Time Part Three

One of the stock answers to the question of time travel is to suggest that if time travel were possible it would have already happened. By way of explanation let's say that at some time in the future a clever scientist invents a time machine that can travel through time in any direction, just like the fictional time machine created by H. G. Wells. So where is our intrepid time traveller? History shows that no time traveller has ever visited us from the future, therefore it's never going to happen. This appears at first glance to be a good solid argument against the possibility of time travel, but the argument is flawed. It may be that time travellers from the future have visited us, but have not revealed themselves in order to avoid changing the future. Alternatively, time travel may be possible, but only into the future, the past already having been determined. Finally, time travel into the past may be possible, but only into a different (alternative) universe, thus avoiding paradoxes. The fact that we have no record of having been visited by time travellers does not exclude its possibility. Having dealt with that little problem we can now move on the fun part, paradoxes.

This is where we start to run into some of the problems posed by time travel. The most commonly posed paradox is known as the 'grand parent' paradox. This states that if you could travel back in time you could murder your grand parents and thus prevent your existence, thus rendering it impossible for you to have gone back in time and killed them... no need to draw you a picture. Even more to the point perhaps, you could travel back in time and kill the person responsible for time travel before they discover it! However, popular though the grand parent paradox is, it only reveals the tip of the iceberg. Let's examine a theoretical time travel situation in more detail in order to highlight some of the problems involved.

Imagine that today you travel back in time to August 2001 and warn the authorities that the World Trade Centre in New York is going to be attacked on September 11th. They take the necessary action and as time unfolds the disaster is eventually averted. You are still in August 2001 at this point and the disaster has not yet been prevented, but it will be eventually because of the chain of events that you have put into motion, and you now wish to return to the time you came from. Here comes the Big Question - can you return to where you came from? Where you came from the attack had taken place, therefore where you came from no longer exists! If you do return to your original time, the World Trade Centre will still be standing (because you prevented the attack), so it cannot be where you came from. You will have changed the course of history, not just for yourself, but for the entire world. The question is, will the World Trade Centre still be standing when you return to your starting time? This is a major point of contention. According to one theory it both will and it won't! This is because your actions will have created an alternative possibility and in the process an 'alternative' universe, where we now have one universe with the World Trade Centre intact, and one with it destroyed, and we will all exist in both. The theory is firmly rooted in quantum theory that states that ALL alternative outcomes are possible. However, there is no evidence at this stage that the strange phenomenon found in quantum theory can be applied to the larger world.

Is Time Travel Possible?

More on time travel here, here and here.

Time Part Two

It doubtless seems highly paradoxical to assert that Time is unreal, and that all statements which involve its reality are erroneous. Such an assertion involves a far greater departure from the natural position of mankind than is involved in the assertion of the unreality of Space or of the unreality of Matter. So decisive a breach with that natural position is not to be lightly accepted. And yet in all ages the belief in the unreality of time has proved singularly attractive.

In the philosophy and religion of the East we find that this doctrine is of cardinal importance. And in the West, where philosophy and religion are less closely connected, we find that the same doctrine continually recurs, both among philosophers and among theologians. Theology never holds itself apart from mysticism for any long period, and almost all mysticism denies the reality of time. In philosophy, again, time is treated as unreal by Spinoza, by Kant, by Hegel, and by Schopenhauer. In the philosophy of the present day the two most important movements (excluding those which are as yet merely critical) are those which look to Hegel and to Mr. Bradley. And both of these schools deny the reality of time. Such a concurrence of opinion cannot be denied to be highly significant -- and is not the less significant because the doctrine takes such different forms, and is supported by such different arguments.

I believe that time is unreal. But I do so for reasons which are not, I think, employed by any of the philosophers whom I have mentioned, and I propose to explain my reasons in this paper.

Positions in time, as time appears to us prima facie, are distinguished in two ways. Each position is Earlier than some, and Later than some, of the other positions. And each position is either Past, Present, or Future. The distinctions of the former class are permanent, while those of the latter are not. If M is ever earlier than N, it is always earlier. But an event, which is now present, was future and will be past.

From The Unreality of Time (1908) by J. E. McTaggart

Time Part One

As the earth turns on its axis, the sun appears to move across our sky. The shadows cast by the sun move in a clockwise (hence the definition of clockwise) direction for objects in the northern hemisphere.

