text:
Obsessions long before Go

I NARROWLY made it into the 80s. I was born in November, 1989. So I become aware of my surroundings by the time the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle craze ended.

But my favourite game was Power Rangers. This is how I played:

-Arrive at a public playground.

-Size up the other kids; boys and girls.

– Start fighting them with my Power Ranger moves.

-Kick her down the slide

Mum was embarrassed. So she banned me from Power Rangers and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

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A STRANGE new game had begun at my catholic primary school, involving imaginary creatures.

“You’re challenging the gym,” one of my friends told me. “I’m the gym leader. And you,” he pointed. “Are fighting for a badge.”

“You’ve got Magikarp.”

The creature sounded cool, it sounded like it had magical powers. “Fly and kick its butt!” I yelled, but apparently my Magikarp couldn’t do that.

“Use psychic powers!” I said.

But apparently my Magikarp couldn’t do that either.

All it knew was splash. My friend’s Starmie killed my Magikarp easily. I lost. I didn’t get a badge.

“This is bullshit!” I screamed, and ran away.

The year was 1999. The craze on the playground was beginning to change from marbles to Pokemon.I was slow to the discovery because I didn’t own video games, and my family didn’t have aerial on our TV.

Every Wednesday I would stay at the postman’s house. It’s not as weird as it sounds. He was a family friend and lived 40 minutes closer to my school. I watched cartoons on Cheez TV every Thursday morning including Pokemon and I learned the rules. My imaginary Magikarp was shit house. But it could evolve to Gyradoes, and that tough, scaly bastard could rule the gym near the drain, and even take on the next gym at the giant pine tree too.

The first time I was at another friend’s house he showed me his collection of Pokemon cards. “Here,” he said, giving me his spare ones. The best one I got was a Machoke. So began the obsession.

I chased the cards. Any I could get even if I didn’t have pocket money. My younger brother Keith and I scrounged for them. Once I stole my brother’s favourite card and hid it in my room and he used a tomahawk like in The Shining through the wooden door to get it back. Only instead of “here’s Johnny!” it was “give me back my fucking Pikachu!”

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I figured that since Keith wrecked my door I was allowed to wreck his. So we spent the next 20 minutes breaking them down as our Mum fled the house sobbing.

Keith and I worked out a game combining my marbles collection and our spare Pokemon cards, and we played for keeps. But one of us cheated, so we got angry and rolled around the floor trying to strangulate each other.

Our three year old brother Sam was watching and as I pushed them out the room I slammed the locked door.

Sam’s toe was caught in the hinge end of the door. He screamed. It was a high pitched bellow that echoed through the house. The door was locked and I couldn’t get in to unlock it. The spare key was on the other side of the house, on top of a cupboard I had to reach by a chair.

His toe. It was definitely broken. Mum bundled us in the car and she drove as fast as possible to the hospital. It took 40 minutes and Sam was sobbing the whole way. Sometimes he was too tired to cry.

He was carried into the emergency ward and the doors shut behind us in the waiting room but even then we heard the screaming. As the doctor checked his toe my little brother screamed at the doctor and nurses, “you blasted animal!”

Guilt. I’ve had it before and since. But not like that moment. Not like in the aftermath.

The Department of Communities  (DOCS) social workers began to monitor our family, but it had nothing or little to do with the smashed toe incident. No. This was about other reasons including expulsion, running away, breaking into another school to raid the kitchen and use the computer and read the Tintin collection in the library.

The DOCS manager figured the best way to get me to behave was through a rewards system. For every week I behaved I received a pack of Pokemon cards.

But when they failed to be delivered I grew impatient. Finally, I told them, “where’s my Pokemon cards?” and when I didn’t get them I swung my belt buckle at the glass door and it smashed. So I threw rocks through every other glass window.

It wasn’t long after that I was in a foster home. I earned pocket money, and I used it to fuel my collection.

But this isn’t about Pokemon. This isn’t about childhood. This is about obsession. Sure, there were other lesser interests through the years, such as Animorphs, and Harry Potter, and Halo, and then Jesus.

But…but, I suppose the next major obsession was before I turned 17. It was two years after baptism, and two months before graduating high school.

I was walking through the arcade one day with a friend when we saw a new store had opened up. They sold and played Dungeons and Dragons, Pokemon, Yugioh, but the game that grabbed me was Magic the Gathering. It was like Pokemon cards but more strategic. I understood the game quickly. I didn’t have much money – I was on Centrelink and didn’t have a job and my family lived on the other side of the country. I lived with my math teacher and his family. But I spent what I had on these cards, concentrated on value, and began to set up a deck of cards that focused on resurrection and light  and angels.

I was there four or five evenings a week, and all day Saturdays. But one day I lost one of my rare cards. I searched my deck three times in case it had stuck to the back of another card. I freaked out at school the next day and when I went home I prayed to find the card – because that’s what I did. I prayed for everything. And I prayed again and then searched the deck again.

I found the card the next morning.

And I felt relief. It filled my mind and chest. And then I knew what a hold the game had on me. It was dominating my thoughts, my time, my feelings.

“This is a sign,” I thought. “You will not go back to the store after school today. You’ve spent too much time there.”

Anyway, when I was at the store that afternoon I bought a new pack of cards. I opened it to find the best card ever. A ‘Wrath of God’ which basically wiped out every monster on  the field. Everyone in the store was jealous. I was offered more cards, more money for it, but I wouldn’t take it.

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Later that night I felt guilty. I felt that the Wrath of God was commercialising something sacred. It felt blasphemous. I felt if I was going to continue playing the game I had to get rid of the card.

So I ripped it up.

And funny enough, after that, I never felt obsessed with the game again. I enjoyed it, but even then that joy was blunt, faded somehow. The Saturday tournaments were a little stale. But one of my friends found out I ripped up the card, and he told someone, and he told the owner, and the owner of the store was angry at me. “I could have traded you four packs of cards for it,” he said.

Every Magic the Gathering player in town knew me as the Wrath of God Killer.

This multi-player online game in which you wander, complete quests, train your skills up, and talk to your friends around the world. There were almost 30 skills including combat, magic, archery, fishing, firemaking, woodcutting, mining, smithing, and so on. There were also the paid members skills. Members had so much more quests and skills and a bigger world to explore.

I ended up joining. I played for several years, but by 19 I was a miner. I would spend days at a time picking a digital vein of coal just to level up. Eventually I was restless. I wanted to quit but at the same time I felt that the more time I spent on it, the more of a waste it would be to quit.

Eventually I moved to Melbourne to work with the homeless. The Salvation Army program I was in didn’t allow any time, or any internet reception, to play such a game. I quit cold turkey. When I left Melbourne after a year and had better internet and more time, I tried to play Runescape again. I had no interest. It bored me.

AS OF last week I own two phones. My work phone. And my Pokemon GO phone.

I’m a journalist in an outback city and I managed to write a few news articles on Pokemon Go. It was well read. Our city is going mad on Pokemon. So am I. It took two days after the game was released before I had a chance to play. My girlfriend and I went on a date to chase Pokemon and within a few hours she noticed a change in me. I was irritable and at one stage I ignored what she said because I was engrossed in catching an Ekans.

I couldn’t concentrate on work. I couldn’t concentrate on conversations that weren’t Pokemon. Every sentence I spoke was about Pokemon.

I don’t know why it’s sending me this way. I’m becoming what I was.

THIS morning I decided to quit Pokemon GO for four days. I turned my Pokemon phone off and hid it in the undies drawer, and then I went to work.

Three hours later I found an Aerodactyl on the street I was in. Within a minute I stumbled into this rare Pokemon – the one I was chasing specifically. And I tried catching it. As the Pokeball caught the Aerodactyl, the phone glitched. It froze.

