http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-10439709-54.html
This is some GREAT news on the energy front. Apparently the installer has contracts to install 1.6 BILLION watts of solar generation capacity in California and Texas.
Thank you for your dedication!
Dan
Saturday, January 23, 2010
An Old Concept Of Mine: Guerilla Gift Subscriptions...
...Guerilla Gift Subscriptions was an idea I proposed a few years ago as a tactic to change hearts and minds toward more sustainable practices.
Basically, the idea was to look for addresses where you see Hummers and other obnoxiously large SUV's parked regularly, and note the street address down. Keep a list of such addresses going.
Once a month go online to Mother Earth News magazine, (Or another environmental magazine, but Mother Earth has a flair that appeals to those with a wide "independence from government" streak) and purchase a gift subscription for that address in the name of Anonymous Free or something like that.
I believe Mother Earth News is priced around ten dollars per year for a subscription if you save the paper and purchase it online. (Which saves the paper AND the fuel for the postal vehicle to deliver it.)
Voila! For ten dollars, you have just purchased and entire year of Progressive, environmentally sustainable how-to information and put it in the hands of someone who likely has little concern for a cleaner and sustainable Earth. For twelve months, they will be seeing stories on this subject. Additionally, Mother Earth News has been around since the 1960's, I believe. They have a LOT of experience with their subject matter.
At the end of the first year, you will have spent a total of $120.00 or so, and reached twelve households continuously. Given the "average' of two adults and 2.5 children per household, that is potentially 54 people to whom you have provided a year of on-going Progressive, Earth-first outreach, with zero face-to-face in-you-face interaction. There is no risk of confrontation.
And so you have it, the art of gentle persuasion, and you get to support your favorite Earth-friendly magazines.
Go forth - and subscribe people!
Thank you for your dedication.
Dan
Basically, the idea was to look for addresses where you see Hummers and other obnoxiously large SUV's parked regularly, and note the street address down. Keep a list of such addresses going.
Once a month go online to Mother Earth News magazine, (Or another environmental magazine, but Mother Earth has a flair that appeals to those with a wide "independence from government" streak) and purchase a gift subscription for that address in the name of Anonymous Free or something like that.
I believe Mother Earth News is priced around ten dollars per year for a subscription if you save the paper and purchase it online. (Which saves the paper AND the fuel for the postal vehicle to deliver it.)
Voila! For ten dollars, you have just purchased and entire year of Progressive, environmentally sustainable how-to information and put it in the hands of someone who likely has little concern for a cleaner and sustainable Earth. For twelve months, they will be seeing stories on this subject. Additionally, Mother Earth News has been around since the 1960's, I believe. They have a LOT of experience with their subject matter.
At the end of the first year, you will have spent a total of $120.00 or so, and reached twelve households continuously. Given the "average' of two adults and 2.5 children per household, that is potentially 54 people to whom you have provided a year of on-going Progressive, Earth-first outreach, with zero face-to-face in-you-face interaction. There is no risk of confrontation.
And so you have it, the art of gentle persuasion, and you get to support your favorite Earth-friendly magazines.
Go forth - and subscribe people!
Thank you for your dedication.
Dan
Friday, January 22, 2010
Additional Support For The Ping-Pong Theory...
Guardian: Global warming to trigger “earthquakes, tsunamis ...
Sep 7, 2009 ... We seem to be living in an age where remote theory, ... Thermageddon and the Ecopolypse will cause earthquakes, tsunamis, and then the seas will boil! .... 535 volcanic eruption occurs what wipes out the US and Canadian grain crops. ... Volcanic Activity Windstorms Climate Change Disaster Studies ...wattsupwiththat.com/.../guardian-global-warming-to-trigger-earthquakes-
Climate change: melting ice will trigger wave of natural disasters
Scientists at a London conference next week will warn of earthquakes, avalanches and volcanic eruptions as the atmosphere heats up and geology is altered. Even Britain could face being struck by tsunamis: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/sep/06/global-warming-natural-disasters-conference
This one is full of references to other scientific papers on the subject:
Can Rapid Climatic Change Cause Volcanic Eruptions? -- RAMPINO et ...
Many major volcanic eruptions coincide with cooling trends of decadal or longer ... ANDERSON, D.L., EARTHQUAKES AND ROTATION OF EARTH, SCIENCE 186: 49 (1974). .... The Greenhouse Theory of Climate Change: A Test by an Inadvertent Global ...
www.sciencemag.org › Science Magazine › 16 November 1979 -
www.sciencemag.org › Science Magazine › 16 November 1979 -
In The Wake of Haiti - A Re-iteration Of The Ping-Pong Theory...
...Which I first proposed in 2005. ( http://www.whizzyrds.com/2005_12_01_wind_archive.html )
I have been holding back from writing about this for a couple of days, because it is just so large and horrible I haven't been able to find the words. I have my own theory about where these earthquakes and volcanoes and such are coming from, and if it's right, things are NOT pretty.
Think about a rubber ball - say one of those Super Balls from when we were kids, the ones that were the size of a ping pong ball, but would bounce way higher than your house.
