Becoming A Singularity July 16, 2016
Posted by voolavex in Social Issues.Tags: Aldous, alien astronauts, Almighty, app, Arthur C., bigots, black hole, Black people, Carl Sagan, Cosmos, earth, Elon, even horizen, George, greed, Jews, Kim Kardashian, Life on Mars, Mary Roach, microchip, Millennials, money, nano, Online info, peace, Religion, sic-fi, singularity
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We know a singularity is not unique in the cosmos, but it is clearly unique to this world. We have no event horizon to compare, therefore no directions or exit strategy exist to fix it. Or even try. In our existence – for all practical purposes, it is one of a kind. And because we truly believe history repeats itself*, it becomes an accelerated waiting game. Momentum is building faster than we imagined and like momentum it simply goes on until the end. Imploding. A black hole. Ask a physicist all about it. But chaos has begun, in my eyes, to ensue.
The world is panicking. If you describe it in terms of “hotspots”, we have created a new circle of hell. If you are a firefighter, we are engaged in a global inferno and if you are an American you are becoming more and more afraid. I think it’s an understandable reaction. As we have established America as the place on the planet from whence all things come – good and bad (and might I add, in error). We are ill-equipped for the bad part. American pride has been worn as a badge for 240 years. And just as we exported ourselves as champions of freedom, justice and the American way – we have also exported bad habits, excess, precedents that should never have been, propaganda, and just about everything we could to inculcate ourselves into the collectives minds of the world. It seems to me that we did not export any brains, morality or genuine goodwill, because all we thought we sent was all we thought was important. The lapses in judgment of our history are far too serious to ignore; but ignore them we do.
We have a world in which flags stay at half mast – as if with electronic media one needs a reminder. And electronic media surely bears some of the blame; lots of the blame. It is not better to know it all , all the time. Perhaps millennials believe they can handle it but I think it’s bravado. They can’t imagine they can’t. The app genius that created instant access to every damn thing did not have the time to experience or posit all the ramifications. If there is a world left; we will soon not have to ever think for ourselves. Every sci-fi scenario you have read will be an app. And this can be a game of sorts – a sad game – add your comment to the list of
Some things one will not have to learn:
How to drive and park a car.
How to actually search for information w/o
the Smartphone (where the only thing that is smart IS the phone)
How to start a coup.
Methods of mass murder
All the words to all the songs
Having an opinion
Directions
How to humiliate, shame and possibly drive to suicide, a peer.
How to lie effectively (excellent news for hatchling politicians)
How to hate.
The new kids will never have to worry about keeping a secret. The gender of their baby. Which politician is being indicted. Time to learn knowledge that forms human experience. Because when you live “in the moment” – it starts to become the tunnel of life. They will have things that do things for them. And because the ones who came before will reach their out of code date and soon expire; there won’t even be a memory to be had. But there will be an app for that.
Life on Mars. Elon – stifle yourself. Read Mary Roach. Ask an astronaut. It sounds like a fun idea – but I wouldn’t count on that. And if we fuck up this planet – how dare we start on another?
Peace is a construct – we have never had it. We are a bellicose species. We LIKE blood and death. If we didn’t we would try very hard not to do it. We are trying it with “companion animals”, trials on humans will not happen soon.
Money is the root of all evil. But it has been upgraded to a revenue stream – like the Granta or the Charles or the Seine. If you accept greed as a virtue there will always haves and have nots.
BIGOTS. Like cockroaches, they may inherit the remains. Racial hatred is alive and well and online. Quick fixes have not worked for centuries and those who may be able think outside the box will likely try to find an app to fix it soon. It may not be Jews or Black people – but it will still exist.
Do you worry about your online info? I hear so many folks who won’t do somethings, yet offer their info up for others. Get a clue – THEY know. The way you blithely microchip your pet will one day be the way you do the same to your baby. I am surprised it isn’t done to convicts in the privately owned, for profit, prisons today. Or dementia sufferers. Your naughty pix online? If you did it and posted it – it is always there. Yup Kim Kardashian’s ass and twat will forever appear in two shakes of a nano. Oh Aldous, George, Arthur how did you know? (Were they a warning or how-to guides?).
