Happy New Year

(8)

Happy New Year.

People of the Lie

(7)

What brought this subject to mind on this occasion was the persistent memory of a woman talking on her cell phone. I was in the local super market several weeks ago, and I overheard a women who chose an interesting way to terminate her call. She said something like, 'Well, I'm in checkout now, so I'll have to let you go.' She then terminated the conversation. What struck me about her was that she had told an obvious lie: she was in the rear of the store nowhere near checkout. Yet she made no attempt to prevent me from hearing her deception. Why not?

There must be a dozen or more possible explanations for her lack of 'consistency' and I won't bother to comment on all the possibilities. But the memory of the incident stuck with me, eventually achieving an almost permanent status: I had actually seen another person tell a lie! I was unable to forget the incident, not that I tried.

As I occasionally thought about the encounter over the weeks that followed I arrived at the most probable conclusion: the woman did not realize she was telling a literal lie. To her it was enough of a truth to pass: she would indeed soon be in checkout. Close enough.

Then I was reminded of Ouspensky's Fourth Way and the ubiquitous human practice of lying. I just now consulted the book in question in search of a juicy quote. Here it is on page 30:

'There is a definite obstacle, a definite reason why we cannot have consciousness as we are. This chief obstacle in the way of development is lying. I have already mentioned lying, but we must speak more about it, for we do not know what lying means because we have never studied this question seriously. Yet the psychology of lying is really the most important part of the study of the human being. If a man could be described as a zoological type, he would be described as a lying animal.'

The Strength of Journalism

(6)

This is the great strength of journalism. Written words have a kind of stonelike persistence. So do spoken words if they are recorded. So do recorded actions. The strengths and weaknesses of those recorded words and actions are subject to public evaluation. The 'publicness' of 'the record' is what matters, and is what ultimately determines the quality of that particular 'information sequence.'

The opposite of 'journalism' is 'private thinking.'

Private thinking is never verifiable, even to the thinker. Private thinking has the solidity of air, and as such is highly succeptible to decorations, balloons, confetti, etc. Actions, especially public actions, on the other hand, have a substance to them which can refute reports of private thinking. Private thinking is often riddled with self-deception. We distrust private thinking, especially in The Other, but we don't distrust it so much in ourselves. Indeed, we guild our own private thinking with the golden aura of 'true recall' and are surprised to discover that our memories have been distorted by our predelections.

The Nature of Truthfulness

(5)

It might be worth your while to hunt this little piece down on the web and view it, so I won't describe it further except to say that I found it very Zenly, which is not quite the same as very friendly, but close enough.

I've already exceeded my intended alcohol consumption for tonight. So much for will power and resolutions under the seductive spell of booze. Resolution fares much better in a sober environment. I've also noticed that guilt has influenced my spontaneity in a negative manner. There is no longer the usual verbal carelessness as my paranoid (and guilty) brain seeks to prevent further outrage, no doubt in the interests of self-preservation. This curious fact tends to confirm my impression that I am not really capable of massive self-deception.

Is that a good thing or a bad thing? And is this effect due more to my innate honesty or to the fact that I am publishing these thoughts? Or both? Good question. I think the answer lies less in 'innateness' and more in 'publicness.' I am no more innately truthful than you are, but the written word carries so much weight with it that our tendency to 'decorate' our memories in a more pleasing manner is suppressed, with the result that we tend to become more truthful.

The Zen Game

(4)

For lack of a better subject I am minded to write about something I recently saw on PBS's Independent Lens, 'The Raftman's Razor.' This short subject grabbed my attention right at the beginning. It began with the words, 'The raftman was a comic book hero perpetually lost at sea in an inflatable rubber raft.' The animated visuals showed a single male lying in a rubber raft surrounded by water. He was fully dressed in shoes and a suit, as if he had been suddenly plucked out of his normal life. He was lying on his back in the raft apparently asleep. There were no oars, clothes, food or water in the raft.

The piece then goes on to say that each issue (of the comic magazine) would always begin in the same way: he would wake up, rub his eyes, then shave his face with a pearl-handled straight razor (which in the video was actually a red-handled straight razor). Then he would think a single thought (in a little comic balloon). The first thought was, 'Chaos is the soil in which truth grows.' After this single thought absolutely nothing happened for the next 30 or so pages as the raftman just sat there in the raft staring at the ocean.