I had to turn the phone on again but the Pokemon wasn’t in my collection, and it was no longer on the street.

Yes. I was upset. Then I realised. This game was a game. Yet it was influencing my moods. It was controlling me.

It shouldn’t have had this power.

“Let it go,” I thought, not even thinking of the Frozen song. But I still felt like shit, at least until half an hour later when I caught a Clefairy.

I turned the phone off, and I left it off the rest of the day, and I went back home and put the phone in my sock drawer.

And I really think it will remain in my drawer the rest of the week.

But even if I’m deprived of Pokemon Go, I somehow feel better. I can think clearer.

I don’t know why I’m writing this, why I’m sharing this, but I suppose there’s a message in here somewhere in my experience, so if there is I’ll let you find it.

Welcome back, buddy!

I’m back and it’s been bloody ages, I know.

And I wasn’t sure I was going to come back to this blog. I’m here because I need a friend to talk to and I think it’s you. Don’t feel pressured. You don’t have to do anything except read what I’ve channeled.

There’s so much on my mind right now and I don’t know where to begin. But I suppose we should keep it relevant. See. The theme of the blog was to explore the small stories from my days in foster care. The days I thought I’d left so far behind that I thought I could open them up for public examination.

Vulnerability bruises but I’d go back to write another blog post, and another blog post, and another. It was courage, in a way. I’d write to make sure I had at least 12 blog posts scheduled.

I was caught up by the instant gratification of a couple of WordPress or Facebook likes. But it was getting in the way. I’m a journalist. I wrote for a living. So I had just enough energy for another project. It had to be the blog, or a book.

I chose the book.

There was a woman who wrote me a letter. And in it she said “I love you”. A grand gesture that I related to and had done to others myself. So I knew the energy and courage that went behind the words.

So what did I do to help her?

Nothing. I ignored the letter.

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Shut up Doctor Evil! I already know.

It terrified me and I didn’t know how to answer. I wanted to say I love her too but I knew it was only because I just wanted to make someone happy. Someone deserves to be with who they want. Yet although she was a great friend I didn’t feel that way. “Why not?” I considered. “Why don’t you love her back? What’s wrong with you?”

I procrastinated a day to gather my thoughts, and then another day, and another day, and another day, and another day. And then it must have been two weeks and I still hadn’t acknowledged the letter to her.

Her friend facebook messaged me and blasted me for my rudeness and about how, basically, she was too good for me and that I needed to get over my past and focus on my present and future.

The friend assumed that I felt all this self pity by my foster care blogs. That wasn’t why I was blogging. It wasn’t about showing off that I had a hard background. I didn’t have a hard background! Not really.

So this was the first example in which it felt like publishing my past was being used against me. And I suppose it was an incentive to cut it off. No more blogs.

But here I am.

A few Sundays ago I got really drunk with a hot friend in Brisbane and we were about to pass out on her couch. And she muttered, “tell me a story.”

It could have been any story. But my mind was blank. Blank. Blank.

A terrible moment for someone who feels his only purpose is as a storyteller. I said what was on my heart.

“Tomorrow I’m driving down to New South Wales,” I said. “A place called Kempsey. I’m going to catch up with my foster mother. I haven’t seen her in eight years. I haven’t lived with her in 15.”

“You’re telling me what you’re doing,” she said. “That’s not a story of what happened.” A polite way maybe of saying ‘chill, dude. Way too heavy.’

I guess.

I suppose.

It took days to work out why I was troubled by that moment, which felt like a metaphor or life lesson to take hold of.

I’m a collection of stories.

Not a gatherer of future stories.

I have the past. Why do I need to hold off and concentrate on the future for more stories when I already have what I need. When I haven’t shared all that I can give.

I suppose maybe I feel I need to prove myself from the moment I blanked. For a scary drunken moment I thought maybe I didn’t have anything.

But I do.

Hello =) My name is Chris.

I write not for pity. I write because what happens to me seems to make bloody sense once the actions are channeled through my fingers onto this.

I must see new nutters

POPCORN chicken was new on the KFC menu when the social worker broke up with me.

The Big, Fat, Hairy Man and I waited in his government car as part of the drive-thru queue when he made the speech. “It’s not you, it’s me,” the man said as he turned the wheel slightly round the first curve.

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We drove to the Kempsey riverside park as we munched fried chicken. “I’ve been moved to another office,” the social worker said. “There are other children I need to look after who need me as much as you used to.

“Chris,” he said. “You’ve come such a long way since I’ve known you. You know that right?”

The first time we met I was on my house roof. I threw rotten pumpkins at him when he came to visit. Then while he tried to wash the pulp from his salt-and-pepper bushman beard I asked if he could help me off. “I have no pumpkins and it’s been raining and I can’t get off,” I said.

He blinked as if to say “you’ve got to be kidding” but he did it.

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Later though.

When I was put in my foster home I ran away, was picked up by the police, jabbed with a needle and held down by nurses. Listen to the song Bullet with Butterfly Wings and you might know how I feel. I woke up in a hospital in nothing but a plastic dressing gown, a plastic band around my wrist which I believed may have been a secret tracer.

When I returned to the foster home I was faced with lethargy and loneliness. I tried starving myself, and then the big, fat, hairy man came over. He took me to the beach. We flew a Pokemon kite. The weight of the kite on my finger, the smell of the salty breeze, hearing the sound of the burly chuckles of the man who refused to have a turn.

A happy moment. A transformation of my life. He was my friend. The man in my life. The hero. The one I shared my first subway with.

There were so many social workers, so many psychologists and teachers and parents who gained my trust and over time moved on and found another project. They sanitised themselves – I wasn’t their responsibility – they moved on.

“I will come to visit when I can,” he promised, as if knowing what I was thinking. But I was stuck on the part where he said I’d changed. Because I knew he meant it. I knew then. I was a different boy than the 10-year-old who banged his head on the bedroom wall over and over for the fun of scaring his elderly foster mother.

I was nearly 12, I was nearly in high school, I was the best speller in my year. We sat in the car, watching a few kids run along the rickety bridge on the playground. “Want to play?” he said. The big, fat, hairy man knew how much I loved climbing up the curly slide, getting in the way of everyone, pretending the slide was a giant worm with its teeth at the bottom.

“Nah,” I said, seeing an advantage in this break-up. “Let’s get ice-cream.” And he said okay and we moved on.

Ms Gameboy

ALTERNATIVELY named Ms Gameboy and the Awkies Trio.

Ms Gameboy would often say, “I will keep an eye on you, Chris.” Most of the time she said that because I was a bit of a delinquent and she trusted me like a traditional owner would with a mining company.

But once my school councillor meant it in a nice way. I think. Assuming she didn’t assume I would be a serial killer or a Wall Street predator. She added; “You will be on the bestseller list and I will read your book.”

Well, I hope she never reads this. And she probably won’t because you’re pretty much my sole readership. Also, I’ve changed my name.

And I’ve changed her name. It’s not really Ms Gameboy. It was the nickname the Awkies Trio gave her because her real name was a few vowels off Gameboy and it’s fun to destroy a teacher’s self esteem.

For example, Mr Stone the substitute teacher was Mr Stoner.

And our high school science sub was Ms Pike. “What’s a dyke?” I asked her once after I heard the word whispered far too many times around the Bunsen burner.

Fat Tony

I’m not actually sure Gameboy was the school councillor. She was sort of like a remedial officer who took on the Awkies Trio. The trio were the more anti-social of the Year 6 loners. There was Finchy, the ADHD kleptomaniac/compulsive liar. There was Whitey – this kid who often sat away from everyone and drew dragons. And there was me.