If you squeeze the top and the bottom, the sides bulge out, right? If you stop squeezing the top and bottom and you squeeze around the middle, the whole surface of the ball changes shape, doesn't it?
Now picture the whole Earth as a giant rubber ball. The squeezing at the top and the bottom are the weight of trillions and trillions of tons of ice at the North & South poles. Now all that ice is melting, and the water is moving toward the equator, changing where all that water weight is pressing on the surface of the Earth - so now the whole surface of the Earth is changing shape.
I actually stumped the scientists on Earth Talk with this about 3-4 years ago, and then a year later I saw a scientific paper published outlining the basic theory.
Now, what exactly effect on fault lines and volcanoes do you think it will have if the polar tectonic plates are rebounding upward while the oceanic plates are being depressed by having more water on top of them? Not a pretty thought.
We'd best get our act together with regard to making changes in the global climate and natural systems, because otherwise, we ain't seen nothing yet. Check out the Google search terms "yellowstone super volcano". Mother Nature can spank a LOT harder than we can stand.
My heart absolutely goes out to the people of Haiti. It is like Banda Aceh and the Tsunami, or hurricane Katrina on steroids all over again. And as much of a jerk as Pat Robertson has been about it, it is quite possible that the hand of Humanity's collective insanity is involved.
We must do better. We CAN do better.
Thank you for your consideration and dedication.
Dan Stafford
NOTE: The following compiled aggregation of stories was excerpted from Jean Hudon's archived compilation on Earth Rainbow network at: http://www.earthrainbownetwork.com/Archives2010/TurningTide31.htm
Larger Magnitude Quakes Trend Up (January 17, 2010)
http://standeyo.com/NEWS/10_Earth_Changes/100117.EQs.up.html
Over the last nearly four decades, the number of larger magnitude earthquake events has increased. To be objective in this count, we use only higher magnitude quakes. (...) Either Earth is flushing out seismic tension early, or it's going to be a busy year. It will be interesting to see if quake activity kicks up in California after the "unrelenting rain" forecast for next week. Not only does massive moisture promote landslides, it's also known to "lubricate' earthquake faults and add weight on underlying rock.
126 small earthquakes this past week in the Yellowstone National Park
http://www.seis.utah.edu/req2webdir/recenteqs/Maps/Yellowstone_full.html
Where Will the Next Five Big Earthquakes Be?
http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/completelist/0,29569,1930622,00.html
Quakes can't be predicted with the same accuracy as the weather, but a look at global fault lines and the geologic record suggests some places are due for a rumble.
- Los Angeles - Earthquakes have always been part of Los Angeles' past — and its future. In 1994 a 6.7-magnitude quake hit the Northridge area of the city, badly damaging freeways, killing more than 70 people and causing $20 billion in damages. But those numbers could be dwarfed by a major quake in the future. The geologic record indicates that huge quakes occur roughly every 150 years in the region — Los Angeles lies along the southern end of the San Andreas Fault — and the last big quake, which registered a magnitude 7.9, happened in 1857. Los Angeles has done a lot to beef up its building codes and emergency response in the 15 years since the Northridge quake and may be better prepared than any other major U.S. city, but its sheer size ensures that the next Big One will be bloody.
- Tokyo - Roughly the same size as California, Japan shares the Golden State's precarious plate tectonics. The nation's four main islands get hit regularly with earthquakes of varying strength. But while California has about 36 million people, Japan's population is nearly 4.5 times as large, and most Japanese live in extraordinarily dense cities. That puts more people squarely in a danger zone — nowhere more so than in the capital of Tokyo, which has a population of 13 million. A major quake struck the city and its surroundings in 1923, killing as many as 150,000 people. Although Japan has vastly improved its infrastructure since then and has the strictest building codes in the world, a similar temblor — which seismologists believe is almost inevitable — could kill more than 10,000 people and cause more than $1 trillion in damages.
- Tehran - All of Iran lies within a major earthquake zone, and the country has suffered terrible temblors before — most recently in 2003, when a 6.8-magnitude quake leveled the ancient city of Bam and killed more than 30,000 people. But a similar quake in the congested capital of Tehran — where more than 7 million people live — would be a shattering catastrophe. Unlike building codes in other endangered cities such as San Francisco and Tokyo, Tehran's are relatively lax, and many residents live in the sort of unreinforced-concrete houses that turn into death traps in the event of a strong quake. The Iranian Health Ministry once estimated that a 7-magnitude quake would destroy 90% of the city's hospitals. Tehran is so threatened that there has been periodic talk about moving the capital.
- Pacific Northwest - The rain-drenched residents of the Cascadia region — roughly from Oregon to southern British Columbia — probably assume that earthquakes are something for their neighbors in California to worry about. But Cascadia sits on top of major faults, and although it doesn't get hit very often, the region has seen massive quakes before. The most recent one was in 1700, when a megathrust earthquake that may have been as severe as 9.2 on the Richter scale struck the region. The geologic record indicates that a catastrophic quake hits Cascadia only about every 500 years, but the cities of the Pacific Northwest, like Seattle and Vancouver, are far less prepared than San Francisco and Los Angeles for a major earthquake, so when the next powerful temblor comes around, the region could suffer.