The next issue introduces a new thought: 'God smiles only on the inanimate.'

The next issue introduces yet a newer thought: 'Life is a series of meaningless poses.'

The next issue has him thinking that, ' .' (In other words, nothing.)

The fifth issue found that the raftman was gone. Only the razor remained, thinking, 'Once forgotten, we are perfect.'

Some Dangerous Sites

(3)

If you are one of those folks who think they are both quite dangerous then you might like this site http://http://www.newscientistspace.com/article.ns?id=mg18524911.600 about other things that don't seem to make sense. Be warned that it is another naughty science site. I got this one from Clicked which led to this one which led to this one. Be advised that I tried to prove the links to these sites but kept getting the 'server not found error,' just like last week. My tentative conclusion is that this result is due to local hackery, since the linking process seemed to go well.

Satan is Alive and Well in Sweden

(2)

Somewhat concerned about the numbers, I looked up 'INR chart' on Google and found that an elevated INR begins to get serious at 5 or above, dangerous at 10 or above, and catastrophic at 20 or above. The emergency remedy consists of vitamin k and dose reduction. So... I rationalized that I had enough wiggle room to do another friday night liver bash. The next blood test should tell the story. Meanwhile, my personal BBI (Bloody Booger Index) tests have indicated a coagulation rate well within the desired range. Naturally, I will keep you informed baring sudden death.

Since I have no written agenda for tonight I'm taking a clue or two from the MSNBC site. First up is this one which might horrify you or not depending on your FQ (fundamentalist quotient). Are you concerned about the implications of organized religion in this highly technological age? Do you worry that religious fundamentalists, convinced that they are 'doing the will of God,' will introduce nuclear weapons to the suicide bomber? If so, then take heart: Satan is alive and well in Sweden. True, we wish he were alive and well in Iran instead... or do we?

Who is more dangerous? God? The Devil?

A Guilty Secret

(1)

Doing justice to Gellman I should mention that I later read one of his essays (Newsweek) in which he seems to love Christmas and the Christmas tree. Strange.

Looks like I may have to bring my Gas Log site up to date again. The gassers had almost stopped gassing me after I became obviously ill, but they now seem intent on resuming their previous activity at a high level. My 'rat allergy' continues, indicating that they continue to pump rat allergen into the apartment. Historically they stop with the rat allergen in the spring when I am able to run the fans at full power most of the time.

I'm feeling guilty as I write this. Apparently last Friday night's boozing caused enough of a decrease in liver function to significantly affect my INR number (INR is a value which indicates blood coagulation rate). The ideal INR for me is about 2.5 (between 2 and 3), but blood drawn the previous tuesday indicated an INR of 3.5. The folks who are tracking my INR seemed to be a bit concerned and suggested a slight reduction in the Coumadin dose. They wondered about any change in the foods I eat but did not ask me about alcohol. Only about an hour or two later did the obvious dawn on me, otherwise I would have 'fessed up.

So I am now living with a guilty alcohol secret.

Merry Christmas!

(12)

After two shots of CW on an 'empty stomach' (recall that I have recently imbibed 12 cans of 3.2 Natural Lights) I have come to the conclusion that three weeks of sobriety has been extremely beneficial to my CNS. But the question has arisen as to whether my life in The Moment has improved. Good question.

I can only answer that question in The Moment, and I must confess that my memory of recent events suggests that there is no certain answer. Maybe my experience was improved; maybe not. Maybe sobriety was beneficial, maybe not. The fact that I still exist in the moment suggests that sobriety - dull as it was - was worth the candle.

But maybe not. Merry Christmas!

The Moment

(11)

My data suggests that, 'yes you can, but it might be something of a drag.' This brings us to the question of 'the value of the moment.' How valuable is 'the moment?' What is The Moment?

There is nothing more valuable than The Moment. 'The Moment' means, 'here and now.' Nothing else exists. The existence of gods and devils is a Speculation in The Moment. There is no other moment than the Current Moment. The 'future' and the 'past' do not exist and never will exist. All you ever have is The Moment. Prove me wrong if you can.

I first discovered The Moment during an LSD Trip. I didn't understand the concept at the time, but I later read a description of The Moment which clicked with my recollections: Acid had introduced me to The Moment. I discovered later that at least one ancient 'system' seemed to define The Moment: Ouspensky's 'Fourth Way.' Ouspensky had preceeded me is some sense. Ouspensky had learned that nothing was more valuable than The Moment.

