June 21 (26 Confusion): Imaginary Friend/Captain Tuttle Day (ED)/(MH). Recognize and credit your imaginary friend, whom you blame for everything on all the other days of the year. Or help someone anonymously, but in a way they’d never expect. (“Captain Tuttle” was the made- up buddy of Benjamin Franklin “Hawkeye” Pierce and “Trapper John” McIntire on the TV show “M*A*S*H.” They used the mythical captain’s identity to get supplies and funds from the U. S. Military which were then sent to help an orphanage).
Kitsune(狐,Kitsune? IPA: [kitsɯne])(Pronunciation)(help·info) is the Japanese word for fox. Foxes are a common subject of Japanese folklore. Stories depict them as intelligent beings and as possessing magical abilities that increase with their age and wisdom. Foremost among these is the ability to assume human form. While some folktales speak of kitsune employing this ability to trick others — as foxes in folklore often do — others portray them as faithful guardians, friends, lovers, and wives.
Foxes and human beings lived in close proximity in ancient Japan; this companionship gave rise to legends about the creatures. Kitsune have become closely associated with Inari, a Shintokami or spirit, and serve as his messengers. This role has reinforced the fox's supernatural significance. The more tails a kitsune has — they may have as many as nine — the older, wiser, and more powerful it is. Because of their potential power and influence, some people make offerings to them as to a deity.
Welcome to The Kitsune Page! You'll find information on foxes, fox mythology, and particularly Japanese fox mythology here. Browse and enjoy, but please respect the work we've put into this page and link rather than copy, if possible.
To the ancient Egyptians Nut (Nuit) was the personification of the sky (originally she was a goddess of just the sky at day, where the clouds formed) and the heavens. She was believed to be the daughter of the gods Shu and Tefnut, the granddaughter of the sun god Ra. Her husband was also her brother, Geb. She was thought to be the mother of five children on the five extra days of the Egyptian calendar, won by Thoth - Osiris who was born on the first day, Horus the Elder on the second, Set on the third, Isis on the fourth, and Nephthys the last born on the fifth day. The days on which these deities were born were known as the 'five epagomenal days of the year', and they were celebrated all over Egypt:
Deep Listening Institute, Ltd. fosters a unique approach to music, literature, art and meditation, and promotes innovation among artists and audience in creating, performing, recording and educating with a global perspective.
What is Deep Listening?
Deep Listening® is a philosophy and practice developed by Pauline Oliveros that distinguishes the difference between the involuntary nature of hearing and the voluntary selective nature of listening. The result of the practice cultivates appreciation of sounds on a heightened level, expanding the potential for connection and interaction with one's environment, technology and performance with others in music and related arts.
The practice of Deep Listening provides a framework for artistic collaboration and musical improvisation and gives composers, performers, artists of other disciplines, and audiences new tools to explore and interact with environmental and instrumental sounds.
The Deep Listening Institute fosters creativity in artists of all ages and levels of artistic development by holding workshops and retreats; performing and publishing new work; and developing new performance technologies.
THE HOLY FOOL: The Third member of the Triad -some musings by: the Bard
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"Remember, the Moon is only half as big as the Earth, but it's twice as far away." -Anonymous *
After some time musing on the concept of Goddess/God that is common in Wiccan (and most Neo-Pagan groups) and seeing the common theme of "things come in threes" in these belief systems, I fell to wondering "Why only the God and Goddess? If all things come in threes, where is the Third Aspect that should be there?"
So what is this Third Aspect? I feel it is the Holy Fool; the Prometheus who is the Trickster, the God (neuter) that rolls the dice. This also fills in certain holes in neo-Pagan Theology that have bothered me for some time, too.
First, we need to have a quick look at the Holy Fool in religious and/or cultural beliefs, both primitive and modern:
American Indian: Aztec: Ueuecoyotl Caddo: Coyote Chinook: Coyote Coos: Coyote Haida: Raven Hopi: Mudhead Kachina, Clown Kachina Kiowa: Coyote Navaho: Coyote Nez Perce: Coyote Omaha: Coyote, Rabbit, Iktinike, Orphan Pueblo: Koshare Sioux: Spider Tillamook: Coyote Tinglit: Raven Winnebago: Rabbit Zuni: Coyote African: Spider, Tortoise, Rabbit, Jackal Graeco/Roman: Pan, Dionysis Celtic: Phooka and the like (see Irish: Fear Dearg, and a host of others. The Fool must love Ireland very much...He made so many of Itself there!) Norse: Loki...-and- Balder Banks Island: Clat Micronesia: Nareau England: Puck, Black Jack Davy Christianity: "Doubting" Thomas, and The Christ Himself, in many ways....and Judas, too. 20th Cent. North American: Bugs Bunny, The Joker, Mr. Mxyzpltk, Murphy, ("And Pooh is a -good- example, too!" said Eeyore)
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Neo-Paganism: Discordians 18th thru 20th Cent. Appalachian: Jack (from British Isles) 18th and 19th Cent. N.A. Black: Br'er Rabbit, Long John, &c. German: Tyl Eulenspiegel Italy: Harlequin (check out Agatha Christie's stories about "Harley Quinn." VERY interesting!) Islamic: Juha, Abu Nawwas, Mullah Nasruddin, Nasreddin Khoja, Nasreddin Hodja Japanese: Fox, Hotei, and the whole concept of Zen......