- Indonesia - It's called the Ring of Fire, a semicircle of violently shifting plates and volcanoes that runs along the edges of the Pacific Ocean, from New Zealand to Chile. The most seismically active region on the planet, the Ring of Fire has triggered countless quakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis, including the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami that killed 230,000 people, mostly in Southeast Asia. That tsunami was set off by a 9.3-magnitude quake near the northern coast of Sumatra, Indonesia, a region that has been hit repeatedly by massive temblors, most recently a 7.6 earthquake in September that killed more than 1,000 people. Sadly that's a relatively small quake death toll by Indonesian standards — and seismologists expect more to come in the future.
Tsunami-generating quake possible off Indonesia: scientists (Jan 17, 2010)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100117/sc_afp/sciencequaketsunamiindonesia
PARIS (AFP) – A huge wave-generating quake capable of killing as many people as in the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami could strike off the Indonesian island of Sumatra, and the city of Padang is in the firing line, a team of seismologists said on Sunday.The group -- led by a prominent scientist who predicted a 2005 Sumatran quake with uncanny accuracy -- issued the warning in a letter to the journal Nature Geoscience. The peril comes from a relentless buildup of pressure over the last two centuries on a section of the Sunda Trench, one of the world's most notorious earthquake zones, which runs parallel to the western Sumatra coast, they said. This section, named after the Mentawai islands, "is near failure," the letter warned bluntly."The threat of a great tsunamigenic earthquake with a magnitude of more than 8.5 on the Mentawai patch is unabated. (...) There is potential for loss of life on the scale of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami." The letter gave no timeframe for this event but warned starkly of the danger for Padang, a city of 850,000 people that lies broadside to the risky segment. "The threat from such an event is clear and the need for urgent mitigating action remains extremely high," it said.
I have been holding back from writing about this for a couple of days, because it is just so large and horrible I haven't been able to find the words. I have my own theory about where these earthquakes and volcanoes and such are coming from, and if it's right, things are NOT pretty.
Think about a rubber ball - say one of those Super Balls from when we were kids, the ones that were the size of a ping pong ball, but would bounce way higher than your house.
If you squeeze the top and the bottom, the sides bulge out, right? If you stop squeezing the top and bottom and you squeeze around the middle, the whole surface of the ball changes shape, doesn't it?
Now picture the whole Earth as a giant rubber ball. The squeezing at the top and the bottom are the weight of trillions and trillions of tons of ice at the North & South poles. Now all that ice is melting, and the water is moving toward the equator, changing where all that water weight is pressing on the surface of the Earth - so now the whole surface of the Earth is changing shape.
I actually stumped the scientists on Earth Talk with this about 3-4 years ago, and then a year later I saw a scientific paper published outlining the basic theory.
Now, what exactly effect on fault lines and volcanoes do you think it will have if the polar tectonic plates are rebounding upward while the oceanic plates are being depressed by having more water on top of them? Not a pretty thought.
We'd best get our act together with regard to making changes in the global climate and natural systems, because otherwise, we ain't seen nothing yet. Check out the Google search terms "yellowstone super volcano". Mother Nature can spank a LOT harder than we can stand.
My heart absolutely goes out to the people of Haiti. It is like Banda Aceh and the Tsunami, or hurricane Katrina on steroids all over again. And as much of a jerk as Pat Robertson has been about it, it is quite possible that the hand of Humanity's collective insanity is involved.
We must do better. We CAN do better.
Thank you for your consideration and dedication.
Dan Stafford
NOTE: The following compiled aggregation of stories was excerpted from Jean Hudon's archived compilation on Earth Rainbow network at: http://www.earthrainbownetwork.com/Archives2010/TurningTide31.htm
Larger Magnitude Quakes Trend Up (January 17, 2010)
http://standeyo.com/NEWS/10_Earth_Changes/100117.EQs.up.html
Over the last nearly four decades, the number of larger magnitude earthquake events has increased. To be objective in this count, we use only higher magnitude quakes. (...) Either Earth is flushing out seismic tension early, or it's going to be a busy year. It will be interesting to see if quake activity kicks up in California after the "unrelenting rain" forecast for next week. Not only does massive moisture promote landslides, it's also known to "lubricate' earthquake faults and add weight on underlying rock.
126 small earthquakes this past week in the Yellowstone National Park
http://www.seis.utah.edu/req2webdir/recenteqs/Maps/Yellowstone_full.html
Where Will the Next Five Big Earthquakes Be?
http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/completelist/0,29569,1930622,00.html
Quakes can't be predicted with the same accuracy as the weather, but a look at global fault lines and the geologic record suggests some places are due for a rumble.