I was trying to fit in the school system,so that my crush Ellie would want me. Witchcraft wasn’t working, I needed to be in on the cool crowd.  Gameboy’s interest told the class I was a weirdo no matter how normal I acted.

I was hot and cold with this poor lady.

Because at least I could get out of class for excursions or get ice-cream.

Yowies and Rams

I USED to play soccer for a team called Upper Macleay Yowies.

Go Yowies!

Great name. With patriotic colours of green and gold.

Shit team. Although a few of our players were great; especially Tom and Jessie. We all had fun together.

But that was the old days. When girls could play in our teams. Before Tom’s car accident.

Before Mum gave away my soccer boots for running away and hiding in the school library.

A year later, my foster mother Hazel decided I should pay soccer again. She bought boots and made sure I got a lift to try-outs. The nearest team to my school was the Fredo Rams. My school mates played in a higher year for some reason.

Hazel didn’t have her own car. But her sister did. So she made an effort to see my home games. And I’d get a lift with the team’s mothers when we had to travel a distance.

I wish I had a moral to wrap this post in a cute conclusion. The truth is I don’t. All I wanted to say was that I loved soccer, and that despite my complaints I wasn’t stuck on my foster home property when I wasn’t at school. And that Hazel did try to make me happy.

And to say that chocolate Yowies were the best. They were like Kinder Surprises, but the toys inside were of endangered and rare animals.

Why sell the cow?

♦SOME kids had their own Nintendo. My little brother Abe and I each had our own calf.

Mum organised for us both to buy our own baby calves for $40 each. We would each raise them and after a number of years sell them back at the market price. It was a great idea actually, to teach us good business sense.

Abe named his calf ‘Princess’. I named mine ‘Coal.’ That’s probably why she hated me.

I didn’t have much to do with Coal when I was put in foster care. I saw her when I was on home visits but for brief, disinterested moments.

Abe and I got sick of waiting for the cash return and we sold our juvenile cows to the postman with a profit of about $150. Actually, the profit might have been $110. I can’t remember if I considered the original $40.

$150 is a lot of money for an 11-year-old. Except I can’t remember what I spent it on.

For almost a year Abe watched jealously as I brought home my Game Boy Colour and played Pokemon Silver during access visits. As soon as he got his money he made Mum take him to Big W. He bought a new Game Boy and Pokemon Gold.

I decided I was going to buy Pokemon Crystal. ‘You can’t!’ Mum said. ‘Just when Abe bought all this.’ To compete with you, is what she didn’t say.

I bought Pokemon Crystal anyway because Abe needed to be taught a lesson, and it was awesome because although it was just an upgraded Pokemon Silver, I could choose to be a boy OR a GIRL character.

back in my day meme

Life was sweet, but I felt unsettled. I’d traded a cow I didn’t care about, but it was still a life. A life worth more if I’d waited for better cattle prices.

ONCE I ran away from my foster home, was caught by the police, locked in their van, escorted to hospital, injected with a needle and held down by nurses until I was drugged out.

That’s my worst memory. I’m proud that I can write it down in one sentence.

There was a man who made the decision to treat me like this. Col was the office manager of the Department of Communities.

I think he felt guilty about what he did. Because once he passed on a light hearted remark to my foster mother. “Still can’t get the farmers friends out of my socks”, referring to the time he chased me through a forest to negotiate with me. Farmers friends are black thin seeds that attach themselves to clothing.

Col resigns from his job. I say “resign” but I’m not entirely sure. He is replaced by a man named Tony – someone I intended to introduce in another blog post.

About a year later my foster mother Hazel and I are on our weekly shopping trip and we’re walking the main street. We’re at that part where I’ve spent my money on Pokemon cards and resorting to window shopping. And then we see Col walking to us.

I stand there, coldly. He says hello, talks about the weather, asks us what we’re doing, how I’m enjoying my holidays, and so on. He leaves.

Later Hazel said he had been impressed with my “change”.

“He was amazed you just stood there. He was expecting you to attack him or at least stomp on his shoe,” she said.

The tooth fairy is dead

ONE night, when I was 12, I put one of my baby teeth into a glass of water and went to sleep.

I woke with the door creaking, as the sun rose. I watched my foster mother tip toe across the room to the glass to replace the tooth with a $2 coin. Hazel was a short woman with some fragility and a bad back, having been paraplegic at one point in her life. And seeing her tip-toe was a rare sight.

I couldn’t keep my mouth shut.

“I saw that,” I said.

“Fine then, I won’t be doing this again,” she said.

I thought she was joking.

Months later I pulled out my last baby tooth. It was hidden at the back and had a hole through the middle like a doughnut.

I was with my real family’s postman – who had become a family friend. He said “I’ll give you 50 cents for that, and you should count yourself lucky.” I said nah, knowing the going rate for the tooth fairy.

And when I went back home I followed the same ritual. I put the tooth in the same glass, on the same dresser, and went to sleep.

To my disappointment, the tooth remained. There was no gold coin. Maybe the tooth fairy didn’t know.

“Wow!” I said loudly at dinner in the ad between Veronica’s Closet. “This gap between my teeth feels weird.”

Everybody ignored me.

The next morning, I woke for school. The tooth remained. I kept it there the next day, the next, the next, the next, the next week. I threw the tooth and the slimy water out.

Because the tooth fairy was dead.

A kid’s backstory

♠EVERY kid in Year 6 had a stereotype or a back story, rumors passed on by their friends or the occasional guest to their house.

I was the psycho who tried to blow up the school.

And then there was Al.

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He awkwardly wore a brown cap outside to hide his platinum blond hair. He had big teeth but did not smile much. And he was part of the Pokemon crowd.

So was I. But there became a time where to impress the cool crowd I renounced such nerdy items in public.

Al had a little brother, and a mother. Although single mothers were not rare back then, it was left to our school friend to justify their father’s absence. Al never did.

“His father killed himself! Locked himself in his room and shot himself in the mouth,” Other-Chris, the guy who always had the desk next to me whispered. I looked at Al, four seats to my right.

“Probably couldn’t stand Al and wanted to do anything he could to get away from him,” I said.

And Al said, sullenly, quietly, almost calmly, “I heard that.”

When you think about it, it’s amazing that he invited me to his birthday party.

To kill King K Rool

♠ONE of my early unsupervised access visits with Mum and the siblings didn’t go so well.

It was because I was selfish, but any time I used words like “selfish” and “useless” and “pathetic” aloud my foster family would be sympathetic.

In fact I used the words like an incantation if I felt I didn’t get enough attention.

After a while my foster mother and her daughter, and the daughter’s daughter, would snap “you know you’re not.”

I had enough Christmas money to buy Donkey Kong Country for the Game Boy Colour.

For the low, low price of $50 I could control an ape and make it jump into cannons. And stomp on giant lizards. And ride in treacherous mine carts.

Best game ever. Not counting Pokemon Silver. Or Super Mario World. Or any Commander Keen.

I bought DK early on in an access visit. Mum suggested we then go to the town pool. We were there a little while but I decided I wanted to play Donkey Kong as soon as possible.

I told her I wanted to go back home because I was sick.

Caesar meme

The visit was short and pointless. Just like this blog post. Ha ha ha.


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Thomas Jefferson Papers

From Thomas Jefferson to John Brazer, 24 August 1819

Poplar Forest, Aug. 24. 19.

The acknolegement of your favor of July 15 & thanks for the Review which it covered of mr Pickering’s Memoir on the modern Greek have been delayed by a visit to an occasional but distant residence from Monticello, and to an attack here of rheumatism, which is just now moderating. I had been much pleased with the memoir, and was much also with your review of it. I have little hope indeed of the recovery of the antient pronuntiation of that finest of human languages: but still rejoice at the attention the subject seems to excite with you because it is an evidence that our country begins to have a taste for something more than merely as much Greek as will pass a candidate for clerical ordination.