Stark Reality

(10)

It is now 2345 and my right leg is beginning to itch. Also, I have finished my 12th 3.2 NL. I've been curious concerning how an extended period of sobriety would affect me on these Friday nights and I am happy to report that extended sobriety (three weeks or so) renders 12 cans of 3.2 beer more or less innocuous. This tends to suggest that once a week is too often. Whether I will take advantage of this information remains to be seen, as I am now working on my first shot of Canadian Whiskey.

My impression regarding the value of extended sobriety (three weeks or so) is that it is a very relative thing, ripe with 'good news-bad news.' Can you actually endure three weeks of stark sobriety? Yes you can. Will you like it? No you won't.

Will your CNS benefit from three weeks of stark sobriety? Yes, but the improvement is very subtle. Subtle but solid. In fact, the data suggests that once-a-month might be the ideal interval of inebriation. But this raises the question of whether you can endure it. Can you endure 30 days of stark reality?

Many Religions, One Science

(9)

Unlike religious fraud, scientific fraud is rare. The reason for this pleasant fact is that scientific claims are testable by other scientists, whereas religious claims is not testable by other religionists. The historical result of this verity is that nowadays there are ten thousand religions but only one science.

There was a rare example of scientific fraud in the news recently. Seems some South Korean researcher claimed some sort of breakthrough regarding his study of stem cells. Fellow scientists could not replicate his claims and today he confessed to having cheated. What was he thinking?!

As I sit here with my leg elevated in order to reduce the arterial pressure in the veins of my poor swollen right leg I wonder. But I am comforted knowing that the treatment prescribed by Kaiser Permanente (et al) is the best possible approach to my recovery. I am free from the nagging notion that I might be following the wrong science and that my chances of survival might be minimized as a result. I am free from major doubt.

True, I may have reservations concerning particular persons who were involved in the diagnosis and treatment of my illness, that much may be true. But I have absolutely no doubt whatsoever in the medical theories which suggest the current treatment. Furthermore I have no doubt in the real people who are assisting me through this illness.

From the technician who sticks a needle in my arm every two or three days to the disembodied (but charming) voice on the telephone advising me of the results, and all those in between, I am grateful. I know that we are all members of the Same True Religion.

History is a Terrible Thing

(8)

I should mention that 'clicked' later realized the 'bitter' nature of this site and changed their recommendation concerning Christmas to the site, Wikipedia (Wikapedia?).

I found the name of the Jewish site (simpletoremember.com) interesting. The site was obviously devoted to remembering Jewish history, especially that history of persecution of Jews by Christians and others. I also found the site itself interesting. It seems that there is a thing called, 'Jewish Identity' and that an integral part of 'Jewish Identity' is the history of Jewish suffering through the ages mostly at the hands of Christians.

Racial Memory is a terrible thing. So is Tribal Memory. So is Religious Memory. So is Sexual Memory. So is Political Memory. Old memories (history) warn us against past mistakes, but those same memories tend to inflame the passions of the nuttiest among us (rabbi Gelman for example) who see ancient enemies in their very neighbors. Those ancient enemies then become in some sense contemporary.

In my humble opinion the worst enemy of the Jew is the father who insisted on his sexual mutilation. There is no greater insult.

A Jewish Christmas

(7)

The Judeo (Gelman) Christian (Hartman) pair were discussing the meaning of the current holidays when Gelman seemed to rail against the Christmas Tree. He suggested that even some Jews erected Christmas Trees during the year-end celebrations and that this practice offended him. He suggested that 'we know who you are' and that those errant Jews should 'get a life.' The implication was that Gelman saw that Pagan symbol as a Christian symbol and hated the idea that some 'errant' Jews had adopted it. I was surprised by Gelman's outburst.

But Gelman's antipathy seems to be congruent with that of another Jew whose opinions I recently stumbled upon, those of Lawrence Kelerman at simpletoremember.com. I tried to link to this site but my attempt failed, so you will have to type it in for yourselves if you want to view it. I stumbled on this Jewish site quite by accident via msnbc's 'clicked.' Judeo-Faggot forces are preventing me from linking to either site at the moment.

Dead Cat

(6)

Furthermore such a religion must reject old, outmoded 'knowlege.' Few if any religions are capable of this. It seems to follow therefore that if you are a naturally curious person (such as Eve) you should seek out scientific rather than religious knowlege. There is an old saying to the effect that, 'Curiosity killed the cat.' Your dumb-ass religion is the cat.