And in closing – The Almighty? Those who choose “yes” should stop praying and start being very angry. The Deity appears to prefer hate and bloodlust very well and is hypocrite. For others. Is it, as alien astronaut theorists suggest, them? If so, then it is clearly evident that whoever did it, is disgusted. Is it simply the cosmos, as Carl Sagan insisted, then it is completely strange to seem to be a one-off in the universe. All votes are not in. But the Giant Fan of Life on Earth is definitely being hit. Will anyone see this and turn it off?
*History seems to be repetitive but it does not set any examples we absorb. Therefore it is an exercise in futility whose course cannot be changed. So we don’t bother.
Crappy Earth Day 2015 April 22, 2015
Posted by voolavex in Social Issues.Tags: Christian, death, Earth Day 2015, GOP, greed, Jews, Mars, money, murder, Muslims, Religion, religious right, Republican
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I skipped March. It was in like lamb and out like a lamb and I did not hear the Baaa. I woke up very angry. Earth Day. Wow. I remember the first one – now we talk more and still fuck up. Everyday should be earth day on earth. Every single day. And we know it but we are small minded, greedy and wasteful and there is a tipping point. We are teetering. When it first became a day of “Saving the Planet” I was very excited because my generation tried hard. We did more than talk – but talk is cheap. We are a cheap species. We have created more and more waste and crap and bad stuff and we are not even imagining an end to it.. What will stop eventually is us. And I doubt it will be a single thing that happens – I simply think we will tip and stay tipped. That was one thing I was angry about. I also am going to try not to rag on the GOP handlers about greed and hating the less moneyed folks; the 1% who are using the planet like they own it. I suspect they do in large parts. They do not want to give up a penny of their money and this is a given. If the other 99% of us starve, rot, shoot, stab and cheat each other – they do not give a good goddam. They are playing the Jesus Card because it is there. They are the folks who have enabled the rest of Religion Card players to sit down at the game. My tribe – will find itself becoming crypto-Jews (think Inquisition) because they are too embroiled in money politics to see what is happening. Muslims of real faith should practice real love for their almighty. Everyone should be free to believe or not and the rule of civility is about ten things and the rest is commentary. The balance of power and money for the Muslims is so skewed I can almost see why they are angry and commit murder. Almost. And their 1% can fix it but they won’t. This country is a shame, a snare and a delusion. We are NOT going to leave the planet and colonize Mars. We are going to dissolve in our own filth, waste and murder. There will be no Lord to help and there will be no Rapture. It is looking pretty bleak. And guess what – even those in “power” will be powerless. All their money will be useless and that is a tragic irony because all that money could fix many problems and still create revenue streams for them. If you have no customers, you will make no money. Enabling the 99% is the cost of business. Growing the consumers is what grows the business. I will continue to sinle out GOP members who piss me off. I am angry and not even started – but this is how I feel right now on Earth Day 2015. Comments are welcome. Stream of consciousness is about all I can say for my screed. Feel free to screed too.
For the Bereaved of Borough Park July 14, 2011
Posted by voolavex in chasids, despicable, Jews, Politics & Religion, Social Issues.Tags: Caylee, death, dying, families, grief, Jews, Leiby Kletzky, murder, Orthodox, Religion, sisters, yarmulke
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I have been lazy and busy for the last few month – wasting perhaps valuable and pithy thoughts on FB. But today my heart is broken and I am in mourning for a little boy I do not know. His name is Leiby Kletzky and he would have been 9 years old next week. Now he is dead. Like most of this country I paid some attention to the trial of Casey Anthony – an ordeal almost 6 years old and one that resulted in an acquittal based on lack of a case. The DA in Orlando screwed up. Whatever we learn now about this matter will always be fraught with doubts but Casey Anthony is protected by double jeopardy so she may be a pariah – but she will go on her way. I don’t much care to be very honest.
