chuck kottke

Love so true, so rare; to weather the storms in life and see it through, that's all I am asking of you; all that is needed. True love is more precious than all the gold in the world, for what else holds us in a loving embrace, or kisses us gently on the lips? Time will heal the wounds, mend the ship. Love will find a way.:flutterby:

It was many years ago that three wise Indians, one a Menominee, one a Potawatomi, and one a Chippewa met on Thunder Mountain to hold a council. As they sat exchanging ideas, they suddenly heard a great noise that seemed to come from the north side of the mountain. Rushing to the location of the sounds, they were surprised to see two great Spirit Forces fighting. At about the same time the spirits saw the Indians, and one of them called out, "Help me," he said, "For I am the Thunder Bird Spirit." Help me and you will always have much food, for I make the corn grow erect, and give life to the trees and flowers. I am the life Spirit." Then cried the other Spirit, "Help me and you will always have much water to drink and to make the corn grow, for I am the Horned Panther Spirit and I cull the rain down from the clouds to fill the rivers and lakes with much water." The Indians were at a loss to know just what to do, but being wise Indians, they drew their arrows, closed their eyes and shot. when they looked again, they saw that the Horned Panther spirit had been wounded; and as they watched he was overcome by the Thunder Bird and thrown into the lake. The water of the lake immediately turned green and has remained so to this day, for the Horned Panther Spirit was doomed to live forever in the water. From the lake on Thunder Mountain he has gone to all rivers and lakes, where he lingers in the whirlpools or deep places, and sometimes overturns a canoe or drags and drowns Indians. And at times he reaches up to squeeze the water from it, but the Thunder Bird Spirit lashes out at him with bolts of lightning and the thunder of his mighty voice can be heard for miles around. And sometimes to this very day, a deep rumbling sound can be heard beneath the earth on Thunder Mountain where the Horned Water Panther and the great Thunder Bird Spirit. For the Horned Water Panther is the Bad Spirit that brings death and destruction, but the Thunder Bird is the spirit of life and happiness. So the never ending warfare between the forces of good and evil will continue until the end of time, for the fight is for the souls of men, that terrible fight that started so long, long ago on Thunder Mountain. -Potawatomi Legend As told by Charlie Thunder, Potawatomi historian.

It's probably an act of desperation on his part, for not knowing how to deal with his own financial issues, and the loss of self-esteem, set at his net worth in money, not his real value as a human being. Know the story of family members long ago gone mad when the markets crashed in 29 - sounds more like that to me! So he blames it all on the IRS, tried to destroy whatever he had out of vengeance and then did the last act to hit what he personally blamed as the problem, not business failures of his or maybe no one persons doing, etc. Cousins of mine tried to blow up the family in 29 with the crash, assuming it would take everyone to heaven, since these family member's egos went down so far.. The IRS might be to blame for his woes, bot that's not the answer Jay - organizing is! Getting mobilized it!

Go for it!;)

Lyvie "shite. when i said : please reflect your thoughts about this country, well and through. and be a good leader by repairing our mistakes. it wouldn't hurt to try. :) i meant it for the leader of Malaysia. :\" Thanks - that is very flattering, but that's also a very tall order to fill, especially for someone who is not from Malaysia! Perhaps you need a local leader, who leads by example, from the will of the people? --- i agree with Zeya and Pai. For us here to do something against the government, it takes a lot of guts. The government always find ways in winning over the opposition since their great loss at the last election. I can imagine that. Courage takes movements, and people rallying support who truly believe in, and have thought through, a better path forward. Freedom of speech is not the 'It' thing too. Not only we aren't allowed to have freedom of speech with anything against the government, we don't practice it in our daily living with our parents, teachers or friends, stereotypically speaking of course. Why? Well, if the government encourages freedom of speech among the rakyat (citizens), then the rakyat will practice it among themselves. It all starts with the government. You can say anything you want, just nothing that goes against the government, eh?;) Without a history of questioning and reasoning, gathering places for political dissidents, and a variety of role-models and view-points to choose from, I can see why it is hard for the citizens to begin the process of reasoning and change. But real change comes not from the top-down, but from the bottom-up usually - by the consent of the governed are governments supposed to govern; the other way around usually does not last. Maybe the citizens need a taste of real freedom, or some opportunity to find a way of communicating without real detection, and those thinkers to gradually bring more people in - for greater inclusion within a group of dissidents? Academics and technologists often provide excellent places to start - what about your universities? How Orwellian is Malaysia? But I've got to admit, the government learned from history. When Japan came to conquer us, they used propaganda, and that's what Mr. Najib is doing now with "1Malaysia". :dozey: Understood. Propaganda is effective, even here (unfortunately so!). But it seems that the longer things go on without some external or internal threat, the propaganda begins to become transparent, as reality gets clearer. What about other sources of news and general information? I could go on and on, but I'm afraid of ISA too. At least, for now. :rolleyes: ;) ;) BTW Mr. chuck kottke, your English is brilliant. :stunned: :laugh3:Thanks! Perhaps my American-English is sufficient for posting here, but hardly brilliant. But, thanks for the compliment! Keep working on enlightening your fellow citizens in Malaysia Lyvie!;);)