2018 and I am sitting here with my feet up wondering what to write next. I remember a piece on the today show featuring 'The God Squad,' (something of an oxymoron). TGS is a two man show of Jewish and Christian clerics who make it their business to try and unite the disparate religions or to at least minimize the differences between them. Based on their last names I suspect that one of them is Jewish-Christian while the other is Jewish-Jewish, the common denominator being Jewish. I always find them interesting in the forensic sense of the term, 'interesting.'

Heretofore I had found nothing objectionable about these two believers, but today I was somewhat surprised to see that the most Jewish member of this dubious duo held a real antipathy to The Christmas Tree.

True Religion

(5)

We all know what happened next: God devised a test whereby he could check up on the behavior of his new pets. The test involved the fruits of two forbidden trees and a tempter in the form of an alluring snake. The snake suggested to the woman that she could improve her understanding of her world if she 'ate of the fruit of the tree of knowlege.'

The woman rightly chose to extend her knowlege and so she ate the fruit. She then suggested to her mate that he also eat the fruit, which he did. One of the results was that they suddenly realized they were naked. This story is a myth and a metaphor, not an historical fact. The metaphorical aspect of this story was recently played out in the courts of Dover, PA as the question of Science vs Religion in the 'intelligent design' case. Ancient religions fear all forms of new knowlege. It is axiomatic that a 'religion' has much to fear from science unless that 'religion' is open to the kinds of revision which are the lifeblood of science.

The only 'true religion,' if there is such a thing, must embrace new knowlege.

My New Appreciation of Religion

(4)

Needless to say, these recent events have engendered in me a new appreciation of religion in the sense that they have brought me closer to my Booger Bible. As my blood has become thinner my production of bible boogers has increased quite dramatically, especially in the mornings. So every morning nowadays I look forward to blowing the perfect Bible Booger. I then dig the little devils out of the paper towel and paste them into the Very Old and Odius Testament somewhere. Recently I've focused on Genesis, the story of Creation. My previous favorite section had been the story of Abraham, but it has become somewhat overboogered.

I take particular exception to the biblical account of creation because it is so manifestly absurd: God, for whatever reasons, decided He needed company, and created The Universe with us in it. In the beginning we seem to have performed the function of pets.

But God was not satisfied with mere pets. God wanted pets who followed rules. God's rules. God was not able to accept the natural behavior of his newly created pets.

Last Resort

(3)

I was impressed with the female physician who ordered the DVT test, and after firing my previous PCP I inquired whether she was 'taking new patients.' They said that she wasn't, so I selected another PCP at random. Since then I have been making regular visits to the KAF so that they can check my blood coagulation rate. Which brings us up to date.

The real danger of venous blood clots is that they can break loose and travel to the heart, brain, or lungs, causing death or worse. I think, looking back on my symptoms, that a small piece of the clot did indeed break loose and lodge in my lungs, resulting in the lack of stamina which I described previously concerning my bike rides. In fact, it was that episode which caused me to visit Kaiser in the first place. Swollen leg... Shortness of breath... Just how much of a clue does a physician need?

The lesson I learned from this is that your physician would rather let you die than resort to Google.

Thank you Google!

(2)

The artery test proved ok, of course. This left only a possible vein problem, and to Kaiser's credit they recommended an ultrasound test for a DVT. There were no open appointments for such a test at the Arapahoe Facility, so I was forced to wait for the first available slot at their Northglenn Facility two days later. That test confirmed that a large vein in my leg was plugged up. Kaiser then suggested that I visit the emergency room at St. Joseph hospital. Which I did.

After only a two hour (or so) wait (it was Friday night - prime emergency time) I was seen by a physician who prescribed a blood thinner. I was impressed by the folks at St. Joseph, who seemed - unlike the folks at Kaiser - to know their business well. I should mention here that it was I who proposed the diagnosis to the Kaiser physician who authorized the DVT test. She concurred with my (Google's) diagnosis and ordered the test.

Thank you Google!

Diagnosis: Kaiser vs Google

(1)

I've been on 'medical leave' so far as this blog is concerned. I hope you missed me. You see, I only like to write this when I am 'under the influence,' but until today I thought it unwise to screw around with my blood chemistry. Alcohol is a 'blood thinner' and I needed to abstain until I was sure that the Kaiser folks had come up with reliable daily dose of Warfarin (generic Coumadin). Looks like they have (1.5 tabs per day), so I'll risk it.