Today I got an email from a list I am on called Hatzolah – a volunteer Jewish ER service and this one caught my eye. It told of a little boy walking home from day camp in borough Park Brooklyn who was kidnapped, murdered and dismembered by a member of the same neighborhood. This happened yesterday – not three years ago. Leiby was a little Orthodox Jewish lad with glasses, a yarmulke and sidelocks and sneakers coming back from day camp. A little boy. The family’s only son. His mother was on her way to meet him but he got lost and a man with a similar look drove by and we imagine Leiby asked for directions. Leiby got into the car. We will never know what he said but tonight he will be mourned and buried.
The man presumed innocent until proven guilty Levi Aron is a quiet, religious loner who lived in his parent’s home. He was not married and he worked full time. He only known crime was pishing in public. I suspect most men have done this. One can only assume that there were very dark parts in his head and where his soul might have once been. He has supposedly admitted to what he did to Leiby. What he did was so heinous and ugly you can read the tabloids to get the details. A parent should never know such things can happen to children. Such things should never happen.
While I write this I am waiting for the real press to tell us about Leiby and his short but beloved life. The sisters who must have adored him, the mother who treasured him; the father who planned in his heart for the 13th birthday on which he would become a man. I am waiting for the outrage and the anger and the fury that accompanied the death of Caylee Anthony. A child no more or less precious than this little boy. I am waiting for the outcry, the keeners, the wailers, the sign carriers who will demonstrate for Leiby and I know I will be even sadder because none of that will happen. And I would ask you who have loved any child to make sure it does. Because it matters just as much.
Arrogance of Empire in the Land of the Free December 1, 2010
Posted by voolavex in common sense, despicable, Economics, freedom, Golden door, Politics, Politics & Religion, Social Issues, solutions.Tags: Christian, constitution, GOP, greed, Lies, Obama, Palin, Religion, religious right
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Each fabulous empire had it peak and then fell like the ones before it. Without this shit we would not have archaeology. Basic fact.
It is audacious, therefore, for this country to imagine it will last forever as the bright shining symbol of all that is good and great on this planet. We refuse or simply fail to see ourselves reflected in the mirror of history. Other countries learn far better from their pasts and accept truths we think were made true at Disney Studios.
As mentioned today in the media: If the only reason for the GOP is to destroy the Dems – a word of warning; they will also fall on their swords and we will have some kind of new and very scary government. Our vaudeville Congress and “partiers” have made us a joke worldwide for our retro revivalist politics, bigotry and narrow views. Step back a little – We are no longer a great nation of hopes and promises kept – we are a nation of angry, obsolete petty snake oil salesmen – promises are made and the Loyal Opp makes it its job to see they cannot be fulfilled.
This is no longer a country I recognize. One party systems fast become one man systems and in this country we hold our politics in such high esteem we barely pay attention to how many rotten apples sit in the halls of Congress waiting for job. It must smell like hard cider by now. I would advise those southwest of our country – those who think they can achieve the American Dream to pack warmer clothes and keep moving until they hit Canada.
It is hard to continue loving a land that gave so much to so many only to have shot itself in the foot over bigotry and imaginary fears. Those who fear the “Nanny” state are the ones who need supervision and limits the most. People who know what their limits are have no reason to fear anything in terms of grift, graft and greed. It’s not the crime that brings regrets to the political thieves – it’s the getting caught. The United States is out of control. And it scares me to death.
Guerrilla Flotillas June 4, 2010
Posted by voolavex in common sense, freedom, Gaza, IDF, illegal, Israel, Jews, Politics, Social Issues, solutions, war.Tags: Cyprus, dhimmies, Diaspora, Gaza, greed, Guerrilla Flotillas, Hamas, hookahs, humanitarian aid, IDF, Jews, Nobel Prize, Religion, ships, Turkey, Zionist
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Junk Science. Gospel Truth. Down for the Long Count September 15, 2009
Posted by voolavex in global warming, Social Issues.Tags: 12-21-12, 13.0.0.0.0., algorithm, Allah, Armageddon, Arthur C. Clarke, astrology, calendar, Christ, climate change., game theory, Jews, junk, junk science, Kali, Mayans, planets, Religion, solar system, the Long Count
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The year 2012 is mentioned a lot lately and it makes me curious about a few things that should be more obvious – yet I have not seen anyone address them.
