John C. Lilly, M.D.

I'm currently reading Dr. Lilly's Center of the Cyclone, in which he writes about his experiments with LSD in the 1950s and 1960s, plus his work with sense-deprivation isolation tanks. He's also the guy who did a lot of experementation on communicating with dolphins, as well as exploring any consciousness our sea-going mammal friends might have.

This site has a lot of info about the late doctor, with scientific papers and other sources.

Here's his home page.

"In the province of connected minds, what the network believes to be true, either is true or becomes true within certain limits to be found experientially and experimentally. These limits are further beliefs to be transcended. In the network's mind there are no limits."
--John Lilly

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Interdimensional Portholes

Seeing that that phrase occurs in the description of this site above, thought I'd do a little investigating.

From a forum on Alien-UFOs.com: "Alien existence can't be proven, until one lands somewhere and a little grey/green/lizard with polkadots come out of their craft/ bucket or interdimensional porthole from never never mars.

From some guy's dream: "Everybody was filing into these interdimensional portholes, and a lot of people were having large polite 'end of the world' parties in houses abandoned by the rich before they went over themselves."

From a debate on the Bermuda Triangle on AboveTopSecret.com: "True, many ships and planes have been lost within its boundaries over the centuries, but the idea that the area had paranormal hazards did not become part of its legendary status until the late 60s and early 70s, when a series of stories and books began to promote the idea that ships within it were being snatched away by either aliens or due to an "interdimensional porthole.'"

From a review of some artist Phillip Bottenberg's paintings: "Balance is very important to me," Bottenberg says of his ethereal abstract oils, a similar blending of cloud and colour into ultimate equilibrium - paintings that come across like interdimensional portholes, storms of ghosts, held together under a thick glaze (and no doubt candy to glazed eyes). "Ghosts and glaze have a connection actually," Bottenberg says through a flurry of historical references. "The way I'm painting now has a connection with an Italian expression, pentimento, which means "ghost image."

From a description of a game featuring the Transformers robots: "The gameplay is made exciting by the invasion of alien monsters called the Skriix. The Skriix arrive through an interdimensional porthole and lay waste to all they encounter."

From a discussion board for people with ADD: "I think there is an interdimensional porthole somewhere underneath all the clutter where all the trash we throw out gets booted back in."

I think I like the "porthole" imagery rather than just plain "window." The porthole implies traveling, as on a ship.

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R.I.P. Night Stalker

The actor Darren McGavin has died.
"His most famous small-screen role, as reporter Carl Kolchak, began in 1972 with a hit television movie that led to the 1974-75 supernatural thriller series, “The Night Stalker.” In a typical episode, the rumpled, straw-hatted Kolchak was trying unsuccessfully to convince his editor that vampires were terrorizing the city, or swamp creatures infesting the sewer system, only to be sent to cover the flower show instead. The show ran for only a short time, but developed a following and is thought to have influenced “The X-Files” (in which Mr. McGavin made a guest appearance). "

Also, actor Dennis Weaver died Friday. I remember reading that he was involved in UFO investigations, but all I could find in a quick search was a couple of tidbits:

"Dennis Weaver lives in the Four Corners area of the Southwest in a home called the "earthship" that is made from recycled tires and trash!"

"Weaver said, 'I think there's a lot of evidence that we've made contact.' "

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Et in pecunia ego

Just in time to capitalize on the upcoming May 19th release of The Da Vinci Code movie, Michael Bagient and Richard Leigh, two of the three authors of Holy Blood, Holy Grail have filed a suit against novelist Dan Brown for paraphrasing their arguments. (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11589138/)

For many of us, Holy Blood, Holy Grail was our introduction into the Grail arcana until Brown's novel came out. The deaths, the intrigue and the involvment of British Intelligence and (DeGaulle's old friend) the mysterious Pierre Plantard du St. Clair make the story of HBHG almost as interesting as the book itself. By comparison, The Da Vinci Code is rather silly and Hollywoodish, hardly something that anybody with two neurons to rub together would take any more seriously than a dumb funny.

One could only speculate that Bagient and Leigh might want a piece of the multi-million dollar payday the film is bound to generate. After all, Brown's novel has been out for three years now. The authors had all that time to file a suit. And it's not like they could have just now discovered the book, since coverage and analysis of it have happened everywhere around the world.

The third Holy Blood, Holy Grail author, former BBC journalist Henry Lincoln, was not mentioned in the suit. Then again, he must have made a couple of bucks with his videos about The Da Vinci Code.

Maybe the whole thing's a stunt to drive up interest in the movie.

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Human Sacrifice

BBC article:
"Garrotted, throats slit, bludgeoned to death - preserved bodies that have been sacrificed to the gods are being discovered the world over. But were these people victims, or did they surrender themselves in a bid to woo supernatural powers?"

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Carl Jung's Automatic Writings

From the article:
"Philemon and Basilides are but two of the “spirit guides” that were in contact with Jung. The list of other guides also included one “Salome”. In 1926, Jung had a remarkable dream. He felt himself transported back into the 17th century, and saw himself as an alchemist, engaged in the Great Work. Jung felt that alchemy was the connection between the ancient world of the Gnostics and the modern era..."

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Jack Parsons, King of the Occult Rocket Men

Fortean Times:
One of the founding fathers of American rocket-science was a character strung between Scott Fitzgerald, Jack Kerouac, and the Devil himself.
John Whiteside Parsons, born Marvel, known as Jack, writer, visionary, dedicated occultist, and chemist of genius, was born in 1914 and died in 1952 in a mysterious explosion whose cause has never been fully explained.