Shadow sticks or obelisks are simple sundials. If the sun rose and set at the same time and spot on the horizon every day, they would be fairly accurate clocks. However, the sun's path through the sky changes every day because the earth's axis is tilted. On earth's yearly trip around the sun the North Pole is tilted toward the sun half of the time and away from the sun the other half. This means the shadows cast by the sun change from day to day.

In addition, because the earth's surface is curved, the ground at the base of the shadow stick or obelisk is not at the same angle to the sun's rays as at the equator. This means that the shadow does not move at a uniform rate during the day. That is, if you mark the shadow at sunrise and sunset, you cannot evenly divide the space between for the individual hours. Try changing the latitude in the applet to the right and see how the hour marks change.

There are several ways to overcome these problems. One is to build a horizontal sundial, where the base plate is level, and the "stick," called the style, is angled so it is parallel to the earth's axis. The hour marks can then be drawn by trigonometric calculations, correcting for the sundial's latitude.

Another solution is an equatorial sundial, where the base plate is titled at an angle equal to the latitude, and the style is perpendicular to the base, which will align it with the earth's axis. The base can then be marked with regularly-spaced hour marks.

Oh, yes, there's one more problem. Sundials only measure local solar time. If a friend had a sundial 5 degrees longitude to the west of your sundial, his sundial would read a different time than yours. This is a simple calculation: the earth turns 360 degrees in about 24 hours, therefore the sun's apparent position moves 360/24 = 15 degrees each hour. So your friend's sundial would read 20 minutes different (earlier) than yours. This difference is only affected by longitude, not latitude. To standardize things, the earth was divided into 24 time zones in the 1840's, each to be one hour different from the next.

More sundial info than you could possibly want here and here.

Moog Rockin' Muppet

I know I know...I'm supposed to be away on holiday...but I just couldn't resist cuz if there's two things v/one loves its Muppets and Moogs...

lots more dolls gettin' their analog groove on at Music Thing

Reasons to be Thankful

v/blog world headquarters will be closed this week in recognition of the holidays. Please keep an eye on the internet while we are gone. Here are some reasons to be thankful:

Lou Reed. Baseball. Mexican food. Converse Chuck Taylors. Krautrock. 5ives. Mrs. V. Oxo brand kitchen products. Al Green. Elephants. Homemade macaroni & cheese. PC Linkdump. The ocean (Pacific). Seedless grapes. Courderoy pants. Spoilt Victorian Child. Krazy Kat. Mark E Smith-uh. Beer. The first two Violent Femmes albums. Glide brand dental floss. WFMU. Moogs. LSD-25. Sunglasses. Lost Bands of the New Wave Era. Fred Frith. Howard Zinn. The Red Victorian Movie House. Duct tape. All the worlds' cheesemakers. Bumrocks. Larry David. Ben Davis. The New York Review of Books. An Idiots Guide to Dreaming. Roger Angell. Thai food. Rudy Van Gelder. 'Buked and Scorned. The Swiffer. Samuel Beckett. Hawkwind. Mexican chocolate. The beauty of the suicide squeeze. The entire nation of Ecuador. Growabrain. The Bevis Frond. Calistoga mineral water.

Feel free to make your own list. Be back next week.

Groove to the Eye

verdantBLOG mix #8: 'Groove to the Eye'

Groove to the Eye by the Psychotic Turnbuckles
Evil Eye by Pussy Galore
Your Eyes by the Damned
Girl in Your Eye by Spirit
Wide Eyed Girl on the Wall by the Small Faces
The Queen of Eyes by the Soft Boys
Sun Eye (Peel Session) by T Rex
Look Into Her Eyes by Pearls Before Swine
The Game of Eyes by Gorkys Zygotic Mynci
Ecks Em Eye by the Gris Gris
Eyes Sharp by Liquid Liquid
Naked Eye by Magazine
The Man with Extra Special Eyes by the Embarrassment
Naked Eye by the Simple Minds
Dub Eyes by Dr. Alimantado
Eyeball by Scratch Acid
Staring in Her Eyes by Richard Hell & the Voidoids
Gary Gilmore's Eyes (Peel Session) by the Adverts
Spanish Eyes by Dick Hyman
What's in My Mind's Eye by Aorta
I Got My Eye on You by Hector Riviera
Red Eye by Nicky Thomas
Pop-eye Stroll by the Mar-keys
Her Eyes Are a Blue Million Miles by Captain Beefheart
Sunset Eye by the Vibracathedral Orchestra


Part One
Part Two

password=verdantblog

Eyes Part Four

"When I feel tired, I take a nap. When I have a headache, I take aspirin,” Jerry tells me, matter-of-factly. We’re in his car, returning from a night on the town in Rio, just outside of Patras in the Peloponnese region of Greece. “But these two,” he says, motioning toward his friends, Dmitri in the passenger sear, his brother Stavros beside me in the rear, “run to their mummy.”