And the many, many instances of the Hero figure and his Friend in most people's mythology....Gilgamesh and Enkidu, Robin Hood and Little John, the Mythic Hollywood Western Hero and his ridiculous sidekick, Don Quixote and Sancho Panza.....and many times you see the recurrent theme of the Great Betrayal of the Hero, which leads to His death...and to His Resurrection!
One immediately sees that the Fool is a universal constant in folk belief, just as the Goddess and God are! (NB: I have not gotten more specific for two reasons: one, for
limitations of space, and two, to encourage others to do a little reading on their own!)
As most things, the Fool is Personified in three basic Aspects that (of course) overlap with each other and with the God and Goddess. The first is that of the Saviour God, the Prometheus, the Culture Hero, who brings Knowledge (and -occasionally- Wisdom) to Mankind. This Aspect loves Mankind with all His Being, and only wishes Good. His Good Intentions sometimes fall short of His (or Mankind's) expectations, however.
Thesecond isthat ofthe Clown,the Nerd,the Jerk,that teaches by his own mistakes (and who usually comes out ahead because of His own Innocence.) This Aspect is mostly neutral, and is how He seems to mostly manifest Himself.
Butletus notforget thethird,and darker,side oftheFool, best exemplified by Jack Nicholson's portrayal of The Joker in the film version of "Batman." Just as the Goddess has Her Dark side (the Crone, the Morrigan, &c) and the God has His (Odin as Death-God) so does the Fool have a terrifying Aspect (at least, from the human point of view): Chaos Personified.
This is not an Aspect to invoke, as It does not care. Period. It is the ultimate psychopath, the ultimate Spoiled Brat, the quintessence of Ego-centric self-love. In some circles, it could be quite nicely named Ahriman, or Shaitan, or Satan, because it fits all concepts of that Middle-Eastern deity....except one: It does not care if Man worships It or not. It is not in -conflict- with the God and/or Goddess, It is -not- on the kind of power-trip that the Judeo-Christian Satan is represented as having, it just -is-. It should be considered as neither "good" nor "evil," though it can personify both or either....or neither! This is confusing, but with a little thought the concept will (hopefully) come clear.
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(And, just in passing, the film version of "Batman" is perhaps a very good metaphor for the eternal struggle between the Fool-as-Prometheus (Batman) and the Fool-as-Chaos (the Joker).
Areyou confused? If youare, GOOD! If you arenot, keep thinking by not-thinking. (wha-a-a-a-a-t?)
Some of thebest examples ofthe three Personifications arefound in the Navaho and Zuni tales of Coyote, or the Br'er Rabbit tales, or the older Bugs Bunny cartoons, or even Walt Disney's Goofy. And, while speaking of classic animation, if you can see any of the cartoons of the Cannibal Boy and the Mynah Bird, do so! It shows not one, but TWO Aspects in action!
For a look at His more serious (?) side, try J.R.R. Tolkien's wonderful evocation of Tom Bombadil.....who is described as "the oldest." Prof. Tolkien came very close to the core of the truth with that one!
The Fool is your slightly daffy Uncle, that comes to visit at Christmas and is such fun to be with, but who seems to have a sadness about him too, that you found out later, when you were all grown up, was his slide into alcoholism. The Fool is the American sit-com "Daddy" who never seems to get anything right, but wins out in the end anyway. The Fool is the classic scene of Bugs Bunny, floating in a washtub in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, happily singing "As Time Goes By," blissfully uncaring about his obvious predicament...one which would send a human into sheer despair....knowing that something will turn up, some scam that he can pull that will get him out of the washtub and into clover again. The Fool is the Tarot's Fool, of course....but He is also the Hanged Man.
Do -not- invoke the Fool unless you are ready for literally ANYTHING to happen! He just might turn you into a Large Green Frog just to observe what happens......He is capricious. He is unpredictable. He is what He is, and nothing you can do will turn Him from His Purpose, whatever that may be at any given moment. He is "Murphy," and whatever can go wrong, WILL go wrong...or right. Unless you have an uncommonly flexible mind, you -might- not be able to handle it!