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David Bowie and the Occult

Extensive article on the topic:
The 1976 track 'Station to Station' is a fine example of Bowie's use of occult symbolism. Not only does he refer to Aleister Crowley's book of pornographic poems when he sings of "making sure White Stains", the 'stations' of the title refer to the ten stations of a cabalistic diagram called the 'Tree of Life', where the transcendent aspect of God becomes manifest through ten emanations or spheres (called 'Sefiroth' in Hebrew) from the highest 'Kether' (the crown), to the lowest 'Malkuth' (the kingdom). Anyone who has the CD version of 'Station to Station' finds Bowie's photo on the back cover where he's sitting on the floor drawing this so-called Tree of Life with the 10 Sefirots. "Don't look at the carpet / I drew something awful on it", he sang in 'Breaking Glass' in 1977. Some years later, in March 2001 he admitted that this lyric "refers to both the cabbalistic drawings of the tree of life and the conjuring of spirits."

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Stonehenge as Vagina Representation

From the article:
" 'There was a concept in Neolithic times of a great goddess or Earth Mother,' says Anthony Perks, a gynaecologist who decided to investigate the idea that the circles could have symbolic anatomical links. 'Stonehenge could represent the opening by which the Earth Mother gave birth to the plants and animals on which ancient people so depended.' "

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Skulls in Culture

From the site:
"Skulls do more than just protect the brain — they also stimulate the mind. Often symbols of mortality and power, they have been employed in human ceremony, ritual, and art for tens of thousands of years. From the ancient animal skulls in Paleolithic burial sites to the curlicued cattle skulls that float like spirits over Georgia O’Keefe’s canvas mountains, cultures around the world have turned to skulls to express ideas about both life and death."

Well done gallery of pics of and words about skulls.

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Biblioscopes for All Sun Signs 2/26 to 3/3

can be found here.

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Let's March Straight to Church, Nekkid in an Ugly Mask

Mardi Gras seems none too Christian to me. I don't care if it means "Fat Tuesday" in French--those French people never followed those commandments anyway. Here's the dish: Mardi Gras comes to us as a remnant of Saturnalia--an ancient drinking and partying holiday that used to come around Christmas time--but got moved by those wacky Christians because it conflicted with celebrating some martyr's birthday. Saturnalia wasn't a holiday, exactly. Y'see, in the old days, they kept track of time by a lunar calendar and a solar calendar, and they didn't match up, so some geniuses decided that the days in between JUST DIDN'T COUNT. So you could do anything that you wanted--smoke, drink, parade around the streets naked but for grease paint and ugly masks. They dedicated this time to Saturn (if you want to know, is a God of Time) and that's where all those ugly masks come from. Because Saturn is one ugly dude.
If you want to learn more, click here.

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TrashSquatch! The Hunt For Staten Island's Bigfoot

Well, I figured since the word "monsters" appears above in the list after this site's name, we better do some reporting on same. Here's an excellent couple-year old article from the New York Press about the Staten Island yeti. Who woulda thunk it? From the article:

"I’d surprised one of the creatures in my camp, and it went crashing through the woods with such violence that it sounded as if someone were driving a box truck through the forest. I ran in pursuit, but after about 200 feet of stumbling through unfamiliar forest, I gave up. It was far too fast, and I’m a little too old to catch up. And catch up to what anyway? My death? What was I going to do if I caught up with the thing?"

Uhh, I dunno, maybe take a picture?!?

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Shuttle Disaster a Warning From G-d?

Well, these people seem to think so.
"What G-d is saying is: The break-up of the Columbia over Palestine, Texas, is a call to the leaders of America, Israel and the world to repent for their intention to divide up Israel, as well as reconsider waging a war in the Middle East that is out of G-d's timing and grace. It is an an “in your face” warning from G-d that the fallout and “debris” from such intent to divide His land will result in the breaking up of America (Columbia refers to America)."
"Significantly, the Columbia shuttle disaster occurred over the President’s home state, Texas, and the first reports aired over the major TV news channels linked it with the Texas town called Palestine!"

Lots of high strangeness at the site.

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Paranoia Won't Destroy Ya

The world has had more than sixty years to ponder the significance of the Holocaust. Sadly, many of the lessons of this event remain unlearned. I often hear gentiles complaining about how Jews go on and on about it as if the horror would just go away if only they would stop mentioning it. Some carry that sentiment to the ultimate extreme by claiming that the wholesale slaughter never even occurred–that it was all a hoax.

I, for one, would like to think that it never happened. Who among us wants the actual proof that our species has been that stupid and self-destructive? Who among us wants to think about the possibility of it ever happening again? Worse yet, who wants to entertain the thought that they might exact that kind of cruelty on a fellow human being if placed in the same circumstance?

This chapter in our genocidal past is an historical fact, with far too much evidence to ignore. First of all, there were the bodies. The liberating Allies found ton after ton of the naked, emaciated corpses and they sure as hell wrote home about them. We also know that it occurred because the Germans kept meticulous records. They left a paper trail of their own viciousness – of course if one were arrogant enough to assume that he’ll simply conquer the world, then why be concerned about concealing such things? We have miles of film footage showing in graphic detail exactly how the Nazis treated their home-grown prisoners of war. These images are neither photo ops, fakes, nor simply things taken out of context. This ordeal destroyed entire families. A friend of mine, Asya (a pseudonym she asked that I give), had no family other than her parents and her kid brother. No aunts, no grandparents, no cousins, no uncles, no older siblings. Why? They had all been wiped out in the death camps.

The most damning evidence of the Holocaust lies in the fact that it is a living memory. That is to say, there are witnesses to these events who still live and walk the streets among us. I once had this classmate. Her mother periodically came to our history classes to lecture about the Holocaust. She wasn’t a teacher, or anything. As far as I know, she might not have even graduated from college. Her only authority to speak on the subject came from the fact that she had survived Bergen-Belsen, one of the most notorious Nazi camps – the one where Anne Frank died.

The most chilling aspect of the Holocaust, as she described it, was its systematic nature. One day she saw soldiers erecting a fence around the perimeter of her ghetto. Local officials explained to Jewish residents that it was for their own protection. Sounds logical. Considering the anti-Semitic furor that the National Socialists had created, one can understand the need for some kind of security measure. Of course, the Nazis convinced many of them that the real threat didn’t come from them, but rather the communists.