The brothers have good reason to run to their mother when they’re afflicted by lethargy and headache, and they tell me so in spite of Jerry’s snickering. It doesn’t take much to get the matiasma, or the evil eye. If anyone so much as admires your shoes, even from a distance, this envy can put a spell on you.

These men are not superstitious hayseeds: they are 24 and 26 years old, born and raised in Patras, the third-largest city in Greece. They are young and educated, worldly in their views and tastes. But even with their modern upbringing and modern lifestyles, the folkloric matiasma remains a force to be reckoned with. It is a fact of their daily lives, and that of many people around the world.

Matiasma, malocchio, mal de ojo. Greek, Italian and Spanish manifestations of the same thing: the evil eye. There are Portuguese, Turkish, Egyptian, Scandinavian and even British and Irish variations, but all appear to originate from a common source in the Middle East. Its modern presence can be felt most strongly in Mediterranean nations, as well as in India and the Spanish-influenced South American countries1. The practice of casting the evil eye is also sometimes referred to as ‘overlooking’.

As with so much folklore, the evil eye varies not just across cultures, but within the cultures themselves. Ask one Greek man about the matiasma, for example, and you may be told that only bad people can cause it. Another may believe that a compliment from anyone can make the recipient ill.

The Power of the Evil Eye from the Fortean Times

In other eye news...

WFMU offers a choice video clip of Amon Duul II performing Eye Shaking King from 1971.

They also have clips up from other v/blog favorites such as the Stranglers, Black Flag and the Fall-uh...so download and have yourself a crazy video dance party OK?

Eyes Part Three

Idaho sheep ranchers couldn't figure out why, in the decade after World War II, a random batch of their lambs were being born with strange birth defects. The creatures had underdeveloped brains and a single eye planted, cyclopslike, in the middle of their foreheads. In 1957 they called in scientists from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to investigate.

The scientists worked for 11 years to solve the mystery. One of them, Lynn James, lived with the sheep for three summers before discovering the culprit: corn lilies. When the animals moved to higher ground during droughts, they snacked on the flowers. The lilies, it turned out, contained a poison, later dubbed cyclopamine, that stunted developing lamb embryos. The mothers remained unharmed. The case of the cyclopamine and the one-eyed Idaho lambs remained a freakish chemistry footnote for the next 25 years; researchers never could uncover why cyclopamine caused birth defects.

The Curious Case of the One-Eyed Sheep

Eyes Part Two

It was not until the middle of the nineteenth century, as the subcontinent of Australia and its surrounding territory came to be explored, that a flurry of interest centered upon a lizard native to the area, the tuatara (Sphenodon punctatum). This animal possessed, in addition to two perfectly ordinary eyes located on either side of its head, a third eye buried in the skull which was revealed through an aperture in the bone, covered by a transparent membrane, and surrounded by a rosette of scales. It was unmistakably a third eye but upon dissection it proved to be non-functional.

Though this eye still possessed the structure of a lens and a retina, these were found to be no longer in good working order: also lacking were the appropriate neural connections to the brain. The presence of this eye in the tuatara still posses a puzzle to present-day evolutionists, for almost all vertebrates possess a homologous structure in the center of their skull. It is present in many fish, all reptiles, birds, and mammals (including man). This structure is known in literature today as the pineal gland.

The gland is shaped like a tine pine cone situated deep in the middle of the brain between the two hemispheres. Studies then began to determine whether this organ was a true functioning gland or merely a vestigial sight organ, a relic from our reptilian past. In 1959 Dr. Aaron Lerner and his associates at Yale University found that meletonin (1), a hormone manufactured by the pineal gland, was created through the action of certain enzymes on a precursor chemical which must pre-exist in the pineal in order for it to be transformed into melatonin. This precursor chemical turned out to be serotonin (2).

