Kitsula's Log

MacGyver Mic Stand

2010-01-07T08:54:29Z

Well I can't find my normal shitty mic - so I only have this shitty one the size of an AA battery with no stand. Since I needed to use the mic and didn't want to hold it I've MacGyvered a Mic Stand for it:

I'll have to get a new shitty one tomorrow.

Back

2010-01-07T01:14:22Z

Back in Columbus and crapola. Will catch up on things soonish.

Linkage

2010-01-05T03:08:42Z

Controversial feminist theologian Mary Daly dead at 81

Another article - mentioning that she "had her tenure rights removed at Boston College after she refused to allow male students in her Women's Studies class." / (Old article about that incident)

She also was one of the originators of the erroneous 'nine million women killed during the burning times' figure and left a huge mark on many segments of 'goddess worshipers'. She also had a negative view of Transsexuals whom she called 'Frankensteinian'. (Wiki).

I severely disagree with the majority of her views but felt I should post this since she had a large impact on some segments of modern paganism - even if it was somewhat negative in my opinion.

Moss Rings

via primaldog

Egypt archaeologists discover huge tomb near Cairo

Huge tomb found in Egypt burial ground

Whew

2010-01-04T08:48:19Z

Well past two days.

Saturday spent most of the day with neilworms watching videos on Judaism such as A Life Apart - Hasidism in America and Nove: The Bible's Buried Secrets (which is watchable online ) along with some shorts prompted by some werid discussion about Williamsberg and an invasion of Hipsters into the Hasdic Areas (the latest clash has been over a Bike Path).

After Neil left I that watched through a good chunk of Syfy's Twilight Zone Marathon that I recorded. Three of my favorites that they showed:
The Little People, Number 12 Looks Just Like You, and Five Characters in Search of an Exit.

After that spent most of yesterday packing and driving to the City of Seven Hills where I'm visiting relatives for the next few days.

Also Synthehol may become a reality

Blargo.

Edit:

Oh and neilworms about Pacman 2 - here's two videos showcasing Namco's old experimental train wreck:

Video Game Vault: Pacman 2 - The New Adventures
Classic Game Room: Pacman 2
JetReviews: Pacman 2 (Warning: long walk-through/review)

Yamato Live Action Trailer

2010-01-03T00:14:24Z

Today

2010-01-02T09:50:04Z

Well today I was mostly planing on hanging around the house and doing some reading but neilworms showed up out of the blue and we watched some Critic on the Star Wars Holiday Special and Linkara on Frank Miller's Insanity and All Star Batman and Robin. Then Roman came over and we went out to eat.

We tried to get gas but the stations we tried were closed or broken then we went to Hounddog's Pizza but they couldn't serve pizza due to their dough machine breaking. So we went to Yeo's and got some food and then came back to watch Genius Party & Genius Party Beyond. Then we watched a bunch of other shorts and other videos to make sure our minds were thoroughly blown out.

Yeah crazy day.

Crazy Dream

2010-01-01T20:20:13Z

eaight, I blame you for inspiring this dream.

Ok, I was for some reason a superhero (dressed kind of like a cross between a Ninja costume and Deadpool) and was fight undead Nazis lead by an Undead Hitler. After a while and destroying and nuking several Undead Nazi Bases (a ship and a compound) we tracked down Hitler. After the war Hitler became one of the undead and assumed the name of 'Mitler Barize' (and adopted the look of Hitler in Captain Planet) while he slowly built an undead empire. Finally we found his giant crawling cattle skull shaped hiding in the deserts of Iraq.

Infiltrating the base and swording and gunning down Nazi vampires with the help of Captain Planet (who beat the crap out of the Nazis and hit them with solar power). Then gunning down and cutting off Hitler's head while crying out "There Can Only Be One, Bitch!".

This poped up on YouTube a little bit ago...

2010-01-01T06:52:26Z

Happy New YeARS!

2010-01-01T05:42:20Z

Happy New Years!!!!

May your new year be bright and happy!

Well

2009-12-30T07:37:55Z

I just came back from seeing Alien Pocahontas on Planet Fern Gully and I have to say the effects are amazing - but it tended to hurt my eyes in bit and seemed choppy in fast moving sections which could have been due to wearing the 3-d glasses over my glasses and it not working that well.