The problem is a 'deep vein thrombosis.' Seems that all this sitting on my butt playing C-III has resulted in a blood clot in my right leg. The leg swelled up over a period of two months or so and the problem became acute about three or four weeks ago. My KP 'primary care physician' was apparently mystified by the symptoms: swollen leg, muscle tiredness, pain. I told him I thought it was a blood flow problem. Acting on this clue he ordered a routine ultrasound of my right leg to check 'arterial blood pressure, nothing urgent.'

By the time I arrived at Kaiser for my appointment the problem had become acute. Also I had done some Googling and narrowed the problem down to two possibilities: DVT or a lymph system malfunction. It took me less than 30 minutes to arrive at the probable diagnoses. A lympth system swelling problem is usually caused by irradation during cancer treatment. This left DVT as the most probable problem.

The Rainbow Bridge

(13)

I would keep one or two rats, but I would give the rest of them to the pet shop to sell. The result was that my rat population grew slowly. The Pet Shop would feature my pets in a special central exhibit. I remember one occasion when I visited the pet store about a week after I had 'delivered' the latest brood to the store. I leaned over the enclosure and said something to them in 'ratese,' then I put my hand in the middle of the enclosure. Every rat began crawling up my arm! Apparently they missed me. Giving a new brood away was almost as painful as dealing with the death of one of my rats.

Speaking of which, I have no hope of 'going to Heaven' when I die. But I do hope to meet my pet rats under The Rainbow Bridge. If I am still allergic to rats by that time, well, so be it.

Nighty-night.

Fred and Wilma

(12)

Coincidentially I am now on my last beer. As I reread my previous posts I most remembered my pet rats. What an amazing bunch they were! First there was 'Rat' whom I later renamed, 'Wilma.' I named her Wilma when I bought her a male rat which I named, Fred. I bought Fred when it became obvious to me that Wilma was beginning to imprint sexually on me, the only other warm-blooded creature around. There were times when I petted her that she would 'raise her butt,' stiffen, and squeak as if she had just had a rat orgasm. So I deduced that she needed a male rat. I 'rescued' fred from a bunch of rats at the pet store who were scheduled to be fed to the local snake population.

Fred and Wilma got along swimmingly and Wilma produced an astonishing number of little pink rats. In fact, Wilma produced more rats than she had nipples to feed them, so I would often keep a couple of them (the fattest) in my shirt pocket while she nursed the rest. The result was that I became King Rat. That is to say, I was next to their mother in desirability.

Prove Me Wrong if You Dare!

(11)

I'm nearing the last of the beer (NL). Think I'll go to the LR and see if the McLaughlin Group is interesting. Standby... interesting but not spectacular. Larry King has the author of The Purpose Driven Life on, also interesting but not spectacular. Both lose out to my blog which is interesting and spectacular.

It just hit me that the title of the book I was searching for is, The Road to Eleusis by Gordon Wasson. Yes! It is my conjecture that Jesus visited Eleusis before he began his 'ministry' and that his entire ministry was an attempt to introduce concepts learned at Eleusis to the people of Galilee. In other words, Jesus was 'casting pearls before swine' and was eventually crucified for it. Prove me wrong if you dare.

I don't have a copy of the book, which I borrowed from the library many years ago.

The Nature of 'Rat Itch'

(10)

A standing order for our troops over there should be to get as much Iraqi pussy as possible!

Still no itch. This is the longest itch-free period of the last two weeks. For your information, 'rat itch' is a diffuse itching sensation which (tap) responds to scratching in an extremely rewarding way. The itch is relatively faint compared to the pleasurable scratching response. It's a classic 'good news - bad news' situation: scratching the itch is almost orgasmically pleasurable, but the skin is easily damaged by fingernails. The trick is to scratch but not to damage. Hot water directed at the itch produces an exquisite orgasmic feeling of pain/pleasure which is unique.

So I scratch very carefully. And I shower with very hot water.