It was E.J. Gaddum, a professor of pharmacology at the University of Edinburgh, who was the first to note a connection between serotonin and mental states of being. In a paper published in 1953, he pointed out the fact that LSD-25 was a potent antagonist to serotonin. Serotonin is not an unusual chemical in nature; it is found in many places - some of them odd, like the salivary glands of octopuses, others ordinary; it abounds in plants such as bananas, figs, and plums. What then is its function in the human brain?

The Biological Function of the Third Eye

In other eyeball news...this is pretty horrible so I thought I'd bury it way down here at the bottom...you've been warned...

Ants Eat Woman's Eyeball

Eyes Part One

During the American Civil War many soldiers lost the sight of one or both eyes due to the impact of shrapnel or gunpowder.
The most suitable treatment in these kinds of cases was the removal of the affected eye, since otherwise it was likely to become infected, thus endangering the patient’s life.
In this way, in the years immediately following the Civil War there emerged a new trade, that of glass eye seller. These travelling salesmen went from house to house with a box full of glass eyes and sold their products, after long comparison of the remaining eye with the items in the stock box. It is of course striking that the glass eye is not an exact imitation of an eye, but only of part of it. The reason was that the space of the eye socket filled with scar tissue, so that there was room only for a flattened glass model, with iris and pupil.


Designer Glass Eyes at 826 Valencia

People Who Can Kiss My Ass Part One

The first in an occasional series of posts that are designed to help me alleviate my rage in a postive and constructive manner and prevent me from going postal.

Number One: The Programming Folks at the Fox Network

Bye Bye Arrested Development--you were the funniest thing EVER on TV and you'll be missed...I'm sure FOX will find some great reality program to replace you...

speaking of FOX....

Number Two: Bill O'Reilly

San Francisco Not Worth Saving

Believe me Bill, if secession from the likes of your pompous ass were possible, we would have already done it.

Happy Anniversary!

Happy One Year Anniversary to the Of Mirror Eye--one of the best f'n music blogs around!

This Mix is Dedicated to Nature's God

verdantBLOG mix #7: 'This Mix is Dedicated to Nature's God'

This Song is Dedicated to Nature's God by Sun Ra
God Moves on the Water by Blind Willie Johnson
No God by the Germs
God is Not On Our Side by TC Matic
God-Box-uh by the Fall
Day I Met God by Adam & the Ants
From Now On, This Will Be Your God by Age of Chance
God Gave Me You by Frijid Pink
Fear of God by Amebix
Baby Let's Play God by the Big Boys
God is Broke by DRI
Godz by the Godz
God is Dead by Heart Attack
Hindu Gods of Love by the Lipstick Killers
God Bows to Math by the Minutemen
Gods Will be Gods by Echo & the Bunnymen
God of War by Rare Bird
Dancing Gods by the Silver Apples
Super-god by Son Imaginario
Sun God by Squirrel Bait
No God's a Man by Gentle Giant
God's a Wheeler Dealer by the Flaming Lips
God Only Knows by nybbl

Part One
Part Two

password=verdantblog

God Part Six

THE TEACHER Nansen found two groups of monks, from the East hall
and the West hall, squabbling over the ownership of a pet cat. He
picked up the cat, waved it in the air over his head, and said to
the quarrelers:

"Say a good word if you want to save the cat!" No one said a word.
Nansen went to the kitchen, brought back a big cleaver, and
chopped the cat in half. He gave one-half to each group.

That night when Joshu returned to the monastery, Nansen told him
the story. Joshu said nothing; but he took off his sandals,
balanced them on his head, and walked away.

Nansen said aloud, "Joshu could have saved the cat."

More koans

In other news of god...

kids in Kansas are now being taught that the earth is flat or something

Lou Grant is not pleased.

Hey Governor Steroid Action Figure Man!

Kiss my ass! I voted no!

God Part Five

The story of Xenu is covered in OT III, part of Scientology's secret "Advanced Technology" doctrines taught only to advanced members. It is described in more detail in the accompanying confidential "Assists" lecture of 3 October 1968. Direct quotes in this section are from these sources. (See also Scientology beliefs and practices)

75 million years ago, Xenu was the ruler of a Galactic Confederacy which consisted of 26 stars and 76 planets including Earth, which was then known as Teegeeack. The planets were overpopulated, each having on average 178 billion people. The Galactic Confederacy's civilization was comparable to our own, with people "walking around in clothes which looked very remarkably like the clothes they wear this very minute" and using cars, trains and boats looking exactly the same as those "circa 1950, 1960" on Earth.