The as for the plot its a basic Noble savage story where the Na'vi are the Happy ~~Brown~~ Blue People who are extremely noble and live in perfect harmony with nature to every possible stereotype. The Earthians are an evil group out to plunder the planet for Unobtainium (I'm dead serious it's actually called Unobtainium like they forgot to invent an exotic resource and just left the placeholder there) and mow down large areas of the forest for shits & giggles while not listening to their own scientists even when they point out the trees that they're wiping out for kicks could have useful applications and be valuable. It's more or less like this:

Scientists: These trees act like a highly advance computer network and we have objective data to prove it here! It could be valuable!
CEO: HERR!! DURR!! It's just trees! And trees are bad! we make smash them now!
Military Commander: I like guns and explosions! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Everything I could say about it has been said by other people. I did note that Cameron seemed to have wanted to do Dances with Wolves instead but set it on alien planet to avoid accusations of turning Native Americans into stereotypes (I.E. early in the film a Dream Cather is prominently displayed in the background and there are references such as "The Horse People of the Plains" and the styles/actions of the natives).

Also there are mountains that just hang in the air much the same way that bricks don't, because... they are ummm... Magical or something? I could forgive this if the story was decent but this was just more icing on the wtf cake.

Also Mercs or no how does the military just allow a one of their pilots to fly off randomly in one of their attack aircraft during an action with no repercussions because they 'didn't sign up for this'. Also the arrows used in the beginning couldn't so anything and mostly bounced off the attack aircraft but by the end the same arrows were taking down the same attack aircraft ala Amazons Attack or the Civilization Game Series.

Also they let Humans just go home and the time of sorrows is over? Did they not think that the humans might comeback and just nuke the world from orbit or something as there was no treaty or anything to suggest the Earthians had given up on mining the planet for the valuable resources at any cost?

In the end the moral is civilization == extremely bad & evil, and natives always live happy perfect lives in paradise. The hero becomes a native (in this case literally) and the characters are all stock one dimensional stereotypes. A stock Noble Savage story.

If the team behind Avatar would have put 1% of the efforts they put into the effect on the story this could have been a much better film. But instead the story is awful and it's only saving grace is the shiny effects.

I've somewhat replicated the film below:

Also why do I get the feeling that someone will attempt to make 'Na'vi Wicca' at some point?

3.4/10

Bust

2009-12-29T23:04:05Z

Well today has mostly been a bust I slept a lot and I've been loafing around accomplishing mostly nothing but then again considering the past couple of weeks I need this.

There are a lot of comments and emails I need to reply to that I'll get today or tomorrow.

I'm considering trying to see Avatar tonight at the AMC at 8:50 tonight... I hope it will be worth it.

Also Prototype This! has a bit on Blimp/Robotic Pizza Delivery systems and it's making me hungry I think I'll cook one up.

Interesting

2009-12-29T08:41:46Z

I saw this book as forthcoming and I'm fairly interested in it:

She-Wolf: The Story of a Roman Icon by Cristina Mazzoni

Miscellany

2009-12-28T09:11:13Z

Today was kind of meh. One of my roommates zotquix got my Ted Andrew's Animal-Speak which I returned today as I already had a copy. It took a while to return the book due to the crowd and I got a gift card back. I looked over some books in the store and have several I'm considering (didn't have much time to look them over) or ordering one book I'm semi-interested in off their website.

So below are the books I'm considering and I'm looking for opinions if you've read them.

View Poll: Which Book Should I Get?

The Religion of the Romans is a book I read a bit through at another bookstore and I've been considering getting it as it seems to be a fairly interesting text on Roman Religion. I'd have to order it through the store or online though.

ChristoPaganism I saw it in store and I'm considering it mostly because of lupa's Review of the book. I figure it might be worth a half a look to see what the book does with the subject.

Anubis Oracle An oracle deck that has some interesting art - I'd probably not use it much, if at all, though.

Highest Yoga Tantra This looks to be an interesting book on Tibetan Tantric Practices.

Gems from the Equinox I was very much considering this one, it's interesting and full of wisdom but its also expensive (the gift card would only cover about 1/2 the cost). Additionally a good chunk of the text would be rather superfluous such as the sections of the text dedicated to Bakhti-yoga such as Liber Astarte and section on meditation techniques like Pranayama in Liber RV vel Spiritus contain mostly general information on the practices that show up in many texts in my Indic traditions section of my library with a few minor modifications/additions to better fit within Crowley's overall system.

In a lot of the texts I see a good deal of wisdom but I'm not sure how useful the book would be as I'm not attracted to Crowley's System of Magick or the Golden Dawn System for reasons that I will get to in a few moments. Also the bulk of the texts that form Gems from the Equinox seem to be freely floating all around on the internet which is a strong argument against buying a $50 physical copy as the exploration is out of interest and comparing notes rather than for making use of with Crowley's system/concepts (with the gift card the book cost me about $25).