The Nazis thought of more things to increase ghetto safety. First, they copied the local Jewish Register – to keep tabs on anybody in case they went missing. How thoughtful! Next, they stationed guards at each gate of the fence. A few suspicious fires and a couple of fistfights were all it took for Hitler to dispatch the Storm Troopers to keep the peace. A tiny group of local ghetto residents, those who had been bought off by the government, helped the SS by watching the neighborhood for any potential troublemakers, people who insisted on violating the curfew, etc.. Of course, all of this protection didn’t stop Krystalnacht, a nationally choreographed pillaging and plundering of Jewish properties. Still, the Nazis didn’t give up. When war broke out, they decided to go that extra mile in ensuring the safety of Jews by moving them to secure places such as Dachau, Buchenwald, amd Auschwitz.

I asked Mrs. H., “Surely, somebody must have known something was wrong when they started putting up fences around your neighborhood, didn’t they?”

Her answer still rings in my ears. I have never forgotten it. “No,” she replied. “No, if you thought that, people would think that you were paranoid.”

Her statement succinctly describes the genius behind the near-success of the Final Solution. Some people think that the Holocaust came about only when people got shipped off to the death camps. Others think about it only in terms of the out and out slaughter starting in 1942 and continuing until the end of the war. If you listen to people like Mrs. H., or you if you read the commentary provided by holocaust victims/survivors, however, you’d get the feeling that the Holocaust occurred in a number of tiny, calculated steps. Each step, in and of itself, seemed reasonable, almost benign; yet each and every one of these micro-movements resulted in a slow-motion erosion of civil rights, moving every German citizen inch by inch to a condition with inevitable consequences.

Might it have helped if a few more people in Mrs. H.’s ghetto were clinically paranoid? What if a group of people stubbornly, unreasonably, resisted all these attempts at Nazi ‘protection’, might the extent of the Holocaust have been lessened? Considering what happened, could it have gotten any worse?

More important, does any of this sound remotely familiar? The suppression and rabble rousing against minorities? The slow, tedious, consolidation of power within fewer and fewer hands? The creation of laws, such as the Weimar’s Enabling Act, that concentrate power into the executive branch of government? Warmongering against most of the world?

I don’t think we’ve learned any lessons at all. Chalk it up to good old-fashioned denial, the pig-headed belief that “It can’t happen here.”

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A Posthumous Interview With Philip K. Dick

Read it right here.
"The symbols of the divine show up in our world initially at the trash stratum."

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The Rum-Drinking Zombies of Belize

In this week's New York Press, there's an article by Bret Liebendorfer about Dan the Bar Man, the Brooklynite who famously visited 1,000 bars in 365 days and wrote about the experience on his blog, 1000 Bars.
In it he tells of meeting real-life zombies in Belize who like to drink rum. Here's the relevant passage:

"He had seen them with his own eyes. They weren’t Hollywood’s version of rotten corpses that walk around with outstretched arms in a stupefied state, always in pursuit of their next human snack.
In Belize, tough times called for forgotten natives to be turned into zombies and used as a source of slave labor. When they got a work break, they went to the bar. In the zombie world of Central America they preferred rum.
'Zombies don’t care, they would work all day long. Afterwards, they all go to bars and they drink rum,' Dan said. 'They don’t talk much.'
How did the natives become zombies? Was it a parasitic disease, voodoo or a medical experiment gone wrong?
'They do it with an extract of a blowfish, the same blowfish that’s served as delicacy from Japanese restaurants, but if you don’t eat it correctly you can die from it,' Dan said. 'You’re basically paralyzed and they bury you for three to six days. You can’t move. When you come out, you’re whacko. I got drunk with the zombies. They’re not flesh eating, they’re basically comatose.'"

I did a follow-up search for belize + zombies, but got back jack.

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A Synchronistic Synchronicity

Let me tell you about an amazing coincidence/ synchronicity that happened to me, Johnny Drongo, last year.
On Wednesday, my kids and I watched the motion picture "Gone With the Wind." One of the characters is Ashley Wilkes. At one point, Rhett Butler refers to him as "that stupid Ashley." After that, whenever he would appear on the screen, the kids would yell "Stupid Ashley!"
Movie over, we go to bed. I have the new "New Yorker" magazine to read for a little pre-sleep relaxation, plus I turn on the radio. On the talk radio is a guy plugging his new book about coincidences and synchronicity. A little later, I see a cartoon in the magazine that depicts two headstones next to each other--on the left, the deceased's name is cleary seen as "Wilkes". The one on the right has an arrow pointing to the other one with the legend "I'm With Stupid."
Just to have the cartoon/movie connection is nice, but to have a guy in the background talking about coincidences makes it a bit more savory. And then, this:
On Sunday, taking the train back to NYC, I had a seat to myself from Syracuse to Albany. There, a woman gets on the train and sits in the empty seat next to me. She takes out and starts to read the same "New Yorker." Later, we get to chit-chatting and I ask her if she saw that cartoon and I tell my little coincidence story about it. Still later, when both back to reading, I notice her Amtrak ticket stub on her tray. The last name on it is "Wilks."
I think maybe she was too creeped out by the whole thing to tell me that her name was related to my story (minus an "e", though).
I love it when the universe observes us instead of the other way around.

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Tibetan Sky Burial

Seeing Suki's post below about burial in outer space reminded me of a cultural tidbit from our friends, the Tibetans. How would you like your carcass to be ceremoniously devoured by vultures? Sign me up!
Read all about it here.
"When the body dies, the spirit leaves, so there is no need to keep the body," said Garloji, a monk who came to observe the ceremony. Like many Tibetans, he uses one name. "The birds, they think they are just eating. Actually they are removing the body and completing part of life's cycle."

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Music by L. Ron Hubbard

The "religion" inventor's musical talents can be heard at WFMU's blog, where some MP3s have been posted.
"Long before John Travolta donned nasal dreadlocks for the cinematic trainwreck known as Battlefield Earth, there was Battlefield Earth - The LP, also known as Space Jazz."