Uncircumcised Dogs? Hardly

(9)

No more itch. The next subject is, 'Is America Safer Since the Invasion of Iraq?' I say, 'No.' I say that America is less safe. I say that the Idiot in the White House was flim-flamed by 'neo-cons' who understood far more about human psychology that the stupid president ever did. I say that America has suffered because of this dumb-ass president and will continue to suffer for three more years at least. I say that every candidate for president in the future should be made to take a test which will (a) determine his IQ, and (b) determine his KQ (Knowlege Quotient). I say that should a presidential candidate fail either test he should be ineligible to run. America can not - in the modern world - afford another stupid or ignorant president.

'Rods and Cones' refers to a neat article I saw recently which depicted the relative numbers of color sensors in the human retina. The number of sensors for the color blue were few. The number of sensors for the color green were also few, but slightly more than for the color blue. The vast majority of sensors were devoted to detecting the color red. Why? I conjectured that this effect was the product of evolution: the sky has been blue for a few billion years, and vegetation has been green for almost as long. But the color of blood is a relatively new development. And important! I conjectured that the relative frequency of color sensors in the human retina reflected the above facts. Prove me wrong if you can.

Lastly, there is the 'propaganda war.' It seems that our job in Iraq is to 'win the hearts and minds of the people' over there. Shades of Vietnam. WE, a Judeo-Christian nation are supposed to win the hearts and minds of a Muslim People? In the Middle East? Close to Israel and the Palestinians? Sheeeit. I wouldn't bet on it. The singlemost pleasing feature of American Servicemen over there in Iraq is their circumcision status. And that did not help the Jews.
And furthermore they still think we are all 'uncircumcised dogs!'

Secrets

(8)

I just did a quick search for a book I remember having read, The Road to Ephesus. Nothing turned up. Maybe I got the title wrong. I've also forgotten the author. I read the book many years ago, and it conjectured that the main attraction of Ephesus to pilgrims was that the folks who ran the Temple at Ephesus had come up with a way to use ergot of rye (a precursor of LSD) to induce the LSD Experience. Oh well...

Postcard confessions was a fun piece on Today which featured a book by Frank Warren titled, Post Secrets (did I get that right?). Seems this guy sent out a bunch of postcards to random people urging them to send their secrets (anonomously) to Warren in the form of 'postcard art.' Apparently he got enough of a return to write a book about it, and some 'psychologists' think that telling (writing down) your innermost secrets (thump) (stomp) to another anonomous person is a good way to 'understand' (or face up to) those 'secrets.' It is a form of 'confession.'

As an old former Catholic I cannot verify that.

Do I have 'innermost secrets?' Yes.

Will I tell you? No. I only tell you my outermost secrets.

A Juicy Idea

(7)

There was a piece on the news about the 'redefinition of Limbo.' Seems JP-II commissioned a theological study of the problem of Limbo. Apparently Limbo is only a 'theological conjecture' and not a 'Teaching of the Church.' The conflict arises from Jesus' pronouncement that 'Unless a man be born again of water and the spirit he shall not enter the Kingdom of Heaven.' This is a very juicy idea. It seems to mean that 'the unbaptized' may not enter the Paradise to come but must exist elsewhere in the 'next life' (eheh). Apparently there was revulsion over the thought that unbaptized infants would be made to suffer in Hell for eternity for the 'sin' of having died somewhat prematurely. So Limbo was invented in order to 'get around' that unfortunate pronouncement by Jesus. I understand that Rome is still working on the idea.

I have no doubt at all of what Jesus really meant by his cryptic pronouncement concerning 'water and the spirit' and 'the Kingdom of Heaven:' Jesus was simply referring, in an offhand way, to his visit to Ephesus.

O-Positive?

(6)

There is a statue somewhere of The Virgin Mary crying 'blood' from her left eye. It was all over the national news. Somebody took a sample for analysis. I was wondering whether we will soon learn the Virgin Mary's blood type. Was She O-Positive? All the world wants to know. There is a small bunch of devotees who think it is a 'sign from God.' Apparently, those folks believe that God is so lacking in power that He needs to rely on dubious 'signs' of this nature.

The 'bird flu' is much in the news and everybody is watching and waiting for it to eventually 'mutate' into a form which can be passed from human to human. If and when it does I wonder whether the folks who believe in Intelligent Design will blame the 'intelligent' Designer.

Then there is the annual Christmas War: this year there seems to be a movement to rename the 'Christmas Tree' the 'Holiday Tree.' I have no problem at all with 'Christmas Tree.' I think 'Holiday Tree' would also work but would be offensive to Christians who long ago adopted a Pagan symbol as their own. Look it up in The Women's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets.