Xenu was about to be deposed from power, so he devised a plot to eliminate the excess population from his dominions. With the assistance of "renegades", he defeated the populace and the "Loyal Officers", a force for good that was opposed to Xenu. Then, with the assistance of psychiatrists, he summoned billions of people to paralyse them with injections of alcohol and glycol, under the pretense that they were being called for "income tax inspections". The kidnapped populace was loaded into space planes for transport to the site of extermination, the planet of Teegeeack (Earth). The space planes were exact copies of Douglas DC-8s, "except the DC-8 had fans, propellers on it and the space plane didn't." DC-8s have jet engines, not propellers, although Hubbard may have meant the turbine fans.

When the space planes had reached Teegeeack, the paralysed people were unloaded and stacked around the bases of volcanoes across the planet. Hydrogen bombs were lowered into the volcanoes, and all were detonated simultaneously. Only a few people's physical bodies survived. Hubbard described the scene in his abortive film script, Revolt in the Stars:

Simultaneously, the planted charges erupted. Atomic blasts ballooned from the craters of Loa, Vesuvius, Shasta, Washington, Fujiyama, Etna, and many, many others. Arching higher and higher, up and outwards, towering clouds mushroomed, shot through with flashes of flame, waste and fission. Great winds raced tumultuously across the face of Earth, spreading tales of destruction. Debris-studded, and sickly yellow, the atomic clouds followed close on the heels of the winds. Their bow-shaped fronts encroached inexorably upon forest, city and mankind, they delivered their gifts of death and radiation. A skyscraper, tall and arrow-straight, bent over to form a question mark to the very idea of humanity before crumbling into the screaming city below...

—Revolt in the Stars treatment


From Stop Scientology

God Part Four

Harrisburg, Pa. -- State Route 74 is the main road into and out of Dover borough, a tidy hamlet of 1,800 set in rolling, wooded hills that at this time of year are dressed in the reds and golds of autumn.

It was here, in October 2004, that a school board led by fundamentalist Christians included so-called intelligent design in its biology curriculum, launching the latest federal courtroom battle over the place of religion in the classroom, a warfare of ideas that has roiled America's political waters ever since the Scopes "monkey trial" of 1925, and beyond -- way back to the adoption of the First Amendment.

On Tuesday, Dover Township -- a larger incorporated area of about 20,000 -- will elect a new school board.

At the northern edge of town on Route 74 stands a billboard that represents the differing positions over science and religion, ideology and theology, that have riven Dover. On the north side of the billboard is an appeal from the incumbent board:

"TAXPAYERS. Your School Board Puts Dover Independent of ACLU. VOTE REPUBLICAN." On the other side is an appeal from the opposing camp, Dover Cares: "Quality Education," it proclaims. "Common Sense. Common Cause."

At the trial, which ended Friday after six weeks of testimony, one plaintiff, Julie Smith, told of her daughter coming home from school and saying to her: "Mom, evolution is a lie. What kind of Christian are you?"

From the SF Chronicle...rest of the story here


I am writing you with much concern after having read of your hearing to decide whether the alternative theory of Intelligent Design should be taught along with the theory of Evolution. I think we can all agree that it is important for students to hear multiple viewpoints so they can choose for themselves the theory that makes the most sense to them. I am concerned, however, that students will only hear one theory of Intelligent Design.

Let us remember that there are multiple theories of Intelligent Design. I and many others around the world are of the strong belief that the universe was created by a Flying Spaghetti Monster. It was He who created all that we see and all that we feel. We feel strongly that the overwhelming scientific evidence pointing towards evolutionary processes is nothing but a coincidence, put in place by Him.

It is for this reason that I’m writing you today, to formally request that this alternative theory be taught in your schools, along with the other two theories. In fact, I will go so far as to say, if you do not agree to do this, we will be forced to proceed with legal action. I’m sure you see where we are coming from. If the Intelligent Design theory is not based on faith, but instead another scientific theory, as is claimed, then you must also allow our theory to be taught, as it is also based on science, not on faith.

Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster

God Part Three

Shrimp, crab, lobster, clams, mussels, all these are an abomination before the Lord, just as gays are an abomination. Why stop at protesting gay marriage? Bring all of God's law unto the heathens and the sodomites. We call upon all Christians to join the crusade against Long John Silver's and Red Lobster. Yea, even Popeye's shall be cleansed. The name of Bubba shall be anathema. We must stop the unbelievers from destroying the sanctity of our restaurants.