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An X-Files Moment

This morning on my break I took a walk over by the FDR Drive and gazed over at the Downtown Heliport that juts out into the East River. It's where President Bush flys in whenever he has the cojones to visit NYC. I remember one time last year when he hoptered in. There were tons of security about all day, hassling us smokers in the Vietnam Veterans Plaza right there by the heliport. About an hour after he landed in Marine One, I went down to smoke a butt. I noticed these three guys come walking across the Plaza. The lead guy, a short and balding fellow in a suit; the two behind him were crew-cutted, identically sun-glassed and in perfectly creased grey jumpsuits and black combat boots. Each of them had those radio wires in their ears and necks. They walked purposefully, looking straight ahead. The jumpsuits had no insignia of any sort, except for some timy little pin on the left lapels. I was waiting for the suit to whip open a pack of Morleys and the other guys to whip out those alien-killing back-of-the-neck metal styluses. They crossed Water St. and headed north. I wanted to follow them but work beckoned.
Spooky, I say.

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The Future Is Here

Price comparison for your outer space burial.
Zornex vs. Space Services
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Not-So-Random Insomniac Readings

Early this morning, in my night-before-work-after-three-day-weekend insomnia, I gazed at the bookcases in my room while recumbent in bed. Two of the cases are in arm's reach. I looked at the Circus/Freak/Sideshow/Human Eccentric section of my vast book collection, and reached for the five volumes at the far right of the bottom shelf. I flipped through them one by one until my eyes spied some sort of fun or weird factoid or passage, and wrote it down.

• "The Dalai Lama's full name is Getson Nwgang Lobsang Tengin Gypaso Sisun Wangyur Tshungpa Mapai Dhepal Sangpo." Seven Wonders of the World, Lowell Thomas, Hanover House, 1956, pg. 158 (actually, this one is misfiled; should be in the Exotic Travel section).
• "Unarian student Michael Leas explained to me that the Earth is the only planet on the Federation not yet advanced enough to join the rest of the galaxy. He went on to say the Space Brothers are scheduled to arive at the Unarius acreage in 2001, in 33 jewel-bedecked space ships..." "The Space Brothers Are Watching You," by George Bishop in Kooks, Donna Kossy, ed., Feral House, 1994, pg. 113.
• "For Mattie Turley, Ouija spelled tragedy. The girl said the board had instructed her to kill her father so thet her mother could marry a handsome cowboy." "The Wonderful Ouija Board," in Fads, Follies and Delusions of the American People, Paul Sann, Bonanza Books, 1967, pg. 142.
• "The world has already been turned topsy-turvy, not by Velikovsky, but by his opponents, when the 'charlatan' defends himself objectively and with restraint, while the leaders of the scientific establishment behave like ruffians." Charles Fort: Prophet of the Unexplained, Damon Knight, Doubleday, 1970, pg. 137.
• "Advertisers leaped on it, and for a while at the turn of the century trendy consumers could buy Radium Soap, Radium Flour, and Radium Boot Polish. Radon sodas and digestives in particular were popular among rich people until they started keeling over, their bodies racked and pitted with massive overdoses of radiation." "The Man With the N-Ray Eyes," in Banvard's Folly: Thirteen Tales of People Who Didn't Change the World, Paul Collins, Picador USA, 2002, pg. 71.

The pic above is actually of the top shelf of that particular bookcase, and houses some of my ReSearch publications, rock & roll books, and other assorted cultural stuff, including the fabulous AMOK book catalogs.

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Why You Didn't Win the $365 M Powerball Jackpot.

I said in an earlier post that we humans are in constant communication with the Universe, which wants to give you what you want, but if that's so, why are you still not a rich, famous superstar surrounded by many-a-hottie?

I can't give you all the answers to the Universe. Hear that distant, rhythmic crashing? No? That's because you can't hear my head-first rams into the Universe over your own. That is to say that we all have our own conflicts, and it is all we can do to handle our own.

What I can tell you is that one reason the Big U isn't giving you what you want is that your signal is fuzzy: stress, all those thoughts buzzing through your head, what people say to you, etc., etc. really affects the communication system. Other reasons are karma, your own unique role, and your belief system.

Some of these things, you can do something about. Others you have to make the best of. These are some of the things I plan to tackle in future blog entries.

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Biblioscopes

Your prophecy for the week of 2/18 to 2./24.

I could perhaps x-post biblioscopes here. Let me know.

Biblioscopes are unique. I really do believe that bibliomancy--using a random phrases from any book in front of your to answer questions--works. You may want to try it. The easy way to do it is to just ask simple questions(not the meaning of the Universe), like would I be better off doing my chores today or tomorrow (hey you may have an unexpected guest that you don't want seeing your underwear on the floor today, or a real hottie will be at the laundromat tomorrow, not today) and just look at the single word that answers the question.Sometimes you may not understand what the word has to do with your question until you are in that future situation After a while, you will understand the language the Universe is using with you.

Anyways, every week I pray, and ask for advice for each of the twelve sun signs and get a response. This week I used "Junky" by William S. Burroughs, the Penguin edition. If interpretation is needed, I provide it in italics.

My qualifications: former assistant editor at a national astrology magazine (and not a corny one, this was for pros); been using divination for 30 years now--I got my first deck of tarot cards when I was 5. Currently an assistant editor at another mag. Former Wiccan (too structured hahaha), former neo-hellen (American Athena cults attract intellectual snobs). Student of world religions. Writer.