Spending Moral Capital

(5)

Which brings us back to 'the list.'

The Paula Zahn note must have been in reference to 'Intelligent Design.' I have a vague memory of some religious nut spouting what I call 'science babel' (of which psycho-babel is a sub-category). I invented the word, 'babelarians' (or better yet, 'babelonians'?) and then wrote the note.

'Spending Moral Capital' was a reference to George Bush's invasion of Iraq. After 9/11 we as a nation had a lot of 'moral capital.' We spent it on Iraq. Nowadays we are relying on 'moral credit' to get us through the Bush fiasco. The bill is growing and the interest rate is high.

The American Jewish Establishment made a similar mistake: they spent the moral capital they derived from The Holocaust on the Circumcision of America. But since the dastardly deed was done to infants instead of mature people they seem to be getting away with it.

King Rat

(4)

I think that my rats were poisoned by the air they had to (thump) breathe. I think that Walter Gerash and his 'employees' at the time did some research on rats and found that they were susceptible to respiratory disease. I think that those folks then began gassing my rats. I know Walter Gerash, and I know that Walter Gerash is the kind of person who would poison your dog. I think that after my rats died or were given away, Gerash and friends began their gassing attacks against me: King Rat. I think it was a sort of evolution.

Furthermore I think that Gerash and friends rekindle my rat allergy every year during cold weather by injecting rat allergen into the air I am forced to breathe. Prove me wrong if you can.

Temporary Rats

(3)

Rats only live for two years or so, three at the most. So you have to be prepared to lose your pets fairly often if you raise rats. I cried over every one of them. (Interestingly, I am experiencing no itching at all now as I write this! Is beer the best cure for rat allergy?)

My rats were very prone to respiratory disease. They would wheeze and cough as if they were allergic to humans. I tried everything to 'cure' them of what seemed to me to be a kind of genetic curse. But they kept dying, or they became so ill that I had to have them put to sleep (lots of faint thuds in the background as I type this). One of them actually died in my arms (Fred's son who used to drink beer with us). Seeing his distress I had taken him into the bathroom and turned on the hot water in the shower and closed the door, hoping that it would ease his breathing problem. It seemed to help, but when I took him back out into the hallway he suddenly became alert, looked at me and dropped dead in my hands.

Several of my other rats also died in my hands but only after being given a shot by the vet.

Rats

(2)

I have the air cleaner running at full power as I sit here in the bedroom typing this. The machine has a HEPA filter designed to eliminate all but the smallest micro-particles from the air. There is another one in the hallway also running at full power. The reason for this is the re-emergence of my 'rat allergy' about two weeks ago. This is the third straight year.

This particular allergy manifests as itching on the lower legs (lots of loud thuds and booms as I type this but they are barely detectable through the huge earphones I am wearing as I listen to Mozart's piano concerto number 21) and sometimes on the upper legs and lower abdomen. I take Loratadine and Benadryl as countermeasures and also rub Triamcinolone on the affected areas. I have no doubt (stomp) that this is yet another attempt by Walter Gerash and his 'employees' to degrade my life experience.

I acquired the allergy to rats back in the late '90s when I was keeping rats as pets. Rats make great pets if you are living in an apartment with limited space. They are fun to watch. They are also very intelligent and can be surprisingly affectionate. One example of this affection was Yum-yum, a brown female. Every time I would lift her (with both hands) up to my face she would give the tip of my nose two quick licks. Hence the name Yum-yum. Another example was one of the males (whose name escapes me at the moment). I would sometimes sit on the couch drinking beer while this guy and his daddy, Fred, played on my chest/abdomen. Once in a while I would dribble some beer from the corners of my mouth and they would lick it up and we would all get a bit drunk together.

Tonight's List

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That was fun. Unfortunately I'm not in such a good mood tonight as I was last Friday night. Tonight's list, which was so clear when I wrote it, now seems a bit obscure. This may be due to a combination of beer and sleep deprivation.

11-26-05 Paula Zahn - Science Babel (Babelarian)
spending 'moral capital' (Jews - circ, Bush - war)
the Virgin Mary's blood type?
bird flu: evolution? or intelligent redesign...
rename the x-mas tree?
no more Limbo?
postcard confessions: Frank Warren - Post Secrets
America safer since Iraq?
Rods and Cones
Hearts and Minds - propaganda.