You ask my opinion on the extent to which classical learning should be carried in our country. a sickly condition permits me to think, and a rheumatic hand to write but briefly on this litigated question. the utilities we derive from the remains of the Greek and Latin languages are 1. as models of pure taste in writing. to these we are certainly indebted for the natural and chaste style of modern composition which so much distinguishes the nations to whom these languages are familiar. without these models we should probably have continued the inflated style of our Northern ancestors or the hyperbolical and vague one of the East.

2. among the values of classical learning I estimate the Luxury of reading the Greek & Roman authors in all the beauties of their originals, and why should not this innocent & elegant luxury take it’s preeminent stand ahead of all those addressed merely to the senses? I think myself more indebted to my father for this, than for all the other luxuries his cares and affections have placed within my reach: and more now than when younger, and more susceptible of delights from other sources, when the decays of age have enfeebled the useful energies of the mind, the classic pages fill up the vacuum of ennui and become sweet composers to that rest of the grave into which we are all, sooner or later, to descend.  3. a 3d value is in the stores of real science deposited, and transmitted us in these languages, to wit in history Ethics, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, Natural history Etc.

But to whom are these things useful? certainly not to all men. there are conditions of life to which they must be for ever estranged. and there are epochs of life too after which the endeavor to attain them would be a great misemployment of time. their acquisition should be the occupation of our early years only, when the memory is susceptible of deep and lasting impressions, and reason and judgment not yet strong enough for abstract speculations.   to the Moralist they are valuable, because they furnish ethical writings highly & justly esteemed: altho’, in my own opinion the moderns are far advanced beyond them in this line of science, the Divine finds in the Greek language a translation of his primary code of more importance to him than the original, because better understood: and in the same language, the newer code, with the doctrines of the earliest fathers, who lived and wrote before the simple precepts of the founder of this most benign and pure of all systems of morality became frittered into subtleties & mysteries & hidden under jargons incomprehensible to the human mind. to these original sources he must now therefore return to recover the virgin purity of his religion.  the Lawyer finds in the Latin language the system of civil law most conformable with the principles of justice of any which has ever yet been established among men, and from which much has been incorporated into our own.  the Physician as good a code of his art as has been given us to this day. theories and systems of medicine indeed have been in perpetual change from the days of the good Hippocrates to the days of the good Rush. but which of them is the true one? the present, to be sure; as long as it is the present, but to yield it’s place in turn to the next novelty, which is then to become the true system, and is to mark the vast advance of medicine since the days of Hippocrates. our situation is certainly benefited by the discovery of some new and very valuable medicines: and substituting those for some of his with the treasure of facts, & of sound observations recorded by him (mixed to be sure with the anilities of his day) and we shall have nearly the present sum of the healing art  the Statesman will find in these languages history, politics mathematics, ethics, eloquence, love of country, to which he must add the sciences of his own day; for which of them should be unknown to him? and all the sciences must recur to the classical languages for the etymon, and sound understanding of their fundamental terms.  for the Merchant, I should not say that the languages are a necessary. ethics, mathematics geography, political economy, history, seem to constitute the immediate foundations of his calling. the Agriculturalist needs ethics, mathematics, chemistry & natural philosophy.  the Mechanic the same. to them the languages are but ornament & comfort. I know it is often said there have been shining examples of men of great abilities in all the businesses of life, without any other science than what they had gathered from conversations and intercourse with the world. but who can say what these men would not have been had they started in science on the shoulders of a Demosthenes or Cicero, of a Locke, a Bacon or a Newton?

to sum the whole therefore, it may truly be said that the Classical languages are a solid basis for most, and an ornament to all the sciences.

I am warned by my aching fingers to close this hasty sketch and to place here my last and fondest wishes for the advancement of our country in the useful sciences and arts; and my assurances of respect & esteem for the Reviewer of the Memoir on modern Greek.

Th: Jefferson

DLC: Papers of Thomas Jefferson.

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James Madison Papers

To James Madison from Andrew Ellicott, 12 January 1803

From Andrew Ellicott

Lancaster Jany. 12th. 1803

Dear Sir

I have enclosed a packet containing a number of astronomical observations for Mr. Delambre, one of the secretaries of the national Institute.1 I wish it forwarded with your despatches to our Minister at Paris, to whose care it is directed.

If you will look over the papers accompanying my communication to the department of State, dated Novbr. 14th. 1797,2 you will find one in Cypher, giving an account of an extraordinary plan, it is No. 9. the whole detail respecting that plan is true! And tho the plan may be abondoned, the persons concerned in it may not merit a great degree of confidence from our government.

I knew as early as the latter end of February 1797 of the cession of Louisiana, to the Republic of France; but I thought the cession included the Floridas. It was this information, which (for certain, and obvious reasons) was kept a profound secret, that induced me, to use those prompt measures with the Officers of his Catholic Majesty, and which alone has secured to the United States their just, and equitable limits: for it was then well known to me, that his Catholic Majesty never intended to carry the Treaty into effect. The document containing this fact has been frequently in my hands, and was shewn by me, (with the strictest injunctions of secrecy,) to my Secretary Mr. Gillispie. This important paper is mentioned in my communication to the department of State dated at New Orleans Jany. 10th. 1799,3 which I wish you to read.

During the whole time I was absent on our Southern boundary I am conscious of having devoted both night, and day, to the service of my country, and expended several sums of money for procuring private information, which I cannot conscientiously cover by a fictitious charge, tho I lose the whole. Notwithstanding my exertions, which were well meant, Mr. Adams refused me an audience on my return, tho twice requested. This I then thought, (and my opinion is not yet altered,) was occasioned by my refusing in a very decided, and positive manner on the personal application of Genl. Wilkinson to enter into the general out-cry against Mr. Jefferson. I do not mention this for the purpose of injuring Mr. Wilkinson, he probably thought himself right: neither do I mention it to obtain any favour for myself: I have none to ask, I find that my office, with the aid of a little manuel labour will support myself, and family.

I have a work to publish, but it is delayed for want of the maps, and I cannot find time till the days lengthen to protract, and delineate them.

Last November I spent a week at Doctr. Priestley’s in Northumberland, he requested when I wrote, to be remembered to yourself, and the President. Wishing you health, and happiness, I have the honour to be your sincere friend

Andw. Ellicott.

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James Madison Papers

To James Madison from Robert R. Livingston, 3 March 1803

From Robert R. Livingston

No 69

Paris 3 March 1803

Dear Sir

You will receive with this Duplicates of two letters which contain a general Statement of our affairs here—this is merely to inform you that I have received your letter of the 18th Jany in which you notify me of Mr Munroe’s appointment. I Shall do every thing in my power to pave the way for him, & Sincerely wish his mission may be attended with the desired effect; it will however cut off one resource on which I greatly relied because I had established a confidence which it will take Some time for Mr Munroe to inspire on what regards personal interest & had made arrangements for Satisfying them which I must now relinquish. Enclosed is a letter adressed to the first Consul himself, & Sent him before I heard of Mr Munroe’s appointment.1 The Minister told me yesterday that I Shall have an answer to it in a few days what that answer will be I know not. But I have been indefatigable in my applications to every body that will probably be consulted on the Subject. When I arrived here, I found Louisiana a very favorite object. Some books were published representing it as a Paradise.2 I think I have greatly aided in dispelling this mania, & had the Floridas been granted & the necessary powers given me, I believe that Something might have been effected, because at this moment there is not a man about Court but inclines to our ideas upon the Subject—they are Still in the hands of Spain, I have explained the cause in my last—& not knowing how far we might Succeed in our negotiations or what Sacrifices you would make I have thought it best to use every exertion with the Spanish Ambassadour & the British to obstruct that negotiation. The person of whom you Speak3 may be able to give you information as to the expedition because he had passed as an important inhabitant of the Island & the Genl &c relied upon his aid in their money making plans. I am much Surprized however that he Should talk of the designs of this Court, the price &c because these he must have derived from his imagination only as he had no means of Seeing any body here that could give him the least information on those Subjects. I mention this that the President may not place any Sort of reliance upon what he receives thro’ that channel except as it respects Genl Victor personally, who I will venture to Say knows himself less about what passes here than you do—& Even this information he must receive with Some grains of allowance as the Gentleman has a pretty warm imagination, & is liable to be deceived. The armament is Still ice bound in Holland. I am Sir with the highest consideration Your most obt hum: Servt

Robt R Livingston

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text:
James Madison Papers

To James Madison from Ebenezer Stevens, 18 July 1803

From Ebenezer Stevens

New York July 18th. 1803.