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My Crop Circle

In 1992, I built my own crop circle. I was living on an acre in East Hampton, N.Y., and cut the grass weekly with a riding mower. That was fun. It took about an hour and half to do the acre, and I used the interim as “thinking time”—there wasn’t much else to do. One time I was thinking about the slew of crop circles that were appearing in U.K. farm fields that summer, and I thought, I’m gonna make my own. I went to the far back corner of the lot, which was sort of shielded by a grove of trees—I had let this small portion of grass “go to meadow.” I drove into the middle of this unmowed patch (with blade disengaged, natch), and proceeded to circle outward from the center, cutting the tall grass down to size. Soon, I had a circle that was about 20 feet in diameter. I had made a crop circle.
I loved my crop circle, but it was kinda nondescript—it was nothing like the beautiful designs in the English countryside. So, I decided to make The One Stone Henge. I found a rock in the stone wall that was about the size and shape of a toilet seat cover, similar to the “heel stone” at Stonehenge. I made a small trench in the center of the circle and planted the rock in it. Presto! Instant pagan worship site. I would go out at night and dance around the stone naked under the moonlight (yeah, right).
I cared for the circle all summer, carefully entering into it with blade up so as to keep a buffer of tall grass around it. Apparently the neighbors took notice of the construction, and being the big Christians that they were, suspiciously asked my wife at the time what the circle “was used for.” She told them I was an “artist” (I’m not) and that the circle was an “installation”. Ha. Good answer.
Toward the end of August, we went away for the weekend, and my brother-in-law stayed at the house while we were away. Imagine my dismay upon our return that he had cut the grass. The dumbbell mowed every inch of the yard--including the buffer surrounding the crop circle. I think he did it at the urging of my mother-in-law, another very religious person. I wanted to murderlize him. Shoot, I never even took a photo of the thing. As far as the “real” circles go, I believe that they are all man-made and “aliens” and “universal nature energy” have nothing to do with them. Some of them are really quite beautiful, and I admire those hoaxsters and artists who make them.
Here's a good site for viewing pics, etc.

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Horse's Head given by the Horse's A . . .

Raleigh News & Observer columnist Barry Saunders speculates that the shooting was a warning to Scooter Libby not to testify. Said Saunders, "If you believe it was just an accident that Vice President Dick Cheney shot his hunting companion last weekend, you obviously have never seen 'The Godfather' movies."
(http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.aspARTICLE_ID=48825).

There is nothing obvious about Whittington's background to suggest that he might be regarded as disposable. But according to a Slate article, the protocols of good hunting were not followed (http://www.slate.com/id/2136206/), which is curious since hunters and other gunsmen tend to be anally safety-conscious.

A comment at the Nation website gives some information to corroborate Saunders. Apparently, "Harry Whittington" was Libby's Secret Service codename . According to an unnamed EMT worker at the scene, Cheney was concerned about leaks. If so, he had already made up his mind not to give out information at that time, and, if Saunders is correct, wanted to make it look a little suspicious to intimidate Libby further. (http://www.thenation.com/blogs/notion?bid=15&pid=59468 )

All extremely speculative, to be sure. But as Johnny's post ("Besides All That Mr. Whittington, How Was The Safari?") points out, the official version doesn't make sense, and is most likely false.

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Feds Are Visiting 23rd Mandalation

According to the Site Meter, someone from that Illuminati hot bed the Federal Reserve Bank has visited this site twice today.

We didn't do it, I swear!

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Besides All That Mr. Whittington, How Was The Safari?

Saw a few items at Prison Planet that raise some questions about the Tragic Events of 2/11:

Cheney drunk? "As others have speculated it is likely that Cheney was drunk and he dropped the weapon, causing it to discharge and pepper Whittington at close range. Cheney refused to talk to local police until the next day and the Secret Service made sure the authorities had no access to him."

Shotgun ballistics don't match up. "These pellets are incredibly tiny and the further they get away from the gun, the slower and less forceful they become. So at a distance of about 90 feet (or 30 yards as reported by the White House) the pellets would have hit Whittington with the force equivilent to a gentle shove and have left maybe some tiny surface marks on any exposed skin. The only way to account for the pattern indicated on the TDPW report is if Cheney was about 10 feet away from Whittington when he shot him."

Maybe Dick was involved in one of his human sacrifices and it went awry. The vic is in a hospital in Corpus Christi, after all ("Body of Christ").
Also, and I haven't read about this anywhere else (did some research, I did): The ranch's owner, long-time public servant Anne Armstrong, approved covert actions on President Reagan’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board. A good coverer-upper, perhaps.

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23rd Mandalation Jokes

I was thinking about what kind of humor might be appropirate for a blog like this. So, I've taken the liberty to scratch together a few jokes with a 23M theme:

Q: What do you call a stupid South American mammal with delusions of divinity?
A: Rama Llama Ding Dong

Q: How many black operators does it take to change a light bulb?
A: Lee Harvey Oswald changed the light bulb, and he acted alone.

The Real Reason behind UFOs:
UFO witness Robert Lazar said that the grays worked with the United States government because that country had something, of which no other nation in the world has an abundant supply: boron. The only known commercial use for this element is to soften water, an effect that makes clothes whiter than white. This fact led an ufologist named Campbell to quip “That could be really important, if you’re a gray.”

For Crowleyans:
Aleister and Rose were having a marital spat. In frustration, Rose screamed, “You make me so mad, I want to kill myself!”

Replied Aleister calmly, “You know the law.”

For American esoterics:
Marjorie thought that her husband was intoxicated because L. Ron told her Jack was “sky high.”

Old Henny Youngman gag:
I’m a water sign. My wife’s an Earth sign. Together we make mud.

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The CIA and the Children of Atlantis

“I sometimes don’t know where Company business ends, and Freemasonry begins” is a
statement often attributed to former CIA EO Victor Marchetti. I can’t vouch for the authenticity of the attribution, for I’ve found a lot of Marchetti quotes that didn’t actually come from Marchetti. Nevertheless, you have to wonder why he and co-author John Marks titled their seminal work on espionage The CIA and the Cult of Intelligence.

Despite the fact that many of the spies I have known belonged to the order, I don’t see anything inherently conspiratorial about Freemasonry. But Freemasons? That’s another matter.

Freemasonry undoubtedly supports an atmosphere conducive to secrecy and agency. More important, the Freemason’s goal is “the construction of his own temple,” which an outsider like myself could easily take to mean the development of a personal, or perhaps group spirituality.

An alternate spirituality could come in handy if your personal goals conflict with the tenets of your professed religion--especially if you’re Jewish or Christian. Neither faith would ostensibly condone indifference to others’ rights to life, limb and property. Although not exactly pacifist, Christ would never have put up with wanton bloodlust or greed. Even Wiccans say, “Harm ye none, do what ye will.”

