Mind Control

The other night I was half awake watching this show about some fat Japanese religious leader who ordered a nerve gas attack in the Tokyo subway. The year was 1995. A dozen people died in this horrible attack and 5,000 more were injured.

The points here:

• Subways seem to be a favorite target of the terrorist murderers.
• The most vicious violence always seems to come in the name of some religion.
• The followers who executed the attack were well educated successful men. But obviously they had a screw loose.

But the whole point is these men were under serious mind control from this Aum Shinrikyo cult, which was led by the fat guy named Shoko Asahara. This really troubles me because it seems that humans have this need to be "programmed" by something. If it's not some whacko religion then people are getting programmed by the "world." See, we all have to be getting PROGRAMMED by something. So, how can you tell what's really your true thoughts and what has been PROGRAMMED into your mind? Don't ask me.

As far as religion is concerned, yes, people have done good deeds in the name of their God or whatever, but all the bad they have committed has far outweighed the good. And if it's not violence it's subtle bad things that people are doing in the name of their religion, like disguised hatred, intolerance, self righteousness, judgmental attitudes, and the list goes on.

And who is to say that a Baptist is any better or any more right than an Aum Shinrikyo follower? "Because we ARE! Because I JUST KNOW IT IN MY HEART."

The fact is, all religions are cults to some degree. While some religions are tolerant, most think that they are RIGHT and that they have the ONLY WAY to whatever.

So, I just love to watch educational TV as I fade off to sleep each night. The shows just kind of permeate into my consciousness, and I float into this nether-world in between the TV and my dreams.


There's your Christ, Ms. Bradberry.

"Ahhhh, that's evil. That's wrong. That ain't Christ — that's just some crazy person. Shame on you for even suggesting that. Bad, bad, bad!!!"

Amazing House

Okay, I'm trying to catch up on my blogging. A few weeks ago my brother and I went to see this amazing house in the Kirkwood community of Atlanta. It is a really cool neighborhood and the house is awesome. It contains over 70 energy-saving features.

For my many loyal readers out there, you can check out the house at: http://www.mindspring.com/~velodave/Map.htm

Some of the features of the house include a tankless water heater, a rainwater collector (for outdoor water needs), and Pro-Foam insulation. The house is so well insulated and designed that the air condition is hardly needed. I believe that David, the owner, said his electric bill was only about $45 a month tops.

There are many, many other neat features to this house ranging from recycled carpet, decking made of recycled plastics, and super efficient appliances.

What I learned from this house tour is that it IS possible for humans to live without using hardly any energy. There are many ramifications to this. Less energy means less air pollution and global warning. Less energy means less dependence on the volatile Middle East for oil. In other words, less energy means more social and environmental stability, and that is a good thing for us AND the Planet.

The problem is that there is strong market pressure to build homes as cheaply as possible — as cheaply as the building codes will allow. This is unfortunate because some energy saving features can pay for themselves in just a few years.

I could go on and on about this topic, but I will just end by saying that less energy means more peace. Not abusing the environment is a form of peace.

I really salute, admire, and respect David for creating this wonderful home that he regularly uses as a showcase for education. What an outreach! What an example, and what an inspiration!!!

Thanks, David, for the great Sunday afternoon tour. My brother and I loved it.

Note: After posting this, David sent me some additional information about his fascinating home:

• The house uses over 50 individual sustainable technologies or techniques. The most interesting to me are the Interface FLOR rug made of corn, the deck from old coke bottles, the walkways and retaining wall made from the foundation of the house that burned, and the clawfoot bathtub we found in another old house.
• Southface calculated (assuming similar consumption demands) that the house should use 40% of the energy of a similar size house built conventionally.
• Over the last 24 months, the TOTAL of my gas, electric, and water bills has averaged about $105.
• People ask how much more it cost to build than a regular house. I don’t know how to answer them, for two reasons. First, many of the technologies were implemented using systems thinking (see Donella Meadows and Peter Senge for more on this), and an investment in one or two technologies often resulted in a cost savings on a third. An example is that my choice of high quality windows and insulation resulted in the need for a smaller AC unit. The other reality is that the house appraised for $30,000 more than I paid for it. I’m not sure my choice in technologies cost me any more at all.

Does Anyone Know What Time It Is?

Well, I haven't blogged lately because I don't think anyone really reads it, and I don't think anyone really cares. I guess I could say that I'm doing this for my own benefit, but I already know what I think, and the time spent blogging could be better spent on other tasks. But anyway, maybe I will blog some more later — maybe I won't. Here is a message I posted recently on the Atlanta Leavers discussion list, which sums up how I'm feeling today:

Alan & Brian,

Belatedly, I wanted to thank you both for your thoughts (Alan on Gaia and Brian on Today v. Tomorrow people).

I do believe that after trillions of years, our Universe and the ones before it, have created a consciousness, which some call Gaia.

This week I did a lot of reading on parallel universes. For an excellent summary of this theory, visit:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/horizon/2001/paralleluni.shtml

The point being, a lot of the great mysteries of the Universe can be approached when you factor in multi dimensions (11 of them) and parallel universes. Once we get more atom-smashers online, I think we will begin to learn how our matter exists on many planes, and what we see with our five senses, and even with our technology, is only a small piece of the pie.

I am trying to tie all this into perspective of current world events. We talk a lot about the New Renaissance. However, what I see now is that the extremists of the Abrahamic faiths are determined to lead us into a third world war. Once Iran gets nukes, other Arab nations will quickly nuke up, which is an easy task since the oil-addicted West will continue to give them unlimited financing. And if we don't, hell, India and China will.

So, I'm trying to put energy, religion, overpopulation, and Gaia into perspective. I'm trying to understand why humans are determined to destroy themselves and their Planet, all in the name of their version of Gaia.

I really started my journey at age 10 with a simple question: "Why are humans destroying so much of nature so quickly? If they have taken so much just in my few years here on the Planet, what will the Earth be like in 100, or, say, 1,000 years?"

My journey took me on a road to environmentalism, overpopulation, women's rights, sustainability, Daniel Quinn and Deep Ecology, human behavior, God, space, and to now, interaction with multiple dimensions and universes.

I believe that the more we dig, the better we will understand ourselves. However, I no longer believe there are enough progressives on the Earth to avert the impending war.

Yellow Canary



"I think it's pretty lousy to wake up at age sixteen and realize you've already been screwed. Not that there's anything terrifically unusual about getting screwed at this age. It seems like everyone inside fifty miles is bent on doing you in. But not many sixteen-year-olds get screwed in this particular way. Not many have the OPPORTUNITY to get screwed this way. I'm
grateful, I really am."

-- opening of "My Ishmael