Leviticus 11:9-12 says:
9 These shall ye eat of all that are in the waters: whatsoever hath fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, them shall ye eat.
10 And all that have not fins and scales in the seas, and in the rivers, of all that move in the waters, and of any living thing which is in the waters, they shall be an abomination unto you:
11 They shall be even an abomination unto you; ye shall not eat of their flesh, but ye shall have their carcases in abomination.
12 Whatsoever hath no fins nor scales in the waters, that shall be an abomination unto you.

Deuteronomy 14:9-10 says:
9 These ye shall eat of all that are in the waters: all that have fins and scales shall ye eat:
10 And whatsoever hath not fins and scales ye may not eat; it is unclean unto you.

God Hates Shrimp

Mike Love is Such a Prick

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A lawyer for one of the founders of the Beach Boys says his suit against one of the other band members is nothing personal.

Mike Love is suing his cousin Brian Wilson over the way Wilson promoted his album last year, called "Smile." Love charges that Wilson "shamelessly misappropriated" the Beach Boys trademark, as well as Love's own songs and likeness.

Love's lawyer says he and Wilson have a "good relationship." He says the problem is with the way Wilson's people have promoted the album.

"Smile" is an album that was started by the Beach Boys, but never completed. Wilson finally decided to finish it himself.

Love objected to a promotion in which 2.5 million copies of a Beach Boys compilation CD were given away in Britain. The suit says that cuts into sales of Beach Boys music.

Love has the exclusive legal right to tour under the Beach Boys name.

In Other News Concerning Assholes related to Brian Wilson...

Listen to the monomaniacal ravings of Murray Wilson here! (courtesy WFMU)

Peter Bagge presents Murray Wilson: Rock n' Roll Dad here!

Something Kinda Funky

verdantBLOG mix #6: 'Something Kinda Funky'

Dedicated to the memory of Funky Friday and to all the peeps who made it special: Dark_Stuff of course (who's promising some treats of his own), Ken, Bronski, Brewboy, Amiananus, Mr. C, and yes even Istvan.

Something Kinda Funky by Stu Phillips
Funk You by Afrika Bambaattaa
Get Funky by ESG
Funky Dollar Bill by Funkadelic
Funky Kingston by Toots & the Maytals
Funk Da Virada by Antonio Pinto & Ed Cortes
Funk Off by the Grandmaster Caz Percussion Allstars
Can't Be Funky by the Bush Tetras
Dirty Funky Situation by Darius
Let's Get Funky by Hound Dog Taylor
Funky Mule by Ike Turner's Kings of Rhythm
Funk 49 by Killdozer
Funky-tunk by Moby Grape
Free the Funk by Peter Ivers
A Funky Kind of Thing by Billy Cobham
Funky Future Train by King Kong
Funky Little Song by Bruce Haack
20 Jazz Funk Greats by Throbbing Gristle

Part One
Part Two

password=verdantblog

God Part Two

Is there a God? How do we determine if God exists or not? First - let me define God so that we are all talking about the same being. The God I'm talking about is:

1. The omnipotent being who is all powerful and created the universe.
2. God is invisible - but he is everywhere - and he knows everything - even our thoughts.
3. God hasn't showed up in physical form - out in public for at least 2000 years - longer if you are Jewish - 150 years if you are Mormon.
4. God could show up any where at any time in any form if he wanted to, but he doesn't.
5. God is infinitely wise.
6. God knows the future and everything is going according to God's plan.

So - are we talking about the same God? Are we on the same page on this? If so - what conclusions can we draw?

Well - we know that God can come out - but he doesn't That means he chooses not to. He could write a new updated Bible - maybe even publish it on the web - but he doesn't - and he chooses not to.

God could come out in public - but he doesn't. Therefore he chooses not to.

People claim to have a personal relationship with God, and that God reveals himself individually to people who open up to him. But I have observed that those who seem to truly believe they have a personal relationship with God are getting very different messages. Some are getting a peace and love message while others are being called to arms to fight a holy war against other people who believe God is on their side supporting their cause. I therefore have to believe that some of these people if not all of them just think God is talking to them when he really isn't.