So if you really want to rule the world, it might be in your best interest to embrace a spirituality that justifies the exertion of your will. Alfred Rosenberg, whom Nuremberg prosecutors dubbed “the architect of Nazi ideology,” certainly knew this. His essay “Race and Race History” alludes to the Thule Gessellschaft belief that white, blond space aliens who were somewhat human because they were partly descended from the survivors of Atlantis (Thules), came back to Earth and imparted their “blood” (nowadays, we would say “their DNA”) to the Aryans, thus making them superior to all other inhabitants of our fair planet.

Of course, once you think of yourself as superior, and you begin to see the rest of humanity as so many sentient cockroaches, purification is in order. Okay. Maybe The Final Solution left a bad aftertaste in the mouth of Western civilization (though Western powers have no trouble fostering genocide in such out of the way places as East Timor). If you’re squeamish about ethnic cleansing, pest control might be more appealing to you. Instead of killing everyone in Chile, for example, you can kill that country’s chief executive, and install another Augusto Pinochet into power. Your Pinochet could then do the exterminating for you.

They say that nothing in this world has caused more heartache, devastation and bloodshed than religion. Maybe someone oughta extend that quote to include self-interested-to-hell-with-everyone-else spirituality.

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Back to Our Old Tricks

President Putin is beginning to wonder if the recent Chechnyan terrorist attacts in his country--specifically the school siege at Beslan--originated with the US secret government.

The Yanks and Ruskies may have entered a new, secret Cold War based on their competition to control Caspian Oil. (Read more at http://www.commondreams.org/views01/1208-04.htm)

Right now, it's still in the rumor stage, of course. Then again, as the now-documented 1953 CIA conspiracy to overthrow Iranian President Muhammad Mossedegh would suggest, our government has done this sort of thing before, for precisely the same reasons.

Could the boys be back in business?

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The Love Spell that Works.

I’m no Crowleyan. Let’s get that straight right now. No spell I will give you will require “Intelligences,” giant pentagrams, or 20 minutes of pre-spell protection spells. Crowley grew up in a Christian environment and thought magik was “bad”—he didn’t say so overtly, but it was an undercurrent in his writings and the lack of ethics in his works.

I was raised pagan. Magik is good!!! The Universe wants to give you what you want. Magik is a direct communication with the Universe telling it what you want (actually, you are always in communication with the Universe, and why you’re not getting what you want is a whole other story I will get into at another time).

OK, down to the nitty gritty: it’s Valentine’s Day. You want love, sex, someone to take you out to dinner or play footsie with. Here is what you do:

Needed: scissors, red paper (construction is ok), black marker (and/or glue), 3 candles (1 white, 2 red), picture of Shu and Tefnut, (together) picture of an ankh, and any symbol that makes you feel powerful (I use the Eye of Horus)

Schedule a good hour or two to yourself, hopefully on or shortly after the New Moon. You could actually do this today, but if you want extra power you are going to have to wait a few weeks.

Just before the appointed hour (and this can be day or night, doesn’t matter) take a shower, make a cup of tea or whatever you do to get any troubles off your mind.

Put your white candle in the middle of a cleared off table, and the markers, pictures, scissors and red paper into a usable space.

Light the candle.

Cut the paper (I’m assuming its square or rectangle here) diagonally, so that it makes two triangles. Turn the two triangles, so that next to each other, they become one triangle—but don’t stick them together—this is a symbol of two flames nearly becoming one.

If you can draw, draw Shu & Tefnut (here is an easy one) on one of the triangles—if not, cut n’ paste the image. On the other, put your ankh, and whatever your power image is. Shu & Tefnut, day and night, are an ancient symbol of relationship. Ankh is the symbol of sex. The power symbol will draw power to this talisman.

When you are done, put out the candle, and hang this—and this is very important—in the rear right corner of your bedroom. That means, standing inside your door, look in to your bedroom. Look at the back wall, directly opposite you, in the right hand corner. Hang it very high, almost near the ceiling. If you don’t want anyone to see it, put it behind a picture. If there is a book case, just lay it on the top shelf. It doesn’t matter if anyone sees it or not. It will still work.

Got the two red candles? Put them underneath the thing you just drew, and light them, at least for a minute or two. If there is a closet door there, or something else in the way, you can also put them in the rear right corner of another room you also use often.

You are done. This is part feng shui and part talismanic magik. You will find a love/lust/sex/footsie partner within 28 days.

The last time I performed this, my roommate’s wife returned to him, I found my kid kissing a girl in a cabinet, my other roommate got picked up by a strange girl (he never meets anyone!) and I met my current boyfriend, all in 28 days.

Good luck.

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Museum of the Talking Board

This link goes to a gallery of cool Ouija boards dating back to 1860.
This link goes to the home page of the museum, which is about all things Ouija.
"No other single, mass-produced item quite captures the imagination of the American public like the Ouija board. Is it just a toy as many claim, or is it a portal to the spirit realm where one may find the answers to life's many mysteries? Does the Ouija sometimes take on a life of its own? Is it an implement of enlightenment, or a doorway to disaster? Questions like these continue to intrigue after a hundred years and are what makes the Ouija board extraordinary and truly magical."

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So-And-So Is a So-And-So

Nobody in the public eye is who they appear to be. A Senator? Nah, she's a lesbian witch. A Prince? No way, Jose, he's the Anti-Christ.
To wit:

• Princess Diana is the Queen of Heaven. "Princess Diana was descended from Merovingian Kings. Legend has it that the Merovingian dynasty was descended from the House of David. Merovingians believe they are descended from the union between Jesus and Mary Magdalen. Jesus was descended from the House of David."
• Hillary Clinton is an Illuminist Witch. "The facts seem to be all in. Bill and Hillary Clinton are just what Doc Marquis said they were, telling me back in 1992 that they both were practicing Illuminist Witches, with Hillary outranking Bill in the occult world."
• Prince William is the Anti-Christ. "On June 3 1991, nine year old Prince William received a near fatal head wound from a sporting accident and was immediately taken to a London hospital where sources cite he close to death from a fractured skull, yet later recovered. At the time, an outrage ensued from the public from Charles' seemingly lack of concern whilst his son was in the emergency room as he attended a benefit that same night. The information about a Prince-King surviving a head wound is interesting as it fits the exact criteria for the Biblical Antichrist of Revelation."
• And, of course, everybody is a Reptilian. "Please keep in mind, we all have the ability to see these humans/reptilians for what they are and how they really are. Just pray for God to reveal it to you. Being a reptilian is something that must be activated through drinking blood and ritual among those who possess the serpent dna. Not all those who possess this dna are reptilian. Reptilians in human form are also called shapeshifters and can go between looking human one second, and a lizard-like reptilian the next."

