, we should learn to get along.

7) small, fleeting, and only animals:
impermanence, death, oblivion: all we are is dust in the wind.  We are infinitesimal in an infinite universe.  You and me baby ain't nuthin' but mammals...

8)and, of course, the purpose of our lives, encoded in our dna, honed by evolution- Survival and Reproduction.  Live long and prosper!  Be fruitful and multiply!  42!

hope that helps!