Basically the Mayan calendar (followed only by Mayans until very recently) predicts that there will a huge change on this planet on 12/21/12 or 13.0.0.0.0. – depending on how you read it. Furthermore it seems this eventuality is global theme from antiquity – not just Mayan antiquity. It also appears that no matter how you crunch the numbers all of them are pretty close to this date (the former, not the latter). Scientifically, there will be an alignment of the planets in our solar system that occurs only every (26),000 years (give or take). I wonder if the number (13).0.0.0.0. is special because it is half of 26? I don’t know. Then again, no one else has explained it very well one way or another either. I do know many that many people – mainstream and fringe – seem to be cashing in on this entire phenomenon quite handsomely. One man ( a scientific sort) has created an algorithm using game theory to make similar predictions for 2012. So I am troubled because if even one of the many supposed events occur – it won’t be very pleasant for this world and this is the very thing that keeps doubt in my mind. That and fear.
Let’s all agree, for the sake of this piece. that religion is based on predictions, prophets, amazing events, celestial signs. These happen by the hand of God – any God or many Gods – so we should take this theme very seriously. The idea of “the end of days” seems to be part of many religions and is signified by wars, fire, floods, explosions and bad behavior among the citizens of Earth. And then redemption or hell, fire and brimstone. Or some here and some there. While the term “junk science” covers many of these catastrophic events in the mainstream – no one ever seems to use the term “junk religion” or ask why this silly idea is a thread through so many cultures who have no use for one another now nor a long time ago. Consider this: In Eastern countries the astrological charts of two people marrying, for example, are very important – yet astrology – in the West is considered a pseudo science with no real meaning. Yet it relies on celestial measurements to predict compatibility. What makes it junk? Why has it been so important for so many millions of people on Earth. Why is it still? And why were a people such as the Mayans so concerned with dates and calendars and the heavens when they possessed no technical or scientific basis for their observations. Was it faith or advice? Is it some accident or coincidence that the idea of religious monuments at precise astronomical intersections is farfetched, yet we can consider climate change a fact? Why is the idea of Armageddon a religious myth? And why must we reject as junk, one, but not the other? Who makes these decisions and why? If anyone knew this all to be true and inevitable – just as billions believe that Christ is the Son of God, that Allah is the only God and Mohammed is his Prophet, that Moses delivered the Jew out of Egypt and brought us the 10 Commandments, that this is the Age of Kali – all this faith is accepted as gospel – why do we doubt 2012 – for example? And assuming for a second we take a flight and accept it as a possibility. Then what? If Eastern thought and Western science has seen these changes coming for ages – theoretically and/or metaphysically – what are they going to do about it? In two years? Aside from money being made on the whole business, I can’t see what we possibly possess on our planet that would stop any of it from occurring – even if we knew what “it” was.
So do we attach any credence to The Long Count or is it wild conjecture? And if we do believe it, then what? And if we don’t and something does happen who will be around to claim bragging rights?
I don’t know the answers to any of these questions. I’ m not sure what parts I consider reasonable and what parts I hope are wild and impossible theories, if any. Are we a failed experiment? A final exam gone bad. Or is this just good sci-fi. You choose your ending. Or is something about to come true. And did we blow it? Maybe we should all plan to meet on 1-1-13 and see what the outcome is – if anyone is left to care. I miss Arthur C. Clarke.
From the Same Folks Who Brought us Torquemada March 17, 2008
Posted by voolavex in dying.Tags: Catholic Church, devil, George Carlin, Guido Sarducci, L'Osservatore Romano, Mother Teresa, Religion, sins, Vatican
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UPDATED: In Loving Memory of George Carlin –
Leave it to the reliable ol’ Catholic Church to come up with a snappy new list of sins. As if we don’t have enough to worry about – they dump another list of do-nots on their community centuries too late – euros too short. The new list and the old are as follows – let’s look:
The seven social sins are:
1. “Bioethical” violations such as birth control and pedophilia
2. “Morally dubious” experiments such as stem cell research
3. Drug abuse
4. Polluting the environment
5. Contributing to widening divide between rich and poor
6. Excessive wealth
7. Creating poverty
The Original Seven Deadly Sins*:
1. Pride
2. Envy
3. Gluttony
4. Lust
5. Anger
6. Greed
7. Sloth
It seems to me that this is a PR attempt at modernizing the church – yet all of the new sins are so anti-enlightenment and hypocritical – well they may not be idiotic – but they are certainly a little late at this point in time and actually redundant when compared to *Pope Gregory’s 6th century list. Let’s see why:
1. Bioethical violations. Birth control and abortion wrapped in a different baby blanket. AND…pedophilia – Madonna mia! – unclear on the concept as usual.
