One Higher Power

I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you. That’s the phrase people will sometimes use in jest when they are sworn to secrecy, or just don’t feel like disclosing some information. It’s because we’re naturally curious creatures — we want to know the unknown, turn over the rocks to see what kind of bugs are crawling around underneath.

Modern societies, though, work to train this natural human quality out of human beings. Through news, movies, stories, and even through churches and schools — we are given impressions that deep, dark forces are at work all around us all the time, and in response to these forces we are to shelter ourselves from them and/or report suspicions to authorities. We should never take it upon ourselves to investigate further — that should be left to others “more qualified.”
(Continued…)

I wrote three days ago about a new kind of predator — a “big brother”-style data mining operation online aimed at generating emotional profiles of people, which I mentioned would only be the tip of the iceberg considering the corporate names involved in the endeavor.

Lo’ and Behold! I am apparently psychic, or just astute. Either way, as of October, the Federal Bureau of Investigation is implementing new rules which will allow for warrantless investigations on U.S. citizens for non-criminal behavior, based on *drumroll* profiling, by means such as online data mining.
(Continued…)

There is something to be said for the humility and couth it takes to give and receive gifts in the traditional sense, and it may well have something to do with what I am really getting at in this post.

Gifts in the traditional sense would be presents — things given from one person or group to another, for any number of purposes: holidays, retribution, honor, etc. Yet, we all have talents and abilities we commonly refer to as “gifts” also — things we are good at, things we have a penchant for that others don’t necessarily match, things that set us apart and seem to provide a foundation for “who we are” and the lives we lead.
(Continued…)

Steel from the wrecked World Trade Center has been used to construct a solid steel cross, the universal symbol of Christianity, and has been erected in the town of Shanksville, Pennsylvania, USA near the site of “the field” where it is told that passengers heroically grounded an airliner destined for a kamikaze style attack at the US capitol in Washington DC.

Of all the things to build from the steel, a Christian cross seems to be the most defiant religious statement that could be made against extremist Islam who claimed responsibility for the attacks on September 11, 2003.

While it’s more likely that it was constructed as a grave-like memorial in honor of the lives lost, as is very common in the U.S. to do following Christian traditions (i.e. fallen soldiers’ graves at Arlington National Cemetary, et al), is it possible there is a deeper message at the root of this particular selection?

As Tropical Storm Fay moved through, I took the momentum of the winds and spruced up the site a little bit, tweaking and twirking to make it look “more prettier” and hopefully a bit more user-friendly. I’m interested in knowing what you think about it - if you’re one of the regulars and it doesn’t look any different to you than it did a couple days ago, please hit the “refresh” button on your browser to pick up the new stylesheet, images, etc.

The most dramatic change: you’ll notice there is some really obnoxious person who put a music player on here and it’s set to autoplay. (Continued…)

There is something about music that stirs the soul. It seems everyone has a favorite tune, or genre of music because it evokes a feeling, a sensation, something beyond just pulses of air hitting the ear-drum. These effects of music have been long known, arguably before even language evolved in the human mind… and there are many that use music to coerce and subliminally alter the consciousness of people.

The old adage: music soothes even the savage beast. It’s true, and it also (Continued…)