God apparently doesn't reveal himself to realists like me. God could reveal himself to me - but he chooses not to. And even if he did reveal himself to me personally - that doesn't qualify him as real to the Church of Reality. I am after all just a guy with an idea. I do not control reality. God doesn't become real based on the belief of Marc Perkel. In order to qualify as real to the church of Reality - God have to come out in an objective form that everyone can observe in the real world.

There is a possibility that God exists and that he is deliberately concealing himself for us faithless Realists and that it is his will that people like me never find him. If that is the case - then it is the will of God that realists like myself don't believe in him and that God is in control and that we Realists are doing exactly what we are supposed to do under God's plan.

The standard for reality in the Church of Reality is that for us to declare something is (probably) real - it has to be something that is objectively observable in the real world by any observer. Personal revelation does not meet this test. So - even if I were to personally believe in God - that isn't good enough for the Church of Reality. We are committed to believing in reality the way it really is.

From: The Church of Reality

Give the Drummer Some

verdantBLOG mix number five: 'Give the Drummer Some'

Give the Drummer Some by the Ultramagnetic MCs
Funky Drummer by James Brown
The Soul Drummers by Ray Barretto
Guns Blazing (Drums of Death Part One) by DJ Shadow
Droppin' Rhymes on Drums by Def Jef
Let the Drummer Have Some by fIREHOSE
Drum Mode by Gray
Drummer's Dream by Grobschnitt
Drums A by the Hollywood Persuaders
Our Drummer Always Plays in the Nude by the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band
My Drum Set by the Young Fresh Fellows
Real Drums-Real Drummer by the Durutti Column
Woman Drum by Guru Guru
Debbie's New Song for Drums by the Bevis Frond
Talking Drum by Japan
Temple Drumming by Oz Fritz
Distant Drums, Cambodia by Robert Millis
Give the Drummer Some by Can


Part One
Part Two

password=verdantblog

Drums Part Three

Before Moon, drums would just keep a beat in the background. But with songs like "I Can See for Miles" -- in which Moon's accelerating drum rolls and cymbal smashes seemed to compete with, but perfectly complemented, guitarist Pete Townshend's power chords -- The Who set a new role for the drummer.

Roger Daltrey, The Who's lead singer, says the energy in that song "is just unbelievable... He sounds like a steam locomotive at full pelt. His speed is incredible." Moon combined a variety of styles "and made very much his own thing out of the drums," Daltrey says.

"Keith was the first to treat the drums as though they were a lead instrument..." Fletcher says. "He really made the drums an instrument that spoke very much in the same way that a lead guitar does."

Though Moon was known for his boisterous, over-the-top behavior, Fletcher debunks one myth about him: That he drove a Rolls Royce into a Michigan hotel swimming pool during his 21st birthday party. But Daltrey begs to differ. "I saw it. We paid the bill (for the damages). It was $50,000. It's vague now, but I just remember the car in the pool. And the chaos. And Keith being rushed off to the dentist after being arrested because he knocked his front tooth out... But then I read in the biography that never happened, so maybe I've been living someone else's life, I don't know."

Daltrey says he and Moon didn't get along during their earlier years together. The band members' relationship was "a clash of egos," Daltrey says. Moon thought he should be at front of the stage.

Daltrey says Moon did everything to excess. "He was the most generous, the most mean, he was the funniest... he could be the most unfunny, everything -- the most loving, the most hateful... Everything about him was extreme," Daltrey says.

Moon's life was a short one. He died in 1978 at the age of 32, ironically of an overdose of pills that were meant to combat his alcoholism. Unlike Led Zeppelin, which disbanded after the death of drummer John Bonham, The Who kept going, initially replacing Moon with Kenny Jones. But, of course, Jones couldn't hope to fill Moon's shoes -- and Fletcher says Who fans agree he never did.

How does Fletcher want Moon to be remembered? "I would hope... that he is better respected as a musician and as a drummer... and that people look back on Keith not just as 'Moon the loon' and this incredibly extravagant comedic character who really was one in a million in terms of personalities, but that they would also look back and say, 'That's somebody who played a major role in rock music,' and in his own way every bit as important a role as Pete Townshend or Roger and certainly as (bassist John Entwistle). This was somebody without whom we might still be listening to drummers going 'boom-cha, boom-cha.'"

From NPR.org

Tony Fletcher is the author of 'Dear Boy: The Life and Death of Keith Moon.' His website can be found here.

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