Farewell, Hunter

I feel too miserable at this news to do more than publish this piece from Ratatosk:

'And so it is that we, as men, do not exist until we do; and then it is that we play with our world of existent things, and order and disorder them, and so it shall be that non-existence shall take us back from existence and that nameless spirituality shall return to Void, like a tired child home from a very wild circus.' - Lord Omar K Ravenhurst

Don't be sad, don't feel sorrow... This man shouted to the Universe "Sir, I exist", and in response, the Universe said to him "We know, you smoked our stash".

Hunter in his prime

For Gonzo... that was one HELLUVA circus. And in vision I saw and look, sitting at the left foot of Eris, a Jester, with little cardboard squares on his hat instead of bells. And he looked up unto Eris and said unto her: "Damn it, woman, why don't you get rid of all of these bats!" And Eris laughed, took a hit from his hat and said "I'm glad your back home, Hunter." And a chorus sang unto him, "Hosanna, Hosanna, Kallisti and LSD" and to welcome him home to the Void stood all of the Great Ones. There to hand him a jay, was Kerry Thornley. To freshen his drink, was Douglas Adams with a real Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster. Then the great Shroom Pope himself stood and appointed Hunter as the Patron Saint of Alterations and Dry Cleanings of the Mind. And Hunter spoke and said "Damn Tim, you look silly in that big Pope Hat with the Mushroom on it..." And The Leary spoke saying "Wait till you see yours!" Then Eris looked into my eyes and said, "See, he's just fine. Now run along and be happy. For a new child of Eris has been born this very day who will raise above even these ones. Now, I am gonna take all these guys to my room... and you can't watch! SHOOOOO"... and in speaking she exhaled smoke, a cloud larger and larger, streaming from her mouth. My vision clouded, blurred and suddenly I came to, in the wrong lane of oncomming traffic on Interstate-270. And I swear I could hear laughing on the far range of my hearing.
Ratatosk, Squirrel of Discord

Another One Gone

We lost another warrior.

Hunter S Thompson has died of a self-inflicted gun shot (although I don't know if that means by accident or design).

I loved his sheer fierceness, and savagery - it made my own sarcasm sound pretty tame and British. Of course, he might sometimes have been difficult to hang out or work with - but I can't tell because we never met, and I don't know how to decide what aspects of his public persona might also have formed part of the private man.

Either way - another of the great people who I thought of as one of 'my team or karass' has gone when we really could have done with him still doing what he did so well.

Kick those White House bastards in the balls!

That's just the way it was...

I have neglected additions to the autobiography I call my website - and even the updates (this here blog) because I have been doing online courses with the most magnificent bunch of people at the Maybe Logic Academy. Mostly younger than me, though Bob himself has reached 70+ years.

I don't suppose anyone younger can really quite understand how I hitched all over the USA for 18 months without a penny in my pocket (followed by 6 months in Mexico, busking). We have become a much despised 'hippie' generation, but we helped each other out, that's how. These Country Joe lyrics might give you a glimpse of how me and Nelly got from place to place, as like-minded people helped us on our way, and protected us from rednecks and other bizarre people...

Flying High

I'm stuck on the L.A. freeway,Got rain water in my boots,
My thumbs done froze, can't feel my toes,I feel a little destitute.
Wheels throwing water all over my axe
And Mr. Jones won't lend me a hand.
Up come two cats in a Cadillac
And they say, "Won't you hop in, man ?"

I went flying high
All the way — all the way.

The one that's driving's got a bowler hat,
The other's got a fez on his head.
They turn around and grin and I grin back
But not a word was said.

So I took out my harp and I played 'em a tune,
I could see they were diggin' it,
Then the one with the fez, well he turns and he sez,
"We'd like to help you make your trip."

And I went flying high
All the way — all the way.

He said, "We can't leave him out in the rain,
He just might freeze and die,
So why not put him on a plane
And send him home in the sky ?"

So they took me to the L.A. airport,
Laid twenty dollars in my hand.
Well, I paid my fare, I'm in the air
Flying back home again.

And I went flying high
All the way, yeah, all the way, all the way,
You know I went flying high all the way,
Don't you know I went flying high all the...

Clan greetings

As ever, I seem to neglect my family. Yo was quite right that if we didn't meet up straight away then months would pass (and now they have).

Thanks to Julia and Eleanor for the card (and a happy birthday to El - fellow Aquarian).

K's music seems to have got a delayed release, but March 1st doesn't seem that far away...

I can feel extended family out there, too - Noh's dad and Dorothy both had birthdays around about now...and it's our Tom's tomorrow...

Big hello to everyone I have chatted to online recently, or who sent me emails, Ian Tregonning, Tuula, Hadass and all the gang at the MLA.

Now that must be the most boring post for any other people passing through - but tough! You can always leave me a comment....

Kung Hei Fat Choi!