That innocent dog sleeping by the fire--little do you realize he's an invader from the Dog Star, Sirius.
--Firesign Theatre

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Secret Management

If you’re assuming that a large group of people couldn’t possibly keep a secret, then your instincts are pretty good. Like an ex (?) spy friend once told me, “Everybody talks too much.” So the game changes. The object isn’t so much to keep secrets, but rather manage them after they come out.. How does one do this? (A) By leaking accurate information to people you couldn’t believe if your life depended on it; and (B) circulating so many alternative versions, each containing a kernel of truth, that no one can make heads or tails out of all the competing stories. Instead of picking out what might be verifiable, reasonable, obvious or documented about each individual version, people tend to cling themselves to one explanation and fight to the death to see that their pet theory prevails.

Lately, we’ve seen a fissure in the paranoid community over whether the current Bush administration deliberately allowed the events of 9/11/01 to take place, or actively fostered the terrorist acts. The MIHOP (Made It Happen On Purpose) faction of conspiratologists has specifically attacked the LIHOP (Let It Happen On Purpose) faction, the former claiming that the latter is attempting to whitewash government complicity. Both sides, clinging to their pet theories, never seem to come to any consensus about what they so obviously have in common. Common sense would ndicate that if the Bush people planned the plot, then they allowed it to happen. Conversely, if they allowed it to happen, even if they did not play a role in formulating and executing the plot, then the administration is no less culpable. So, why the fuss?

The squabbling masks the harsh, but valid points raised by the 9/11 inquiry, the families of the deceased, and Rep. Cynthia McKinney’s ad hoc committee review: (1) no good evidence links Osama bin Laden to the attacks; (2) even less proof fingers Saddam Hussein as the culprit; (3) facets of the FBI (specifically Colleen Rawley and Sibel Edmonds) received good intelligence indicating a plot within the confines of the existing law, but were consistently stonewalled by superiors from investigating further; (4) someone placed put options on the airlines in question, while someone else warned California politico Willie Brown and former Secretary of State George Schultz not to fly on that date; (5) all eight flight recorders from the four flights were apparently destroyed, yet other evidence (e.g. a passport) was found intact near the scene of the crime; and so on.

The competing versions of conspiracy floating in the ether as binary code diminish the importance of addressing these points as one side attacks the other, with conventional media dismissing the valid points raised by all as just so much ‘conspiracy theory.’ Meanwhile, concerned and conscientious citizens might understandably throw up their hands, firmly believing that no one will ever know the truth, and accept the official conspiracy fiction as the truth because they see no other alternative.

See what I mean? You don’t have to keep a secret to ensure its safety.

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Valentine's Day and Lycanthropy

Good article on the origins of St. Valentine's Day and an odd connection with "wolf-men":

"Scholars generally agree that such a violent expression of eroticism celebrated the ancient behavior of primitive hunting tribes corraling captive women. Once a wolfman had ensnared a woman with his whip or thong, he would lead her away to be his wife or lover for as long as the "romance" lasted. Perhaps, as some scholars theorize, this yearly rite of lashing at women and lassoing them with leather thongs became a more acceptable substitute for the bloodlust of the Luperci's latent werewolfism that in days past had seen them tearing the flesh of innocent victims with their teeth."

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Fire Festivals of Europe

Okay, who saw the opening ceremonies of the Turin Olympic Games? Spectacular, as always, with a very cool, awe-inspiring, and elaborate lighting of the Olympic Flame. Couldn't help but think of the "Fire Festivals of Europe" chapter from Frazier's The Golden Bough:

"ALL over Europe the peasants have been accustomed from time immemorial to kindle bonfires on certain days of the year, and to dance round or leap over them. Customs of this kind can be traced back on historical evidence to the Middle Ages, and their analogy to similar customs observed in antiquity goes with strong internal evidence to prove that their origin must be sought in a period long prior to the spread of Christianity. Indeed the earliest proof of their observance in Northern Europe is furnished by the attempts made by Christian synods in the eighth century to put them down as heathenish rites.

"Not uncommonly effigies are burned in these fires, or a pretence is made of burning a living person in them; and there are grounds for believing that anciently human beings were actually burned on these occasions. A brief view of the customs in question will bring out the traces of human sacrifice, and will serve at the same time to throw light on their meaning."

Click the next button at the link for more on the fire fests.

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Guru or Fraud?

Gurdjieff pointed out to Ouspensky that the poorest people always offered the most for their enlightenment, and the wealthiest offered almost nothing. He seemed to think that lack of spirituality or wisdom caused this. I think it was desperation. Gurdjieff was offering power over one's belief system--seeing things as they really were could give you more power over them. I am going to call a spade a spade here and say that the poor people probably offered all of their because they were so desperate for something positive in their bleak lives, they were willing to give it all up--much like many poor people spend all of their money on lottery tickets today.

There are gurus out there--people who are wise and honest who will allow you to rise spiritually. But how can you tell real from phoney?

1. A real teacher will not call himself a teacher. He or she may seem reluctant to answer your questions, because this person understands the answers may not bring only the joy or power you seek, but other problems and feelings as well.

2.A real teacher will not make you leave your friends and family behind for more than a few days at a time.You probably will need to take a more extended journey--but that will be up to you to decide you are ready.