- Los Angeles - Earthquakes have always been part of Los Angeles' past — and its future. In 1994 a 6.7-magnitude quake hit the Northridge area of the city, badly damaging freeways, killing more than 70 people and causing $20 billion in damages. But those numbers could be dwarfed by a major quake in the future. The geologic record indicates that huge quakes occur roughly every 150 years in the region — Los Angeles lies along the southern end of the San Andreas Fault — and the last big quake, which registered a magnitude 7.9, happened in 1857. Los Angeles has done a lot to beef up its building codes and emergency response in the 15 years since the Northridge quake and may be better prepared than any other major U.S. city, but its sheer size ensures that the next Big One will be bloody.
- Tokyo - Roughly the same size as California, Japan shares the Golden State's precarious plate tectonics. The nation's four main islands get hit regularly with earthquakes of varying strength. But while California has about 36 million people, Japan's population is nearly 4.5 times as large, and most Japanese live in extraordinarily dense cities. That puts more people squarely in a danger zone — nowhere more so than in the capital of Tokyo, which has a population of 13 million. A major quake struck the city and its surroundings in 1923, killing as many as 150,000 people. Although Japan has vastly improved its infrastructure since then and has the strictest building codes in the world, a similar temblor — which seismologists believe is almost inevitable — could kill more than 10,000 people and cause more than $1 trillion in damages.
- Tehran - All of Iran lies within a major earthquake zone, and the country has suffered terrible temblors before — most recently in 2003, when a 6.8-magnitude quake leveled the ancient city of Bam and killed more than 30,000 people. But a similar quake in the congested capital of Tehran — where more than 7 million people live — would be a shattering catastrophe. Unlike building codes in other endangered cities such as San Francisco and Tokyo, Tehran's are relatively lax, and many residents live in the sort of unreinforced-concrete houses that turn into death traps in the event of a strong quake. The Iranian Health Ministry once estimated that a 7-magnitude quake would destroy 90% of the city's hospitals. Tehran is so threatened that there has been periodic talk about moving the capital.
- Pacific Northwest - The rain-drenched residents of the Cascadia region — roughly from Oregon to southern British Columbia — probably assume that earthquakes are something for their neighbors in California to worry about. But Cascadia sits on top of major faults, and although it doesn't get hit very often, the region has seen massive quakes before. The most recent one was in 1700, when a megathrust earthquake that may have been as severe as 9.2 on the Richter scale struck the region. The geologic record indicates that a catastrophic quake hits Cascadia only about every 500 years, but the cities of the Pacific Northwest, like Seattle and Vancouver, are far less prepared than San Francisco and Los Angeles for a major earthquake, so when the next powerful temblor comes around, the region could suffer.
- Indonesia - It's called the Ring of Fire, a semicircle of violently shifting plates and volcanoes that runs along the edges of the Pacific Ocean, from New Zealand to Chile. The most seismically active region on the planet, the Ring of Fire has triggered countless quakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis, including the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami that killed 230,000 people, mostly in Southeast Asia. That tsunami was set off by a 9.3-magnitude quake near the northern coast of Sumatra, Indonesia, a region that has been hit repeatedly by massive temblors, most recently a 7.6 earthquake in September that killed more than 1,000 people. Sadly that's a relatively small quake death toll by Indonesian standards — and seismologists expect more to come in the future.
Tsunami-generating quake possible off Indonesia: scientists (Jan 17, 2010)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100117/sc_afp/sciencequaketsunamiindonesia
PARIS (AFP) – A huge wave-generating quake capable of killing as many people as in the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami could strike off the Indonesian island of Sumatra, and the city of Padang is in the firing line, a team of seismologists said on Sunday.The group -- led by a prominent scientist who predicted a 2005 Sumatran quake with uncanny accuracy -- issued the warning in a letter to the journal Nature Geoscience. The peril comes from a relentless buildup of pressure over the last two centuries on a section of the Sunda Trench, one of the world's most notorious earthquake zones, which runs parallel to the western Sumatra coast, they said. This section, named after the Mentawai islands, "is near failure," the letter warned bluntly."The threat of a great tsunamigenic earthquake with a magnitude of more than 8.5 on the Mentawai patch is unabated. (...) There is potential for loss of life on the scale of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami." The letter gave no timeframe for this event but warned starkly of the danger for Padang, a city of 850,000 people that lies broadside to the risky segment. "The threat from such an event is clear and the need for urgent mitigating action remains extremely high," it said.
An Affirmation Ceremony For Earth-Stewards...
An Affirmation Ceremony For Earth-Stewards...
A few years ago, I bought a ring that to me symbolizes the Earth. I wear it to remind me constantly of my relationship to the Earth. It is an artisan-signed Native American piece of art. The stone is turquoise set in silver. The stone is packed in the setting with real tobacco, so the ring must be kept dry to avoid the packing rotting and causing the stone to loosen. To me, this is a very spiritual symbol. Every time I put the ring back on my finger, I repeat the following affirmation:"I am connected to, a protector of, protected by, and supplied by the Earth."
This serves as a reminder several times a day (I have to take it off and put it back on every time I wash my hands or do anything with water.) of the nature of my relationship with the Earth, and my duty to it as a human being.