And the Chinese celebrate New Year’s Eve today – tomorrow the Year of the Rooster starts (the Green Wooden Rooster, to be exact). Their calendar uses the moon, and this will be the second new moon after the Solstice. There seems to be some dispute as to whether the coming year should be called 4702 or 4703 – but I guess after nearly 5000 years of civilization it doesn’t matter as much as it does to those Millennial Christians. And 2005 may make them seem like a relatively young religion until you realise that one day later (February 10th) will be New Year's Day (Al-Hijra ) on the Islamic calendar, for the year 1426.

Take your pick.

The Chinese New Year will officially begin on Feb. 9 with the New Moon and end 15 days later with a celebration called the Lantern Festival.

Actually China has used the Gregorian calendar since 1911 – probably about the time that all world politicians started wearing grey suits and ties - but they still celebrate this ancient festival.

And today - mardi 8 février 2005 vulg – is known in the ‘Pataphysical Calendar as

Samedi 14 Gueules 132 de l'Ere Pataphysique

Nativité de St Jules Verne, globe-trotter en chamber

And tomorrow will be celebrating “Alice au pays des merveilles”

Dimanche 15 Gueules 132 de l'Ere Pataphysique

Pancake Day

Regular readers will know what fun I get from religious calendars. Well, to be honest, most calendars seem religious in one way or another. So today is Shrove Tuesday, or Pancake Day.

In the UK Shrove Tuesday is known as Pancake day but in other countries it has other titles, in Germany it is called Fasnacht (night of the fast) In Italy it is called Carnivale (from the Latin for 'goodbye to the flesh') and Mardi Gras (literally 'Fat Tuesday') is celebrated in places as diverse as New Orleans, Brazil and Australia.

This was the day you used up all your rich food before the 40 day fast leading up to Easter. Interesting how people who claim that the church is infallible also manage to drop bits they find inconvenient. Christians act as though Muslims are a bit weird and fanatical to fast at Ramadan. They just gave it up (it's a bit uncomfortable) and went for obesity followed by chocolate eggs!

Enjoy your pancakes (same as every other day, a long stack with maple syrup, maybe...)

Rock On...

The Pentaphobe sent me this, and I had forgotten about it. It seems appropriate on several levels right now:

"What's money anyhow? A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and goes to bed at night and in between does what he wants to do." - Bob Dylan


Click pic to see larger

It's not whether they 'are' right, just the beliefs they act on, that scares me....

White House Contingency Plan For A Rapture

By James Donahue
January 2005

If you think his fundamentalism isn’t affecting the way President George W. Bush runs our country, consider this: The White House has a plan for keeping government operating if Bush and all of his Christian sidekicks get lifted up into the clouds with Jesus.

Apparently the Bible thumpers in high places believe the signs of the “end times” are so evident that the lifting of the saints, as described in Thessalonians 4:13-18, in which “the dead in Christ will rise, then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord,” is eminent.

They believe this wild story so fervently that a plan is being put in place for continued government if and when Mr. Bush and many of his key cabinet members suddenly fly off through the ceiling.

But who are the so-called heathen on the Bush team that will be still around once the Christians fly away home? And who is our government has the authority to choose which of our leaders got up with Jesus, and which stay behind?

Apparently Vice President Dick Cheney is considered a non-believer and consequently will be still around. But one recent story suggested that Cheney’s bad heart, and the shock of seeing his boss fly off through the office ceiling, might leave him incapacitated. Who governs us then?

The next in the presidential succession chain would be Speaker of the House Tom DeLay. But like Bush, DeLay is a Texas based fundamental Christian and his name is included among the “saints” expecting to disappear.

And that leaves the job to the Senate’s senior statesman, Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska, now 81 years old. Naturally there is concern that Stevens may not be up to the job of seeing the nation through the turbulent Tribulation, described in the Scriptures as a seven-year-long time of trouble concluding with a mighty war.

So there you have it. If Jesus decides to call home his followers during the next four years, we can expect to have a government run by either Cheney or Stevens, with a fragment of both the House and Senate left to keep things running.

This writer isn’t worried. At least about having Mr. Bush fly off into the sky. The Christian rapture is a fairy tale that is about as hard to believe as the virgin birth and the resurrection of the murdered Jesus. The stories stem from ancient mythology that has been passed down since the days of Nimrod.

What worries me more is the fact that we have a president who believes these stories so fervently that he thinks he might just fly away before his term ends. When a man believes like that, he is liable to do things that will not be in his own best interests, or the best interests of our nation.

For example, the Christians also believe a promise in the Book of the Revelation that after the wars are over, and after Jesus returns with his saints to reign over the Earth for a thousand years, there will be another time of trouble. This is caused by a temporary release of the elusive Devil.

After this, God is supposed to rebuild both Heaven and the Earth.

Since the fundamental Christians believe everything written in the Bible is the gospel truth, and the infallible Word of God, they don’t worry much about taking care of the planet. And there lies the flaw.

The only way for us to save ourselves is to reject these false religious beliefs and turn back to Gnosticism. We need to recognize the Mother Earth as a living sentient entity that provides for our every need.

In return, it is the duty of all humans to cherish, protect and do everything in our power to restore the Mother to the wonderful garden she was when it all began.

Failure to do this means that instead of rewards, the human race can only expect a doomsday scenario. Human extinction looms if the planet dies.