He has no Festival, unless it is the Lupercal, or perhaps April Fool's Day, or even New Year's Eve, for every day is His, as He chooses. Some have inquired about the seeming overlap of functions in the Goddess/God/Fool triad, and this should be addressed here. The modern Western mind tends to "pigeonhole" things, and rigidly excludes other things from these pigeonholes. This, I feel, is in some ways an error in thinking, especially about the Triad.
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One cannot and should not "compartmentalize" the God/Fool/Goddess into three rigidly separate Beings, but rather think of them as three separate sources of ripples in the same Pond: the ripples interact and intersect, and act on each other, but move within the same Source, whatever That may be.
-the Bard at Samhain, 1990 CE
I wish I could list all of my sources, but if I did, it would add several pages to this text, and I am trying to keep it short. I -will- recommend reading one book, however, that will give a great insight into the Holy Fool:
CONTRARIWISE Zohra Greenhalgh, Ace (paperback) April 1989 0-441-117112-2 (it has a sequel, but I can't remember the title offhand....)
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"Rimble, Rimble!"
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Permission is granted to reprint this article, both in electronic and in print. Any copy of this article must include the WHOLE article, and any comments should be sent net-mail to "the Bard" at FIDOnet 1:114/29 (602) 439-7080. Copies of any printed reproduction of this article should be forwarded to "the Bard" c/o DEUS EX MACHINA BBS, PO Box 35190, PHOENIX, AZ 85069. Thanks!
This month’s Believer documents a strange case from Hungary of audio-kinetic synaesthesia. The subject, whenever he hears certain words, ‘sees’ them as discrete and definite actions or gestures.
Colour synaesthesia is more common: sounds or numbers are seen as distinct colours, and some estimates reckon that around 1 in 23 experience it.
And I just wonder if some of us suffer some kind of soul-synaesthesia. All these sounds, words and senses kick off an involuntary response in the spirit that wonders why and how, and wanders, in wonder…
All during the nineties I was a victim of psychosis. I lived the grace of madness several times and I see this as a gift of the Absolute. Psychosis brought me into contact with the universal force and truth that is both scourge and salvation and which together teach living individuals the lesson of their fate, their place as living spirits in the universe. Besides our body we also have a soul and a spirit, which I find a beautiful idea, as in Western alchemy with its triangle of sulphur, mercury and salt. Sulpher stands for the spirit, the divine inspiration, mercury represents the soul, the double element of water, emotion working together with reason, air. The material basis is salt, the crystal, the body with material and spiritual needs, both of which have to find their balance and seek their correct place. In my poems I have written many times that it is a bowl of soup that fills the stomach. It is a great challenge for everybody to have enough food and I am more than convinced that this goal can be realised if we all straighten our backs and look towards the silent universe and ask for our dignity. Even in the Kali-Yuga starvation is not a necessity. Our hunger in this age tends towards spirituality. The absurd emptiness of a global capitalist consumption society devours the divine love of our hearts. This civilisation of marketing and creation of needs is pointless and divides the brotherhood of mankind. The only thing we really know is that we all have a credit card towards eternity in our pocket. On this planet called Earth we live at least the permanent miracle of consciousness. This unlimited inner self in a borderless freedom that teaches each of us that we all are this cosmic manifestation. And the foundation of this is the Absolute, the infinite loveof all that is in good and evil. All we see and live is a divine miracle. Who looks for it with determination will find it and the revelation of beauty will be realised.
The Angel Tech class on the Maybe Logic Academy dealt with the 8 Circuit Model of the Mind. This model was first started by Timothy Leary, got expanded theoretically by Robert Anton Wilson. But it was Antero Alli who first elaborated practical exercizes to experience the different levels of awareness firsthand in his book "Angel Tech: A Modern Shaman's Guide to Reality Selection"
Bizarre colorful (luminous/glowing) cloud phenomenon in the sky was observed about 30 mins before the May 12, 2008 Sichuan earthquake took place. This was recorded in Tianshui, Gansu province ~450km northeast of epicenter, by someone using a cell phone. source: http://news.qq.com/a/20080513/004283.htm
Kleine mieren vreten in de Amerikaanse staat Texas elektrische kabels en elektronica weg. Het is geen scenario voor een tweede klasse horrorfilm, maar angstige realiteit. Het diertje veroorzaakt kortsluitingen en pannes met hoog oplopende schaderekeningen als gevolg. Deze onbekende mierensoort is al gesignaleerd op een plaatselijke luchthaven én op het ruimtevaartcentrum van NASA, met de nodige (buitenlandse) onrust tot gevolg.