This is a picture of the ring:
As you can see, the stone LOOKS like the Earth as viewed from space in a way.
I won't advocated that anyone run out and buy every piece of Native American turquoise jewelry available and repeat my exact words, but I will advocate people to find a ceremony of their own to add to their daily ritual. Find a ceremony, even a small one like this, that heightens your spiritual connection to and remembrance of your duty to the Earth. Let it remind you of the beauty of our home world, of why you should be grateful for it.
The Earth is what allows us to exist. The web of life on the Earth is a part of what allows us to exist. The Earth literally protects us, from the vacuum and radiation and utter cold of outer space, if nothing else.
Give yourself a tangible and spiritual reminder of why you should and do love this beautiful blue and green world.
Thank you for reading.
Friday, December 25, 2009
Fw: Merry Christmas To All, With Love...
Words are the mind's bridge - its connection to all the universe.
Love is the heart's bridge - its connection to all other souls.
Loving words can work miracles.
From: "Stafford, Daniel" <Daniel.Stafford@globalcrossing.com>
Date: Fri, 25 Dec 2009 02:58:23 -0500
To: undisclosed-recipients:;<Invalid address>
Subject: Merry Christmas To All, With Love...
Merry Christmas To All, With Love...
The lights are strung,
The presents all tucked under the tree,
Sleepy smiles on cherub faces,
Abed even for you and for me.
If ever there were a moment,
When love could be found most anywhere,
This is it.
If there's a magic to Christmas,
It's the love we all share,
That's our greatest gift.
Tonight, we do as our Teacher said - and love thy neighbor as thyself.
Merry Christmas to All,
With love.
AquarianM
By: Daniel A. Stafford
(C) 12/25/2009 - donated to public domain.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Energy...
Energy...
Somehow some way gonna push a little love around,
Like donating chi in Chinatown,
Nothing too much for a greasy spoon,
Or a footstep on the Moon,
One small step Mankind,
But that's how we can truly fly,
In the split between heart beat and sigh,
No more need to wonder why,
It's all about silken dreams,
So it seems,
But I know there's more to life than that,
Tucked up somewhere under my hat,
Just a few night-jeweled words are all it takes,
But they can't be fakes,
Let the waters pour forth and rush around,
All over you,
All over town,
Around the Earth abound,
For Heaven's sake don't be late,
Out the starting gate,
It's your fate,
A little love lot of energy,
Silly me,
But I try,
No wonder why,
Never lie,
Not on this,
Never crush one another's bliss,
If it comes to this,
Then simply speak,
Words of gold is what we seek,
One and all,
Before we fall,
Hear the call,
So tell me true,
What is blue,
Just lack of the spark,
A place out in the dark,
Wouldn't be,
Just for want of a little free energy,
Will you be,
Kind to you and kind to me,
So you see,
It's all a tree,
Branches high and roots below,
We all know,
Love makes it grow,
Even after snow.
AquarianM
By: Daniel A. Stafford
(C) 11/26/2009
Happy, grateful, loving Thanksgiving to you All.
Somehow some way gonna push a little love around,
Like donating chi in Chinatown,
Nothing too much for a greasy spoon,
Or a footstep on the Moon,
One small step Mankind,
But that's how we can truly fly,
In the split between heart beat and sigh,
No more need to wonder why,
It's all about silken dreams,
So it seems,
But I know there's more to life than that,
Tucked up somewhere under my hat,
Just a few night-jeweled words are all it takes,
But they can't be fakes,
Let the waters pour forth and rush around,
All over you,
All over town,
Around the Earth abound,
For Heaven's sake don't be late,
Out the starting gate,
It's your fate,
A little love lot of energy,
Silly me,
But I try,
No wonder why,
Never lie,
Not on this,
Never crush one another's bliss,
If it comes to this,
Then simply speak,
Words of gold is what we seek,
One and all,
Before we fall,
Hear the call,
So tell me true,
What is blue,
Just lack of the spark,
A place out in the dark,
Wouldn't be,
Just for want of a little free energy,
Will you be,
Kind to you and kind to me,
So you see,
It's all a tree,
Branches high and roots below,
We all know,
Love makes it grow,
Even after snow.
AquarianM
By: Daniel A. Stafford
(C) 11/26/2009
Happy, grateful, loving Thanksgiving to you All.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Masters Of Reality...
Masters Of Reality...
In a tidal wave of surrealism gone wild,
The Masters of reality have imploded,
Proven beyond a shadow of a doubt their fallacies are waste,
Wanton lot they eat their own children,
Biting the hand that feeds them until the fingers fall off,
As they starve in their feeding frenzy,
Only cake is left,
Full of air and chemical nothingness.
Creatures with huge ears and pointed teeth,
Carrying gilded canes and dressed in,
Fool's gold foil suits,
Rents and tears in their façade scream open,
As the world sees the empires with no clothes,
Delusional and not even realizing their own suicide.
Wisps of false gold smoke drift lazily into the sky,
But the rest of us have already left the dream,
Only awaiting a new vision to replace it with.