I am advised by Mr. Cotton that he is now about making a claim on Government for certain allowances which he thinks himself entitled to, in consequence of detention &c: of Ship Anna Maria.1 I had the honor of making to you a communication under date of 22nd. June 1802.2 then saying that Mr. C, intended this claim & in reply to a suggestion, which I then made of having it left to the decission of the Gentlemen who first adjusted the rate of freight. You observed under date of June. 28th. 1802.,3 that the arrangement met your approbation, & authorised me to take measures for carrying the same into effect—which I delayed doing at that time, as Mr. Cotton was then expecting certain documents, to establish a farther claim, in consequence of the Anna Maria’s having been taken up for a Voyage, on Acct. of the Bey of Tunis, and which it appeared, desirable to have adjusted at the same time, the necessary documents Mr. C. is now about obtaining since Mr. Eatons arrival, & therefore at this time, pursues his former claim, the particulars of the same, will be lain before you by him. How far they will admit of a demand the Charter Party of this Vessel, with the communications that I have made, I think will enable you to decide, but should you determine to adjust this, in your own Office with Mr. C. and will give me the items of his claim, I shall make the relative observations—or if it should appear adviseable, for you to confirm your instructions of 28th. June 1802. I will take the necessary measures for obtaining an award. I must presume that the claim of Mr. C. cannot strictly be made from any default, which the Charter Party did not admit of.

But at the same time am fully of opinion that an allowance should be made him in consideration of the very low freight of this Vessel, which on a comparison with the others I think will be found 20 perCt. less. I have the honor to be Sir, Very Respectfully Yr. Obt. Sevt.

Ebenr Stevens

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Wabora…..Wellington St W, Toronto

Food & Drink

The Thompson hotel has three restaurants located on the main floor. The Thompson Diner, Scarpetta (which is only open for dinner) and sushi restaurant, Wabora. This Japanese fusion restaurant run by chef Minsoo Kim offers a dizzying array of specialty rolls. There are also Korean dishes as well.

The sleek black interior gives it more of a club feel and I love how when you walk in you can see the display of porcelain plates signed by all the famous celebrities and athletes who have eaten there.

My boss loves sushi so he took us here twice the past few months for lunch. Their lunch special is very good, letting you spend around $10-12 dollars for two specialty rolls or a bento box. Their bento boxes are enormous! I got a Sushi bento which, if I’m remembering correctly, came with fresh sushi, dessert, seaweed salad (my favourite), japchae (my other favourite) and maybe something else. The second time I went for the Wabora roll with three kinds of raw fish (yellow tail, salmon, and tuna). The fish was fresh but overall the roll was kind of dry. It only came with five pieces which was a little disappointing since I was predicting 6-8 but I felt full afterwards.

The service here is great and is what comes to mind first when I think about Wabora. The food is okay. I prefer Sushi and Bento for sushi. The quality there is better but for those more interested in the other aspects of restaurant dining like service and atmosphere, give Wabora a try.

Sushi Bento Box (Close up of the sushi)

wabora2Wabora Roll
wabor3 Open Concept Kitchen/Sushi Stationwabora

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The high schooler who invented a promising test for pancreatic cancer: A Q&A with ‘teenage optimist’ Jack Andraka

TED Blog

Jack Andraka is not your typical teenager. The soon-to-be high school junior spends his free time in the science lab concocting better, cheaper ways to spot disease. One such project — a test for the early detection of pancreatic cancer — won Andraka first place in the 2012 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair.

As Andraka explains in today’s talk, his “teenage optimism” played a big role in this accomplishment. [ted_talkteaser id=1787]At age 13, after losing a close family friend to pancreatic cancer, Andraka began researching the disease to better understand what had happened. Andraka was shocked to find that 85 percent of all pancreatic cancer cases are diagnosed late, when a patient has less than a 2 percent chance of survival. Alarmed at the lack of affordable and accurate tests to detect this cancer at its earliest stages — when treatments can actually work — he pored…

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Archive for the ‘Pulsar 200NS’ Category

Bajaj Pulsar 200 NS Launched May 14, 2012

Bajaj Auto announced the official launch date of Bajaj Pulsar 200 NS in India. The plan, Pulsar 200 NS is sliding on May 14, 2012 in New Delhi, India.

After the official launch, Pulsar 200 NS is scheduled to make deliveries in late May and opened bookings for consumers after launching implemented. Thus was launched Motorbeam, Friday (05/10/2012).

Furthermore, the Pulsar 200 NS comes with 4-valve engine 200cc, SOHC and technology brings three spark plugs. Machines capable of producing 23.17 BHP at 9500 RPM engine speed and torque of 18.3 Nm peak at 8000 RPM.

With the machine, Pulsar 200 NS is capable of running 0-60 km / h in just 3.61 seconds. And reaches a speed of 100 km / h in just 9.83 seconds. Pulsar 200 NS has a top speed reaches 136 km / h.

The engine is mated to a six-speed gearbox and liquid cooled. With the use of lighter components, Bajaj Pulsar 200 NS weight only 145 kg.

Later, after NS launched Pulsar 200, Bajaj Auto also has plans to bring the full fairing version in the near future.

Bajaj Pulsar 200NS – Specifications

Specifications Bajaj Pulsar 200NS
Displacement (cc) 199.5
Type SOHC 4-valve liquid cooled

Power (PS)

Torque (NM) 18.3NM@8000rpm
Fuelling Carburettor
Bore (mm) 72
Stroke (mm) 49
Transmission 6-speed
Number of spark plugs 3
Kerb weight (kg) 145
Front Tyres 100/80-17, tubeless
Rear Tyres 130/80-17, tubeless
Fuel tank capacity (litres) 12
fuel efficiency (kmpl) 58
Brakes (front) 280mm petal disc with floating caliper
Brakes (rear) 230mm petal disc with floating caliper
0-60kmph 3.61
0-100kmph 9.83
Frame Perimeter
Top Speed (kmph) 136
Front Suspension Telescopic front fork with antifriction bush diameter 37
Rear Suspension Nitrox monoshock with piggy back canister
Length x Width x Height 2017 x 1195 x 804mm
Price (ex-showroom, mumbai) below Rs 1lakh

Pulsar 200NS

Any kind of Pulsar, whether it is the actual 135 as well as 150 up until the actual two hundred and twenty had been overall performance focused and the current situation, the brand new bicycle strikes the leading as well as will go directly to the very best from the number within the fastest feasible way. I might love to convey something right here which is to inquire whether or not every other bicycle machine within this nation offers show up top as well as mentioned the actual overall performance capacity of some of the devices within therefore in advance a way because offers Bajaj bike. Actually the actual specs launched towards the press in the release these days reveal a highly regarded hit associated with 136kmph that is certainly best cabinet things however the actual speed numbers are actually much more lighting: absolutely no in order to 60 pops up within three. 61 secs as the lot through standstill is actually sent within nine. 83 secs!