As mentioned above I'm not really attracted to Crowley's Magick or the Golden Dawn system due to their heavy use of the Kabbala. I understand the use of the Kabbala due to its semi-Platonic basis and it's use in path working but I avoid using it because I don't really resonate with it, I don't follow an Abrahamic Path, and respect for Judaism. In a way the Magical Kabbala used in Western Occultism is a case of Cultural Appropriation and adaptation. The Kabbala may have had platonic influence but the bulk of its structure comes from Jewish tradition which is why traditionally a student is required to be at least 40 years of age and have a full belly (of knowledge from heavily studying the Torah and Talmudic commentary - this was the most important qualification as age in special cases was waved). The Magical Kabbala takes the concepts and some of the basic ideas and turns it into something different from the traditional Kabbalah as a large bit of the Jewish basis and tradition has been cast off for a heavier reliance on Platonic thought and the hewing and reshaping of the tree to fit all and sundry.

For me the use of the Kabbala would be akin to grafting an Oak onto a Lebanese ceder. While the Magical Kabbala has been taken out of its Jewish context it still is deeply rooted in Jewish Thought and using a system that uses the qualities of the Jewish conception of deity for path-working and mystical use while my beliefs are nothing of the sort strikes me as a wee bit incongruous to a useful path.

Why do I get the feeling that someone's going to bring up the story of Osiris in the Lebanese Ceder to argue this? Speaking about that myth while Bob Barr interprets it as a message to Egyptians that they needed to be buried in Egyptian Soil but this version of the myth is recounted by Plutarch a Greek in the Roman Empire and he probably had a motive for recounting this particular version. The Greeks and Romans were particularly fond of the practice of interpenetrating the deities of others as forms of their own deities and concepts and I think this may have something to do with Plutarch's choice of this version of the myth. Note for example that Osiris is hidden in a tree that becomes a pillar in the palace of Bybos while Isis becomes a maidservant for King Malcander and Queen Astartê. Astartê is probably obviously referring to the Phoenician/Canaanite Goddess Astartê/Astaroth and King Malcander might be a rendering of the important Phoenician god Melqart.

Now Let's look at this situation again Osiris and Isis are hidden in the deep heart of a foreign land whose rulers seem to be deities of the Phoenician pantheon. Isis here is a minor figure while Osiris is completely concealed in a pillar. This represents I think the idea that the concepts and spiritual truths of the myth are universal and can be found in any tradition but may be obscured and/or not empathized - they are still there however.

This gets me to another tangent in this increasingly rambling rant. From what I've learned and studied the Western Traditions (Pagan, Christian, and Jewish) has as much depth in them as Eastern Traditions (such as forms of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Taoism) but the difference is that these gems are like Osiris - hidden - usually under a metric ton of dross, unnecessary obscurity, and overly pedantic symbolism. In other cases like the Greek Philosophers and traditions like Neo-Platonic thought they often have been forgotten about and academicized.

For the living obscure traditions - the obscurity is often in part due to the influence of the mystery tradition (and possibly exacerbated by the struggles of Western religious history over dogma and state control in the past)- which while it has its advantages in preparation by leading one on a step by step path it also tends to purposely hide very useful basic insights and information (in addition to techniques, special advanced practices, or things that require experiential/personal transmission which make sense to hide) from the seekers of wisdom to the point that many are unaware that these gems exist to be found; Is it any wonder that Buddhism and other Eastern paths are extremely popular among Westerners when they lay a lot of the important insights are out in plain sight while these same seekers are often unaware that similar insights and practices can be found in the Western traditions (and even allege that they do not have any depth at all)?

I have preached the truth without making any distinction between exoteric and esoteric doctrine; for in respect of the truths, Ananda, the Tathagata has no such thing as the closed fist of a teacher who keeps something back."
~The Mahaparinibbana Sutta

Well this rant has gone greatly off its rails, I better stop here before I go off on yet another topic.

Yippie-ka-yay Dr. Watson

2009-12-26T07:31:22Z

I went to see the Sherlock Holmes movie with Jon and it was Ok. It's worth probably renting or watching on TV but it's not really that well done. First the good parts: it did hit on some of Holmes' bad habits and was grittier than most of the well polished adaptations but the movie suffered from poor direction and writing.

Case in point at several points Holmes thinks about how he can take someone out with a few hits (Holmes is canonically skilled in Bartitsu) and he narratives a slo-mo version of the attack before the real-time attack was shown. This would be ok if done once (to establish Holmes skill in the martial arts) or if only the slo-mo fight with narration was shown but we see the slo-mo fight followed by the real-time fight several times.

The movie also suffers by frequent use of action movie cliches like disarming a bomb at the last moment, massive explosions, overly complicated yet easily defeatable death traps, and corny wisecracks. Irene Adler was added in as a love interest / hot eye-candy adventuress. And the case while interesting could have been embellished a bit more since it took a back seat to the action scenes and some scenes such as Holmes reenacting a ritual would have been interesting to see (he mentions discovering something that wasn't relevant to the case). Also there seemed to be a reference to Dr. John Dee in Lord Blackwood's cell - the word Fortitude is scrawled in large letters on the wall and he mentions the Whore of Babylon while ranting to Holmes (Wiki: Babalon and Enochian Magic).