Their sky may be falling and their ground fallow,
For us it's still the blue above and naked earth below,
We must breathe life back into it,
The sweat of our brows falling into the still-wounded seas,
As we clean up the dreck and wrack of their plutocratic eewtopia,
Becoming human,
Becoming light itself,
Shining brightly upon all the failing shadows.
AquarianM
By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 02/18/2009
In a tidal wave of surrealism gone wild,
The Masters of reality have imploded,
Proven beyond a shadow of a doubt their fallacies are waste,
Wanton lot they eat their own children,
Biting the hand that feeds them until the fingers fall off,
As they starve in their feeding frenzy,
Only cake is left,
Full of air and chemical nothingness.
Creatures with huge ears and pointed teeth,
Carrying gilded canes and dressed in,
Fool's gold foil suits,
Rents and tears in their façade scream open,
As the world sees the empires with no clothes,
Delusional and not even realizing their own suicide.
Wisps of false gold smoke drift lazily into the sky,
But the rest of us have already left the dream,
Only awaiting a new vision to replace it with.
Their sky may be falling and their ground fallow,
For us it's still the blue above and naked earth below,
We must breathe life back into it,
The sweat of our brows falling into the still-wounded seas,
As we clean up the dreck and wrack of their plutocratic eewtopia,
Becoming human,
Becoming light itself,
Shining brightly upon all the failing shadows.
AquarianM
By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 02/18/2009
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Intergarden - hooking people with garden space & no time up with people who have time but no garden space
I thought you might want to check this out - http://intergarden.ning.com
The idea is to have local persons that are unemployed, underemployed, or retired, or who just want to garden (and have no garden space) hook up with people who have garden space but are too busy working or don't know enough about gardening up with each other. (WOW, is that a long sentence.)
The idea is that the two parties would split the produce 50/50 in exchange for using each other's time/space/skills.
This site is BRAND SPANKING NEW, less than a week, and it is completely free to join. I'm doing this strictly as a community service. (Ning.com will probably get advertising revenue from it, but I personally get nothing but a sense of accomplishment.)
I hope to get the word out in a big way BEFORE the growing season starts.
This is great for busy home owners with sunny back yard space because they can eat fresh organic produce and supplement their grocery budget just by sharing - and be as local food as you can get.
This is great for the impoverished and underemployed because it can increase their food security through their own individual effort - and provide good skills.
This is great for expert vegetable gardeners because they can help pass on their knowledge for the future and do a great service to the community.
If there's any way you can help spread the word about Intergarden, please do so. People are going to need to start some seedlings as early as March, and given the economic climate, this could really help a lot of people.
With gratitude and respect,
Rev. Dan Stafford
Intergarden concept originator
Co-Chair, Progressive Democrats of Illinois
http://www.illinoisprogressives.org
Putting the positive back in my posts...
The idea is to have local persons that are unemployed, underemployed, or retired, or who just want to garden (and have no garden space) hook up with people who have garden space but are too busy working or don't know enough about gardening up with each other. (WOW, is that a long sentence.)
The idea is that the two parties would split the produce 50/50 in exchange for using each other's time/space/skills.
This site is BRAND SPANKING NEW, less than a week, and it is completely free to join. I'm doing this strictly as a community service. (Ning.com will probably get advertising revenue from it, but I personally get nothing but a sense of accomplishment.)
I hope to get the word out in a big way BEFORE the growing season starts.
This is great for busy home owners with sunny back yard space because they can eat fresh organic produce and supplement their grocery budget just by sharing - and be as local food as you can get.
This is great for the impoverished and underemployed because it can increase their food security through their own individual effort - and provide good skills.
This is great for expert vegetable gardeners because they can help pass on their knowledge for the future and do a great service to the community.
If there's any way you can help spread the word about Intergarden, please do so. People are going to need to start some seedlings as early as March, and given the economic climate, this could really help a lot of people.
With gratitude and respect,
Rev. Dan Stafford
Intergarden concept originator
Co-Chair, Progressive Democrats of Illinois
http://www.illinoisprogressives.org
Putting the positive back in my posts...
Thursday, January 29, 2009
The Greed Cult
Too long. It's far too long that the Ivy League "business schools" have been putting monsters in charge of our collective insanity.
There is more on this Earth than all of us could ever need if we lived simply.
There are more resources on rocks circling the sun than we could ever run out of if responsible leadership were leading us out of the cradle instead of into fear-based wars.
Millions of dollars are spent to avoid the slightest contamination of dead, sterile worlds while trillions are spent contaminating the only living world we know.
The cult of greed known as "capitalism" is an even greater and far deadlier failure than its rival, Communism. Neither system works except for a select few, and even for them it will fail if Earth dies.
We need something altogether new. A system of directing human effort that values and sustains and fulfils every human life.
There MUST be something better than just another death cult of greed.
Rev. Dan
There is more on this Earth than all of us could ever need if we lived simply.
There are more resources on rocks circling the sun than we could ever run out of if responsible leadership were leading us out of the cradle instead of into fear-based wars.