There was clearly barely the place or even stick as well as below weighty stopping or even whenever inclined in to edges as well as getting out all of them rapidly was obviously a thought. Following a sacrifice of fowl.|Leaving the|A|Using} few operates We arrived however Paul Abraham who had been viewing me personally venture out in the child said to become a little more daring as well as explained in order to shout the actual electric motor out of all things in order to the 10,000rpm red-colored collection after which return as well as let him know the way the bicycle socialized. It was another thing completely for your way the actual bicycle cried within pure pleasure because the girl was handed the mind and that i began changing up to the actual monitor permitted me personally in order to.

 3rd, 4th as well as 5th rates of speed snuck in to in between 9500 as well as 10,000 revoltions per minute noticed the actual Pulsar two hundred NATURSEKT great time away just like a softball bat from heck and yet therefore steady as well as sure it had been a good envigorating event. Thrusting forward using the power of the record-breaking sprinter, the actual 200 Ns lurches ahead along with extreme vitality when i continue upshifting using the hook within the advertising agency tachometer jumping from the 10,000 revoltions per minute redline and also the equipment shifter flashing nonstop. The brand new Pulsar drags as well as drags often in just about every one of 6 cogs without separation or even hesitance. The actual clutch system is actually lighting however company and also the changes tend to be clever, accurate as well as good. Provides a good completely brand new which means towards the term as you using the bicycle!

Could may be growing like a street examination, I have to declare a real street examination will simply endure away almost all things i possess layed out right here as well as people this really is among the bicycles that is meant to become a large owner, not only within Indian but additionally abroad. Bajaj Car is actually lastly likely to release the actual Pulsar worldwide and any organization this model may a lot more than keep its very own. Actually Kawasaki, the Japan companion associated with secret continues to be surprised in addition the actual bicycle offers formed upward as well as desires to discover methods to personalisation this among its very own in certain of most significant marketplaces! As well as that is simply stating every thing 1 desires to learn about this particular firecracker of the motorbike along with good manners in order to elegance, pleasure as well as motivate. The hooligan along with a lady each folded in a single!


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3 ISIS Terrorists Dead After The Most Ironic Pack Of Killers Attacked And Ensured They’re Not Getting Any Virgins

This calls for some bacon!

The fight against ISIS is still raging around the globe. We all hope that we are able to eradicate these barbarians one day soon. It appears that the universe agrees that we need to get rid of these scum and stepped in to help. And, trust me, you are going to laugh your ass off when you hear this one.

There are now reports filtering in that three ISIS terrorists were killed by a pack of wild boars. There’s some irony for ya, right?

The universe steps in for the win when wild boars killed 3 ISIS terrorists.

Local Ubaid tribal chief and supervisor of anti-ISIS fighters, Sheikh Anwar al-Assi, said that ISIS was planning an ambush attack on local tribesmen who had formed anti-terrorist groups.

Anwar al-Assi says that at least eight terrorists had hidden in the area near a local river known as the Zaghitoun before the wild pigs attacked them.

“It is likely their movement disturbed a herd of wild pigs, which inhabit the area as well as the nearby cornfields. The area is dense with reeds, which are good for hiding in,” he said.

Here is more from Iraqi News:

Kirkuk ( Three Islamic State militants died late Sunday when wild boars attacked them in southern Kirkuk, a local source was quoted saying.

The animals went on a rampage near a farmland in al-Rashad region, an Islamic State pocket 53 kilometers south of Kirkuk. They attacked the militants and left three killed, according to the source.

Alsumaria News quoted the source saying that “Daesh (Islamic State) militants took revenge at the pigs that attacked the farmland,” but did not clarify the method.

Not only did these wild boars kill these disgusting savages they also injured five others. Man, these wild boars were not messing around. I guess they wanted to make sure that they did not get their virgins at all.

Here is a quick video on this epic ISIS rundown.

Well, word spread quickly on social media of how these ISIS terrorists met their demise. And, true to form social media users responded in epic form. Here is just a sampling of the comments some made when reading this story.

Dean Johnson “Pigs killing pigs. Sweet.”

Rusty Richardson “Simply poetic.”

Daniel Oelke “Karma…. Wild pig kills Isis Pig!”

Arnie Anderson “Well then, ISIS surely will not like Texas!”

Robert Nabors “Send in SQUEAL TEAM 6”

Sherrin Tripler “YAY GOOOOO Pork!”

Helen Norvell “Let’s catch this over population of wild pigs and ship them to our front line!!!”

Steve White “Karma’s a bitch. Another reason to love pork!!! I hope the boars ate them.”

John Robinson “The boars need to get the goats to help in retaliation for sexual abuse.”

Dennis Fisher “Death by bacon”

This has to be the most satisfying story I have heard in a long time. These savages have created so much heartbreak around the world it is about time something like this happened. It’s almost better than the NYPD using a pig to fight Islamic terror.

There is a reason why I have always been a big fan of pork and this is just another one. I say we just let wild boars roam free around these ISIS camps and let them take care of these heinous individuals once and for all.

What do you think about this turn of events? Let us know in the comments below!

H/T [ Gateway Pundit ]

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ALERT: US Marine Patrolling US Border Has A Terrifying Warning For Americans After What He Found

Liberals did this to our country & they should pay!

To all of you out there who think those of us who supported, and voted for, then candidate Donald Trump because we are xenophobic and racist, here is your wake up call. A former United States Marine Patrolling the Mexico-Texas Border has a chilling message for you and all Americans.

“In an interview with Dennis Michael Lynch, a former U.S. Marine who served in the Middle East is now an active member of a border group that patrols the southern border. He is a former bomb expert trained by the Department of Defense. Known to his pals as “Talon,” he shared his thoughts about the “other than Mexicans” that have been coming through the border for years.

“The Chinese and Middle Eastern people coming through the border are not coming here to cut our lawns and wash dishes. They hate us with a passion,” said Talon. When referring to the Muslims who hate the U.S. he said, “We are the infidels and they think we deserve to die.”

DML asked him how long until another 9/11? Talon answered, “I’m shocked it hasn’t happened yet. Let me tell you that once they figure out how to get a nuke through the border, we will lose a U.S. city.”

There are congressional reports that reveal the drug cartels work with terror groups from the Middle East.”

All this isn’t news to those of us already living in border states. We see what’s coming in on a daily basis. Our cities are being overrun by gang crime like never before. The best of the best doesn’t just walk across our borders. These aren’t children with “Divinity in their Eyes” as Nancy Pelosi calls them. Since President Trump’s inauguration, there has been a sharp decrease in illegals crossing the border illegally, but we won’t be secure until the wall is built and we are able to stop them completely.

Last week Attorney General Jeff Sessions sent official letters to the 9 different cities, counties and the whole state of California ordering them to stop the madness and let The Department of Homeland Security and ICE do their job. If not they will be punished by ceasing to send these 9 entities federal funds. I know my home state of California can’t survive long on its own although liberals and loony politicians actually believe it can. Maybe legalizing Marihuana in this state wasn’t such a great idea after all.

To all you Liberals out there, please, stop with the finger pointing and accusations. This isn’t about being bigoted, Islamophobic, Xenophobic, or whatever “phobic” you want to invent next. It’s about our very survival of as a nation, as a culture and as a people.  If you need to, pretend the bad people slipping in through the border are Christians and Jews. I’m sure if they were you would have no issue whatsoever in building a wall to stop them, but please to play with our security and very existence only because you believe in the madness that is Political Correctness.