2. Morally dubious experiments i.e. stem cell research, i.e. scientific inquiry and medical progress.
3. Drug Abuse – does this include no wine and no smoking? There goes most of Catholic Europe.
4. Polluting the environment – did this used to be a virtue?
5. Contributing to the divide between rich and poor – they didn’t mean it the way it sounds.
6. Excessive wealth – No, they didn’t. The current estimated worth of the Vatican assets fluctuates between $5bn and $15bn. This does not include offshore accounts which require walking on water to access. No, they didn’t.
7. Creating Poverty. Huh? Those thermometers in front of churches that measure fund raising will have to go and so will passing the plate.
You will need the Baltimore Catechism and Noam Chomsky to figure these out. What do they really mean? The old list is much easier to parse Let’s look:
1. Pride – “Look at all my money – oops – I didn’t really deserve it.”
2. Envy– “I wish I had everyone’s money; oops – I am satisfied with what I have.”
3. Gluttony – “I want to taste everything in the world until I burst open or get the gout. oops – I am going to run five miles a day and become a vegan”.
4. Lust – “I want your sex” oops – I was just using the bathroom. ” For Christ’s sake bring me an altar child – just kidding”.
5. Anger – “You will be sorry… if you don’t renounce the devil I will burn you at the stake. Oops. Would you like to renounce Satan?”
6. Greed – “I want more money, I want all the money Oops – I was thinking of Donald Trump – HE wants all the money, not me”.
7. Sloth – “Why should I get up and work? Oops – Wal-Mart is hiring – better run and fill out an application.”
As usual the Catholic Church has adopted another do as I say not as I do policy that dates from its founding in about the 1st century C.E. and has been interfering in people’s lives ever since. (This is not exclusively the domain of the Roman church – but we are not talking about non-Christian fanatics or Holy Rollers here – they have much longer lists). But what do these sins really mean? They seem to be the same as the others only spun into savvy words and hot button issues that will boost the circulation of L’Osservatore Romana. And they make no sense. Let’s consider:
Can infertile Catholics utilize medical intervention to have babies? Why can’t they use stem cell research if it will save a life. Especially since abortion is considered murder?
Can dirt poor Catholics escape poverty (a sin) by using birth control (another sin).
Why doesn’t the church use its billions to feed all the poor and reduce the gap between hierarchal wealth and worshipper poverty. Selling their art collection might be a start.
What about dreaded Idol Worship? That is one of the original Ten and the church loves it some statuary.
And the calendar of saints – where one used to wait hundreds of years for a nod; now they have speeded up the process to about two weeks give or take a week. Where is the Devil’s Advocate when you need him? Often mentioned for the calendar; Mother Teresa didn’t even get a squeak from the Almighty for 50 years – which may qualify as a miracle but not one I know about.
Out of touch with reality – more like never in touch with reality
The new list first was published in L’Osservatore Romano – so you know it’s the God’s Honest Truth – but I don’t know. I think the truth about the sins lies somewhere in the thoughts of Father Guido Sarducci when he commented:
“Life is a job. You get $14.50 a day, but after you die, you have to pay for your sins. Stealing a hub cap is around $100. Masturbation is 35 cents (it doesn’t seem like much, but it adds up). If there’s money left when you subtract what you owe from what you’ve earned, you can go to heaven. If not, you have to go back to work. (Sort of like reincarnation — many nuns are Mafia guys working it off.” (Obtained from Father Sarducci.com)
My advice: Ignore both lists. Do what you know is right and failing that, hang around St. Peter’s; buy a few indulgences and fuhgettabout the rest. (Oops – I think blasphemy is on some list too – Jesus, Mary and Joseph (Blessed be their holy names), I’m going straight to hell.)
Voolavex 