Millions of dollars are spent to avoid the slightest contamination of dead, sterile worlds while trillions are spent contaminating the only living world we know.
The cult of greed known as "capitalism" is an even greater and far deadlier failure than its rival, Communism. Neither system works except for a select few, and even for them it will fail if Earth dies.
We need something altogether new. A system of directing human effort that values and sustains and fulfils every human life.
There MUST be something better than just another death cult of greed.
Rev. Dan
Saturday, January 17, 2009
A Little Fun With Technorati.com
I tried to claim this blog with my profile at www.technorati.com , but it appears to have been flagged as a spam blog.
Let me give a huge sarcastic "thank you" to the e-vile Freebie Spammers. They are the demons and trolls of the Blogosphere.
I have requested an Admin review of the First Church from Technorati Support. Hopefully this will be cleared up soon.
Regards,
Rev. Dan
Words are the mind's bridge - its connection to all the universe.
Love is the heart's bridge - its connection to all other souls.
Loving words can work miracles.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Bringing Community Gardens To Bear On The Global Economic Crisis
Community gardening has a long history all over the globe, dating back earlier than even Roman times. There is an extensive history of community gardening in the USA also.
From the late 1800's through WW-II including the Great Depression, people have relied on gardens in yards and empty lots to feed the hungry and provide useful work for the unemployed. I have seen statistics that stated 44% of all fresh vegetable production in the USA during World war II was produced by over 20 million Victory Gardens.
It is time to consider the use of these techniques as part of the domestic Social Welfare programs, as a supplement and support of the Food Stamp program.
In the Depression-era in California, some interesting local economics occurred. Two organizations called the UCRO and the UXA employed millions in a "credit-for-hours-worked" form of local economies. Additional information can be found here: http://www.yesmagazine.org/article.asp?ID=1464 . Coupled with Relief Gardening and the Obama economic platform, there is a good possibility of starting something refreshing and less prone to ggreed and fraud in the US and elsewhere.
Historically, however, the business and political classes have wotked to undermine such efforts through economic policy of the State. This needs to be guarded against and prevented. The use of such programs, integrated with Federal programs to rebuild infrastructure, could well spell a faster and more secure economic recovery in the U.S. - which could then lead to a global recovery.
Some of the opportunities present in today's environment that were lacking during the Depression are the advent of the Internet, complete with wide-open and fast-reaching social media. Public discourse and information-dissemination is no longer one-way, far from it.
It may be possible to create an entirely new global economy that values innovation and labor while limiting incentives to get greedy and take more than a given party needs.
Dan
From the late 1800's through WW-II including the Great Depression, people have relied on gardens in yards and empty lots to feed the hungry and provide useful work for the unemployed. I have seen statistics that stated 44% of all fresh vegetable production in the USA during World war II was produced by over 20 million Victory Gardens.
It is time to consider the use of these techniques as part of the domestic Social Welfare programs, as a supplement and support of the Food Stamp program.
In the Depression-era in California, some interesting local economics occurred. Two organizations called the UCRO and the UXA employed millions in a "credit-for-hours-worked" form of local economies. Additional information can be found here: http://www.yesmagazine.org/article.asp?ID=1464 . Coupled with Relief Gardening and the Obama economic platform, there is a good possibility of starting something refreshing and less prone to ggreed and fraud in the US and elsewhere.
Historically, however, the business and political classes have wotked to undermine such efforts through economic policy of the State. This needs to be guarded against and prevented. The use of such programs, integrated with Federal programs to rebuild infrastructure, could well spell a faster and more secure economic recovery in the U.S. - which could then lead to a global recovery.
Some of the opportunities present in today's environment that were lacking during the Depression are the advent of the Internet, complete with wide-open and fast-reaching social media. Public discourse and information-dissemination is no longer one-way, far from it.
It may be possible to create an entirely new global economy that values innovation and labor while limiting incentives to get greedy and take more than a given party needs.
Dan
Sunday, January 04, 2009
My favorite spiritual magazine...
...is Sacred Hoop Magazine.
This magazine is British, published in the UK. It has the utterly wonderful quality of keeping its articles cohesive from start to finish, instead of scattering parts of the article all through the magazine in a vain attempt to force readers to view ads. In fact, I think I look at more of the ads, because I'm not frustrated trying to find the continuation of an article I'm enjoying while not losing the place in the magazine where the article left off and the next one begins.
The subject matter is:
SHAMANISM - HEALING - DREAMING - MYTHS - CEREMONIES - SACRED LIVING
This is a wonderful Earth-based spirituality of a gentle nature, respecting the interconnectedness of all life on Eart, and indeed, throughout the multi-verse.
This magazine is British, published in the UK. It has the utterly wonderful quality of keeping its articles cohesive from start to finish, instead of scattering parts of the article all through the magazine in a vain attempt to force readers to view ads. In fact, I think I look at more of the ads, because I'm not frustrated trying to find the continuation of an article I'm enjoying while not losing the place in the magazine where the article left off and the next one begins.