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Obama Goes Hiding After What Traitor Bowe Bergdahl Just Told Military Court About What Happened To Him

In 2014, former President Barack Obama traded five of the worst terrorists in GITMO for Bowe Bergdahl, the Army deserter who walked off his base in Afghanistan in 2009. This prisoner exchange was immediately criticized by conservatives and many others considering the ramifications of Bergdahl’s actions.

In case anyone forgot, when Bergdahl abandoned his post in 2009, six brave men went out in search for him and ended up dying in their efforts to save Bergdahl who they thought was forcefully captured. Now, after three years, Bergdahl is facing the consequences of his actions and has agreed to plead guilty to desertion on Monday. However, even though Bergdahl has agreed to this deal that has not stopped him from talking and what he is saying now has Barack Obama running scared.

After three years, the Bowe Bergdahl saga will finally come to an end on Monday when he is sentenced for deserting his post in 2009. The case of Bergdahl has angered Americans for the last three years considering the controversy that swirled around his capture and his return home. After Bergdahl walked off his post, his plan was not to return to his Army base, but the six brave men who went out to search for him were not aware of his treason and were killed looking for him, which Bergdahl does not seem to be all that upset about.

Six soldiers died while searching for Bowe Bergdahl.

Bergdahl spent five years with the Taliban before Barack Obama traded five terrorist generals for the deserter’s release. After the trade was complete, the American people learned more about Bergdahl and his cowardly deeds while in supposed “captivity”.

In 2014, Fox News reported that during Bergdahl’s captivity he converted to Islam, consorted openly with the enemy, and declared himself a “mujahid” which means a warrior for Islam. If that was not bad enough, what Bergdahl is saying now while he is awaiting sentencing is even more upsetting and proves what a raw deal Obama agreed to.

Bergdahl is now claiming that the Taliban terrorists were more “honest” with him than the U.S. Army has been since negotiating his release in 2009.

Well, maybe the reason that the Army is not telling Bergdahl that much is because he spent five years with the Taliban and is pleading guilty to being a deserter, right?

Here is more from Fox News:

Bowe Bergdahl, the U.S. Army sergeant who pleaded guilty Monday to deserting his post in Afghanistan in 2009, says his Taliban captors were more “honest” with him than the Army has been since his release three years ago.

“At least the Taliban were honest enough to say, ‘I’m the guy who’s gonna cut your throat,’ ” Bergdahl tells British TV journalist Sean Langan in an interview with the Sunday Times Magazine of London headlined “The Homecoming from Hell.”

Langan, too, is a former Taliban hostage.

Bergdahl, 31, from Hailey, Idaho, says he never quite knew where he stood with the Army as he performed “administrative duties” while awaiting his desertion trial.

“Here, it could be the guy I pass in the corridor who’s going to sign the paper that sends me away for life,’’ he says. “We may as well go back to kangaroo courts and lynch mobs.”

Bergdahl is expected to appear for sentencing Monday in a military courtroom in Fort Bragg, N.C., after pleading guilty to desertion and misbehavior before the enemy.

He could face life in prison.

Bergdahl was freed from the Taliban in May 2014 in a highly criticized deal in which the Obama administration agreed that the U.S. would release five Taliban terrorists in exchange.

President Donald Trump harshly criticized Bergdahl during the 2016 presidential campaign.

Army Col. Jeffery R. Nance is the judge who will decide Bergdahl’s fate. Factors expected to weigh into the sentence are Bergdahl’s years spent as a hostage, and the serious wounds that some U.S. service members suffered while searching for Bergdahl.

While the Bowe Bergdahl case is wrapping up finally, it does beg the question what should happen to Barack Obama for allowing this prisoner exchange to take place. When Obama traded the release of Bergdahl and set free some of the worst terrorists in GITMO back into the world, he put everyone in danger. If anyone should be on trial and face treasonous charges for their actions that should also include Barack Obama for this disgusting deal that he orchestrated. Five dangerous individuals have been released back into the world who will only cause more innocent deaths in the name of jihad. And, what did we get in return? A deserter with no honor that has no remorse for his actions, and who still sympathizes with the enemy.

Somehow, whatever Bergdahl’s sentence is, it will never be harsh enough for what he did.

H/T [New York Post]

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BREAKING: Warning Issued To All Americans Overnight Of ‘Mass Casualty’ Event Planned – Here’s What We Know

America might be distracted with the problems at hand, but we never forget that we are a country at war. No matter what happens on a day to day basis, we always remember that we as a nation were violently attacked over sixteen years ago and it’s a score that we haven’t settled yet because terrorism hasn’t been wiped out.

The rise of the politically correct movement and it’s acceptance of “non-radical Muslims” has somehow allowed them to worm their way into many places that they shouldn’t be, such as government. That is especially troubling, considering that the threat from the Islamic faith and it’s admonitions to kill is, is far from past.

In fact, according to top administration officials, the smaller attacks that we’ve been seeing in recent months are just a ploy to keep their members appeased while they plan a 9/11 scale attack. Daily Mail  reports that one a U.S. security chief is warning not just all of us, but other countries as well, to be vigilant:

Islamic State fanatics and other terror groups are planning another massive attack on the scale of 9/11, a top US security chief warned today.

Elaine Duke, Donald Trump’s acting Secretary of Homeland Security, said jihadists were using crude knife and van attacks to keep their members engaged and their finances flowing as they plot another ‘big explosion’ similar to the September 2001 atrocities.

Speaking at the US embassy in London, she said intelligence is pointing to extremists plotting to take down planes to inflict mass civilian casualties.”

Elaine Duke, Donald Trump’s acting Secretary of Homeland Security

While the United States hasn’t suffered an attack on the same scale as 9/11 since that day, we have watched the terrorists grow both in number and boldness across the globe. Our war on terror in the Middle East might have overthrown some open leaders, but for every open leader that threatens the United States and is eliminated, there are three more willing to take his place in the “holy war crusade.”

“Mrs. Duke said ISIS is currently in an ‘interim’ period focusing on a much bigger endgame.

The security chief, who has served three US presidents, said: ‘The terrorist organisations, be it ISIS or others, want to have the big explosion like they did on 9/11. They want to take down aircraft, the intelligence is clear on that.

‘However, in the interim, they need to keep their finances flowing and they need to keep their visibility high and they need to keep their members engaged, so they are using small plots and they are happy to have small plots.’

She added: ‘Creating terror is their goal and so a van attack, a bladed weapon attack, causes terror and continues to disrupt the world – but does not mean they’ve given up on a major aviation plot.’”

Islamic State fanatics and other terror groups are planning another massive attack on the scale of 9/11, a top US security chief warned

If you’ve gone through airport security lately, you know that the Transportation Security Administration has cracked down on possible threats in a big way since way back in 2001 when we were first faced with this problem. The issue at hand is that no matter how much we increase security, human ingenuity increases with it.

According to Duke, who is President Trump’s acting Secretary of Homeland Security, there’s even a distinct possibility that any plan could be blown up using a laptop, and that’s just one of the many possibilities that she mentioned.

“She said the free movement of goods and people means security has to be tightened in individual countries around the world.

She said: ‘The laptop is one of the many aviation threats, we will never be comfortable and we will always be evolving.

‘What we believe is that because of the movement of goods and people, we have to raise the baseline worldwide, we can’t only consider our borders.’ Mrs. Duke went on: ‘We think the level of terrorist threat against the United States too is extremely high.

‘I think that it is challenging for you because you have the proximities to other countries, the ease of movement from some of the terrorist safe havens is a little easier for you, but we feel the terrorist threat is very high in the United States.’”