There is a flag on the play: Offsides, five yard penalty.

2009-12-25T06:30:33Z

I guess the Pope has groupies... other than the spiders of course...

Alternatively insert snarky joke about the Scarlet Woman going down on the Pope.

But in all seriousness good to see that he was not injured and went ahead as if nothing happened.

Edit:

On the Pope's Homily. The first half showed great wisdom with his speech on being awake and avoiding the delusions of the ego.

In the later part though Pope Benedict XVI quoted Origen on paganism: The crux of which was "paganism is a lack of feeling". This incident reminds me of the Pope quoting Emperor Manuel II Paleologus on Islam to make Christianity look better. Or his description of Buddhism 'appearing' to be an "Auto-Erotic Spirituality" and other symptoms of his chronic foot in mouth disease.

If anything Paganism is a religion of feeling - our gods are imminent and transcendent. We are surrounded by gods and spirits that exist everywhere and in everything - if anything this all opens us up more to the surrounding interconnected web of reality - the very opposite of the Pope's point. Far from being blind to God we can see the divine everywhere: In a mote of dust and a blade of grass to the awe-inspiring images of vast celestial phenomena and concepts. The universe is not a dead corpse but a living animated body of which we are a part. The Pope (through Origen) accuses Pagans of lacking reason as well - Granted there are a number of examples in Paganism of people without reason, but to be fair, this seems to a problem which plagues Christianity as well - but as for Pagans in general lacking reason - what would the Philosophers of the ancient world like Plato and the Stoics, whose ideas permeate Catholic Theology, be classified as? Pagan philosophy and theology both ancient and modern can be rich and as deep as any other religion or as shallow and insipid as other religions as well - it all depends on the mind of the philosopher and their ability to know the unknowable and to bottle lighting.

The Star

2009-12-24T16:30:31Z

In the 1980s the 2nd Twilight Zone did an adaptation of Arthur C. Clarke's The Star and I found it on YouTube so enjoy:

Also a good classic episode for this time of year: Five Characters in Search of an Exit.

Marvel Presents: X-mas Origins

2009-12-23T09:37:18Z

Cat on a Roomba

Links

2009-12-22T22:36:45Z

via lupabitch

Open Source Rituals v0.97667Β

via The Daily Grail

Watson...the Needle!

Hyenas cooperate more easily than chimpanzees

via Times and Seasons

A Jewish gag’s journey to the 'Tonight Show'

Senator Orrin Hatch's Eight Days of Hanukkah

Max Weinberg's A Very Mormon Christmas

via nonfluffypagans

Hundreds of pagans turn up at Stonehenge for the winter solstice... on the WRONG DAY

via _crow365__

It's a Frap! We can't repel flavour of that magnitude!

Condom Pillow

via random

Tesla Coil Christmas Tree

Pagan Influences in Christian Culture

Also a meme:

Dear Santa...

Dear Santa,

This year I've been busy!

Last week narumi and I donated clothes to the needy (11 points). In July I ruled Asscrackistan as a kind and benevolent dictator (700 points). Last month I bought porn for white9_fox (-10 points). Last Friday I ruled Iran as a cruel and heartless dictator (-700 points). In January I invaded Iraq, broke it, and couldn't glue it back together before Mom got home (-1012 points).

Overall, I've been naughty (-1011 points). For Christmas I deserve a spanking!

Sincerely,
ns_kumiho

Happy Yule!

2009-12-22T08:22:13Z

Happy Yule / Solstice!

I finished my rituals a little bit ago - I did a journey and saw a spectacular vision of Luperca I'm still grounding myself.

Update

2009-12-20T10:41:42Z

I've been busy lately thanks to work (yay retail & Xmas).

I'll try to get around to writing the next Tarot Journey post this Monday since I have the 21st off.

News Item

2009-12-19T07:24:38Z

Auschwitz sign stolen by vile thieves

Io, Saturnalia!

2009-12-18T08:41:02Z

Ok, I loled

2009-12-17T08:19:58Z

Mary and Joseph billboard upsets Catholics
New Zealand fundies outraged by a Mary and Joseph Christmas billboard

Io, Saturnalia!

2009-12-17T07:08:26Z

Kitsula's Log

MacGyver Mic Stand

Back

Linkage

Whew

Yamato Live Action Trailer

Today

Crazy Dream

This poped up on YouTube a little bit ago...

Happy New YeARS!

Happy New Years!!!!

Well

Bust

Interesting

Miscellany

Yippie-ka-yay Dr. Watson

More links

There is a flag on the play: Offsides, five yard penalty.

The Star

Marvel Presents: X-mas Origins

Links

Happy Yule!

Update

News Item

Io, Saturnalia!

Ok, I loled

Io, Saturnalia!