The subject matter is:
SHAMANISM - HEALING - DREAMING - MYTHS - CEREMONIES - SACRED LIVING
This is a wonderful Earth-based spirituality of a gentle nature, respecting the interconnectedness of all life on Eart, and indeed, throughout the multi-verse.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Lots of spam lately...
...so I've changed the blog e-mail settings here.
Happy Holidays to all.
Rev. Dan
Christmas is coming near again, and a new year will soon arrive. Here's wishing all of you a Merry Christmas and joyful holidays no matter which you celebrate. Let's hope for a new year filled with peace, prosperity, joy, and compassion in 2008.
Happy Holidays to all.
Rev. Dan
Happy Holidays...
Christmas is coming near again, and a new year will soon arrive. Here's wishing all of you a Merry Christmas and joyful holidays no matter which you celebrate. Let's hope for a new year filled with peace, prosperity, joy, and compassion in 2008.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
My new sax blog...
... is called "66 Sax" after my 1966 Selmer Bundy tenor sax, "Bello." (Serial number 411559 - and the name is a play on the English word for making a loud noise or yell, and the the Italian word for "handsome.")
You can check it out here: http://66sax.blogspot.com/ - including my healing Earth song, "Pacha Mama Prayer."
Regards and have fun,
Rev. Dan
Saturday, November 15, 2008
What I like about what Pres-elect Obama is saying...
...is that we must meet the challenges that face us TOGETHER.
For too long has the spirit of scarcity-based competition been fostered between our fellow citizens by partisan hacks and bloviators.
When's the last time we paid attention to what is written on the back of every quarter in our pockets; E PLURIBUS UNUM. This means literally, "United we stand."
Then he goes on to make the long-term success of this effort based in cleaning up our energy sources and modernizing them. That is the beating heart of the monster currently poisoning our biosphere.
I like what he says, and I am hoping to match it to what we all DO.
Rev. Dan
For too long has the spirit of scarcity-based competition been fostered between our fellow citizens by partisan hacks and bloviators.
When's the last time we paid attention to what is written on the back of every quarter in our pockets; E PLURIBUS UNUM. This means literally, "United we stand."
Then he goes on to make the long-term success of this effort based in cleaning up our energy sources and modernizing them. That is the beating heart of the monster currently poisoning our biosphere.
I like what he says, and I am hoping to match it to what we all DO.
Rev. Dan
Thursday, November 13, 2008
I am going to actively seek those who believe...
...that it is our spiritual imperative to care for the Earth and act as responsible stewards on Her behalf.
I do not say worship the Earth, I say care for Her.
One of the rather more beautiful events that I attended recently was an inter-faith prayer for peace ceremony at the national headquarters for the Theosophical Society in America.
My wife and I live within an hour's drive of their national headquarters in Wheaton, IL and we were pleased to attend the event.
Each of the attendees was invited to speak on an example of how they'd found peace at some moment in their lives, and to say a prayer for peace from a prayer book filled with prayers from numerous spiritual paths from around the world. I chose a Native American prayer for peace to recite.
We closed the ceremony with a hand-holding circle and a chanted prayer that came to me during my trip to the Cahokia Mounds last year. "Heal the Earth, heal Mankind, in perfect ways, in perfect time." repeated five times.
We also on several occasions have been graced to walk the Labyrinth at the national headquarters in Summer and Winter solstice light ceremonies.
For a poem describing that visit, and the incredible experience I had there, visit HERE.
Blessings and light,
Rev. Dan
I do not say worship the Earth, I say care for Her.
One of the rather more beautiful events that I attended recently was an inter-faith prayer for peace ceremony at the national headquarters for the Theosophical Society in America.
My wife and I live within an hour's drive of their national headquarters in Wheaton, IL and we were pleased to attend the event.
Each of the attendees was invited to speak on an example of how they'd found peace at some moment in their lives, and to say a prayer for peace from a prayer book filled with prayers from numerous spiritual paths from around the world. I chose a Native American prayer for peace to recite.
We closed the ceremony with a hand-holding circle and a chanted prayer that came to me during my trip to the Cahokia Mounds last year. "Heal the Earth, heal Mankind, in perfect ways, in perfect time." repeated five times.
We also on several occasions have been graced to walk the Labyrinth at the national headquarters in Summer and Winter solstice light ceremonies.
For a poem describing that visit, and the incredible experience I had there, visit HERE.
Blessings and light,
Rev. Dan
I See The Spammers Have Been Busy Here Too...
The "Join My Freebie Group" posts via my hacked send-to-post e-mail address have been deleted. I'll try to get more on top of things here as I'm able. It will probably be a little easier now that election season is over, and with such hopeful results.
Let's all pray that we get some concrete action on clean energy, which is at the heart of almost everything that ails us these days.
We indeed live in interesting times. I hope they are kinder than such usually are.
Rev. Dan
Let's all pray that we get some concrete action on clean energy, which is at the heart of almost everything that ails us these days.
We indeed live in interesting times. I hope they are kinder than such usually are.
Rev. Dan
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