Perhaps not the radiation, but does the plastic phone case out-gas carcinogens? Constant skin exposure might lead to a risk. And while the energy level of radio waves are below infra-red (heat essentially), one wonders if they may disrupt certain molecular bonds, as the resonant frequency of a given bond will oscillate when pulsed with a corresponding frequency of microwave radiation. If that were bonds in the DNA molecule, or hormone molecule bonds, or some other important regulator chemical in the body, I would think there could potentially be some risks, but if double-blind clinical tests are inconclusive or show a low level of correlation between risk and exposure, well then, it sounds like they may be safe in terms of their microwave energy outputs. But some cell phones do have a vibrator setting, so this might lead to some excitement when placed in a bra! :P

:laugh3: Hardly! Nick must need new glasses. I like June Carter! Well, when she was among us. TNP likes tropical lychee fruit..

LOL! :laugh3:Just toss Chis into a duplicator, and Shazam! make as many as you like! If we cloned him today, you'd have to wait a good 18 years before he would be star material. Would you wait that long?

All citizens shall enjoy the right of personal privacy in their homes, papers, and private communications. Congress shall have the power to enforce this article of amendment with appropriate legislation.

:rolleyes:You're getting me into more hot water there. This poor lobster has been boiled enough lately!

Yes ivet, you got it!!:)

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ooi3KVfWnM&NR=1]YouTube - The Balance-The Moody Blues[/ame] This

I wish I could turn back time..

The lakeshore area of the UP gets tons and tons of snow.. but the rest saw just a little bit. Lake effect is a big deal in the UP! What the mitten got, I haven't a clue.;)

I don't Yet own an Ipod, but if I did have one, I would have "Here Comes The Sun".:):sunny:

28F is pretty nice, actually! ..but maybe not for Arkansas.. Did you get some snow down in the razorback state?

How long before people realized the sun was a fusion process, not combustion? Looking back, it's little wonder of the refusal to accept theories of more complicated nuanced complex systems over limited individual observations. But I do wonder where it is all headed. If the models are correct, or if they lack more correlating evidence, and a finer understanding of all the tipping points.. Science without learned skepticism isn't really science. It's hard to test a hypothesis on a planet, even with the best of systems modeling.

Happy Birthday Viri, the next President of Albania!;) :sunny::hat::sunny:

The odds are one-in-a-million, but by the millionth train passing by, at least one of those million chances has made the mistake. Operator may have had a stroke, or heart attack just before; or looked in back at a stuck brake when he should have been looking ahead - any number of possibilities. Human error is always a factor - so if there were some duplication of safety mechanisms at stops - an electronic pulse sent to stop the train when the light switched to red, or a photo-sensor coupled to a switch on the train - three fail-safes in aircraft, why not three on rail? I think it would be quite affordable.. Anyhow, it's a good time to work towards a safer rail system. The political will is there, and the technology can upgrade the systems without too much expense. The U.S. could use this as well, if we don't already have something like this in place? More research needed..

:laugh3: Toupe' animals are de-furred each year using barber shears in some far-off land.. and then they hear, the ubiquitous "you're fired!" from Trump himself..

sorry no picture here. Gotta undue a snafu! How about the weather in Arkansas?

Yes we can mend the country, amend the constitution, and eat crunchy almonds at the same time!:)

Gouda? Is Gouda for singles then on Happy Singles Appreciation Day? Singles, as in single slices? Sounds Cheezey to me!:)

:laugh3: Good one Bryce!

He was a lonely dock worker, and she was the Stewardess on the love boat? Better?:laugh3: But they had one thing in common. Salt water spray.:P