3. A real teacher will not tell you what is real, and what is a joke. He may be joking with you the whole time, but the meanings are up to you.

4. He or she will not ask you for extraordinary amounts of money.If he or she is a leader in an organized group, or is devoting his time to you only, you will have to pay for his time, of course, but a) if he's spiritual, he will not need that much in the way of comforts, and b) making you poor is not his true mission

5. You may have many spiritual guides in your life. They may take many forms--a parent, sibling, co-worker, friend, therapist or doctor--anyone. You will know that you are guided spiritually by these people because you can't stop coming to them with your thoughts and ideas and questions, and while you may not always like the answers, revelations will come to you from within. That's right. They are not really going to tell you how the Universe works, or anything like that. They are going to help you figure it out for yourself.

Gurdjieff wrote some great books, but he really was kind of a dick, man.

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The Occult Olympics

Being that the spectacle of the 2006 Winter Games begins with the opening ceremony tonight, I thought I'd share some of the occult ("hidden") aspects of the games.

• From the Cutting Edge radio program: Winter Olympics 2002 -- Worship of Mother Earth Goddess Gaia With Anti-Christ Symbolism Prominent "We believe the very fact that blatant Black Magick Symbolism of their Antichrist is so boldly displayed at the 2002 Winter Olympic Games is another strong indication that the appearance of Antichrist is very, very close at hand."
• From C.A.R.E.: The Pagan Roots of the Olympic Games "Have you noticed the recent occult nature of the opening and closing ceremonies? Have you ever taken notice of the different rituals--the flame, the torch and its relay, the flag, the motto, the oath, the medals, the new mascot, Izzy--and wondered what they all mean? Believe me, it is not all innocent entertainment. Can you remember how Mohammed Ali ascended the stage with the torch and finally was able to light the flame? Read on, and I think you will agree that we have been unknowingly deceived into celebrating and worshipping a Greek god. And since 1960 television has made it available to the whole world."
• From Frontline Fellowship: The Original Olympics "Those who think that the present Olympic Games have nothing to do with the mythological paganism of Ancient Greece should consider the present day Olympic anthem: "Ancient Immortal Spirit, chaste Father of all that is Beauty, Grandeur and Truth descending appear with thy presence, illumin thy earth and the heavens. Shine upon noble endeavours wrought at the games, on track and in the field…to thine Temple, to thine worship, come all. O Ancient Eternal Spirit!"

Oh man, does this mean Michelle Kwan is an Illuminist witch? Say it ain't so!

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Love Will Tear Us Apart--23 Style!

Here’s a couple of my own contributions to the 23 Enigma.
Joy Division’s 1980 7″ single on Factory Records, the great “Love Will Tear Us Apart,” had the serial number FAC 23 (I own it). Note that:

--“23″ in occult traditions means “break apart.”
--“23″ in old telegraph code meant “break the line.”
--The band recording the song has the word “division” in its name.

Ironic, innit, that a “factory” is a place where things are put together?

Also, in relation to both the “23″ and the “Captain Clark” (see the link above) aspects of the whole thing:

--In 2003, the space shuttle Columbia “fell apart”--with Captain Laurel Clark aboard.
--The shuttle’s mission number--107--adds up to 8--8 is 2 to the 3rd power--23!

Christ, I shoulda been a conspiracy theorist.

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Create Your Own Cult.

As a victim of brainwashing and later a student of the self-help movement and finally a student of cult books and belief systems, I have found some keys to successfully creating a cult following. I will outline them here. Some of the books/writers I am thinking of are Aleister Crowley, P.D. Ouspensky, Gurdjieff, L Ron Hubbard, Rob't Anton Wilson, "Reaching a Higher Consciousness," and Martin Luther King (not that he's a freak or hoax or anything, but he was a Master).

Why create a cult? Maybe to make some money, or maybe, like me, you just never bought what they were selling and you think whatever you come up with is just as good, or at least more relevant than whatever they came up with in the desert, or wherever.

It helps to write a book when you are creating a cult. If not just for yourself, to outline all of your thoughts--and keep them all straight when you go out and evangelize--but it also gives you something to sell, and after you leave, hopefully, it will do more evangelizing for you.

The first thing you must do in your book is to provide truisms that everyone agrees to be true, only with different words. This will give the people reading the feeling that you are wise, and they will start to believe everything you say. Then you have to note something that can't be explained--that no one can explain. Like why there are so many fat, unhealthy, unhappy people these days, when the gov't is promoting low fat foods and everyone has way cooler tv sets than their grandparents did.

Add some undeniable historical facts that you can use/twist to hold up your theory.

That is when you introduce the evil to prey on the fears of your readership, or the force of good that is going to save everyone. You may want to introduce both.

The next part of the process, to get the people who are not "getting you" or to get the people who just don't want to feel dumb, is to say that they are not interested because of some defect: the people who are not into your scheme are (choose one or more, make up your own): not awake, not truly alive, are not smart enough, live in a fishbowl-reality, are lost people, are not psychic enough,

You may want to make up a few of your own words to make it seem like your ideas truly are your own, that they are something really different or wise.

A great trick is to start talking about belief systems and reality. No one can live without a belief system. Even a non-belief system is still a belief system. So a great way to get people to weaken their own belief system and get into your own, is to tell them, in the middle of your tale, while they are entranced with your words, is that their belief system is really a cage (yes, they all are, but all we can do is switch from one to another) and while they realize that truism, they weaken their belief system-cage and jump to your belief system-cage.

Numerology is always pretty good, too. With numerology, it is pretty easy to find significance: there's only ten single digits if you count zero-and you can keep adding subtracting multiplying and dividing numbers together until they say what you want. There are also a number (ha) of numerology systems from all over the world. They can also make your ideas seem more mystical.

It will help if you can get someone famous, or semi-famous, or just the coolest guy at the bar or school or whatever to say that he believes whatever you say. But if you don't, that's okay, now that there's the internet. You can get as preachy as you want online.

Use this knowledge only for good.

Yours from the Ever Watchful Eye.

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