De mierensoort, van het wetenschappelijk geslacht Paratrechina, is circa 3 millimeter groot en gedraagt zich zelden agressief ten opzichte van mensen. Eigenlijk helpt deze mier om te fungeren als natuurlijke vijand voor de vuurmier, een in de jaren 60 van vorige eeuw ingeburgerde (exotische) soort die met behulp van haar venijnige angel het zomerse buitenleven van de Texanen verpest.
De nieuwkomer is vermoedelijk afkomstig uit Latijns-Amerika of de Caraïben en zou 5 jaar geleden per boot in de haven van Houston beland zijn. Deze mierensoort is resistent aan de gangbare bestrijdingsmiddelen en leeft in kolonies met meerdere vruchtbare wijfjes. Door die hoeveelheid aan koninginnen weet de soort zich razendsnel voort te planten.
De insecten blijken met duizenden en duizenden werkelijk overal te verschijnen. In tegenstelling tot de mieren die wij kennen, die op zoek naar voedsel in gedisciplineerde rijtjes lopen, vormt een horde Paratrechina's chaotisch door elkaar lopende troepen die geen genoegen nemen met een paar vierkante meter. De reden waarom deze beestjes bij de Texanen bekend staan als 'crazy ants'.
15 May 2008 What a coincidence that the Associated Press posted a story yesterday about "crazy ants" taking over Houston, including computers. I'm in Chicago. Are they taking over America this quickly? From the story: ... jillstanek.com - http://www.jillstanek.com/ - References
12 hours ago by mydigest Barry Wigmore reports in Daily Mail today about the Crazy Ants in Texas, cousin to a species in Columbia and no more than 3mm in length, who like to nest in computers and other electronic equipment because of the warmth. ... My Digest, Cy Quick, Poole Bay City - http://mydigest.wordpress.com
15 May 2008 Crazy Ants are invading Houston. They appear to enjoy crawling on electronics and shorting out computer equipment. For all you people who said my windup key was noisy and that I should change to an electrical power system: ... What Is This Crap? - http://firstlife.isfullofcrap.com/ - References
15 May 2008 Houston, you have an ant problem. Billions of ravenous ants have invaded the city and are chomping their way through the city's electrical equipment, AP reports. The previously unknown species—dubbed "crazy raspberry ants"—apparently ... Home from Newser - http://www.newser.com/ - References
15 May 2008 by James Kendrick One news report showed a typical small ant hill and the researcher said it was home to probably 50 BILLION of the crazy ants. Homeowners in the area are finding them in their homes where they love to eat electronic components and cables ... jkontherun - http://www.jkontherun.com/ - References
16 May 2008 by Casey Kazan Daily Galaxy Editorial Staff When we say "crazy ants", that's not just journalistic-jazzing up of the facts, that's actually what they're called because of their highly erratic and unpredictable movement (compared to the army-like order of sane ants). ... The Daily Galaxy: News from Planet Earth... - http://www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog/ - References
15 May 2008 by Papa Mike Scientists are not sure exactly where the ants came from, but their cousins, commonly called crazy ants, are found in the Southeast and the Caribbean. “At this point, it would be nearly impossible to eradicate the ant because it is so ... Papa Mike's Blog - http://www.papamiket.com - References
Crazy ants overrun Houston.17 May 2008 by xia Now, I am scared of moving to Texas because of those crazy ants. Maybe there have more dangerous bugs. Crazy ants overrun Houston. Some crazy ants are making the trek to North Texas--they're tiny and are found in the Houston area. ... My Life In US - http://xli919.blogspot.com/
Baleful sounds and wild voices ignored Ill luck disaster the one reward Violated sanctity of supermen's hills So sad love lies there still So sad So sad Hollow hills Hollow hills Witches too and goblins too and speckled sills Lament repent oh mortal you So sad So sad
Traveling from the Old Forest to Bree, Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin were ensnared with travelling through the downs by a barrow-wight, probably in the same cairn which held the grave of the last prince of Cardolan[1]. They were rescued by Tom Bombadil, and from the burial treasure received enchanted daggers — designed to slay the evil servants of Angmar.
Lime and limpid green, a second scene A fight between the blue you once knew. Floating down, the sound resounds Around the icy waters underground. Jupiter and Saturn, Oberon, Miranda And Titania, Neptune, Titan. Stars can frighten.
Blinding signs flap, Flicker, flicker, flicker blam. Pow, pow. Stairway scare Dan Dare who's there? Lime and limpid green The sounds surrounds the icy waters underground Lime and limpid green The sounds surrounds the icy waters underground.
On July 23, 1995, an unusually bright comet outside of Jupiter's orbit (7.15 AU!) was discovered independently by Alan Hale, New Mexico and Thomas Bopp, Arizona
To the ancient Egyptians Nut (Nuit) was the personification of the sky (originally she was a goddess of just the sky at day, where the clouds formed) and the heavens. She was believed to be the daughter of the gods 
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