The troubling thing about Duke’s statements isn’t “why or how,” but  when. She believes that another large-scale attack is going to be coming to us soon. We might not see it coming. This is the big reason that the United States, and other free countries like it, need to crack down on potential terrorists

This is the big reason that the United States, and other free countries like it, need to crack down on potential terrorists entering our countries. We can only be free if that freedom is respected; if we don’t protect the freedom, it will be taken either by those who want to kill us or those who want to control us. Either way, the freedom of living in America is a precious gift that is in jeopardy every single day.

Here’s more from our source on what is know about the possible impending attacks:

“Asked how the US is tackling the threat of another 9/11-style atrocity, she said: ‘We have worked on some strong measures that we can’t talk about. We are trying to play the away game and that is working against them in their terrorist safe havens and homes.

‘We do have some terrorist groups on the move, you just saw the take-over of Raqqa and so if we can keep them declining and moving they have less time to sit and prepare.’

Mrs. Duke warned that the number of home-grown violent extremists, mostly inspired by terrorist organisations, is increasing in the US. She said the ability of IS militants to put terrorist propaganda on the internet will appeal more and more to extremists as they are pushed out of Syria and Iraq.

Mrs. Duke said web giants need to do more to detect extremist content online, and one way of doing this could be using the same technology used to identify people in passenger lists.

‘Terrorists are strong, they are adaptable and the terrorist threat is the highest it has been since pre-9/11. We have got to have every tool that’s possible,’ she added.

A total of 2,996 people were killed during the September 11 attacks, when al-Qaeda suicide attackers hijacked planes and flew them into the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington.

Earlier in the day, she met the British interior minister Amber Rudd to discuss how to force internet giants to do more to tackle terrorism ahead of the G7 summit.

Following the recent wave of attacks in Manchester and London, police chiefs have said the threat facing the UK is a ‘new norm’ that will not change.

Her chilling remarks came 24 hours after MI5 director general Andrew Parker warned Britain is facing its worst-ever terrorist threat in his first major speech since the UK was hit by a wave of attacks.

The British spy chief said it was taking terrorists just days to hatch plots as violent extremists exploit ‘safe spaces online’ to evade detection.

It is harder for the UK to protect itself because of its proximity to other countries and the ease of movement from terrorist safe havens, she suggested.”

[H/T: Daily Mail]

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Conspiracy:  “The activity of secretly planning with other people to do something bad or illegal.”
Cambridge Dictionary

Since the entrance of the internet onto the center stage of human consciousness the term “conspiracy” has mushroomed. What used to be the domain of small groups (left and right wing), and what used to be topics one might find in a newsletter left on a campus table, or leaflet in front of a post office, are now topics that captivate the minds of…well, just about everyone. Just ask a 14 year-old what they think of “the Illuminati.” They will probably at least know about the eye of providence or even something about various fraternal societies.  Many people have views that deviate from the standard 9-11 narrative. And who could forget the term “vast right wing conspiracy” term created by Hillary in the 1990s, and now replaced with allegations of…well, you get the point. So are there conspiracies? That depends.

My new book, “Freedom from Conscience – The Price of Power” delves into this. The anti-heroine, a former vigilante serial killer, Melanie Lindberg, is elected to congress. However, soon after her arrival she gets an invitation from a powerful business leader to visit his estate. Soon she discovers that she is in the midst of some of the most powerful people in the world, all members of a secret society, with perks of power, sex, freedom from laws normal people must follow and revolving around engineering a new world order.  As long as she is willing to make the ultimate sacrifice, she can have it all. More detailed description here:

So is it fantasy? Is it reality? Well, some people have asked if I might be closer to such topics than merely academic.  Then again, if I were, wouldn’t that mean I would want to keep it secret?

Of course, if we were to define conspiracy within the context of people joining together and promoting an agenda, without the public knowing or consenting, then this goes on all the time.  Edward Bernays, the father of modern PR and advertising, noted decades ago:

“The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country. …We are governed, our minds are molded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of. This is a logical result of the way in which our democratic society is organized. Vast numbers of human beings must cooperate in this manner if they are to live together as a smoothly functioning society. …In almost every act of our daily lives, whether in the sphere of politics or business, in our social conduct or our ethical thinking, we are dominated by the relatively small number of persons…who understand the mental processes and social patterns of the masses. It is they who pull the wires which control the public mind.”

Are you a woman? If so you probably shave your legs, underarms and, well, let’s just concentrate there.  Why do you and the vast majority of western women do this? Would you believe it all started with a magazine back in 1915 making the case as clothing styles became more revealing? Of course who came up with the idea to show off more of the body? Yep, fashion designers. So a combination of designers, media, and later, lingerie and finally porn finished off most body hair on women, as well as many men, in recent years.  Want more examples? How about what we define as “breakfast foods” or proper table manners? These have their origins, but few people know of them. Even something as personal as reproduction; most western people saw the ideal family as 3 or 4 kids back in the early 1960s. What changed? Well, many will say it was economics but there are far poorer nations with much higher birthrates than we see today in the US and western world in general.  What changed is that those in a position of power, with great influence on media, education, etc. re-educated people as to how they should view the ideal. And now that is so institutionalized that all it needs is reinforcement. These are all examples of Bernays observations of how things really work.

So how do those in a position of influence get us to do what they want us to do? Sure it can involve education, but as psychiatrist and marketer Clotaire Rapaille has noted,“Emotions are the keys to learning, the keys to imprinting. The stronger the emotion, the more clearly the experience is learned.” http://bit.ly/2hr23i3 He has also stated, “I don’t care what you are going to tell me I don’t care. Give me the reptilian. Why? Because the reptilian always wins.” http://to.pbs.org/1xDCDyR  What Rapaille refers to is that humans may say they make decisions based on rational motives and outcomes, a cost-benefit analysis, but in reality they are governed by instinctive drives and emotions. The people that Bernays refers to as the “invisible government” realize this, so when they undertake a program of changing people’s attitudes, and thus, behaviors, they know the way to do this is to use emotional strategies. And what if the changes desired run counter to sub conscious drives, i.e. the desire to reproduce? Then you need to re-define the goals, shape them, and then allow societal pressure, as people adopt the new ideals, to work (people do tend to want to conform as it is psychologically easier than to rebel). So model the behavior on popular TV shows (small families, marriage in the 30s rather than early 20s, people putting career goals first, etc.) and in one generation people will adopt the new norm. And as some societies that initially sought to reduce birthrates have discovered, now that the rates are far lower than they ever expected them to go, getting people to suddenly want to have more children is going to be a very difficult undertaking.

Once a target behavior is reached, once it is institutionalized, people will force conformity on each other.  If you are a woman just try to stop shaving your legs and underarms, and see what happens. You will probably get people question your intent and motives, especially other women, and you will obviously get stares at the beach. And of course people will seek to categorize you, as in if you are a hippie or vegan or whatever. What if you decide you would like to have a family of four or five children? Again, you will be questioned, your behavior becoming a defining point of how people judge you, and they will seek to categorize you, as in if you are merely making a large family out of some sort of conformity to a religious dictate.  Or you can try eating pizza for breakfast. You see, no matter what, when you break from the norm, people will question you. People feel comfort in conforming and your non-conformity makes them uncomfortable.

So overall, do conspiracies exist? Actually, yes. They may or may not take on the sorts that one sees in a movie like “Eyes Wide Shut” but undoubtedly those who have a great deal of access to media and other important avenues of social engineering capabilities are able to change how we view life, view each other, and even what we see as “proper” within our own existence.  Knowing this, and the techniques involved, at least can give one an easier ability to break from conformity within the society, and not feel anxiety and fear when living outside the norms created by those in power.


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Archive for January, 2011

I attended my first Robbie Burns dinner and watched the pomp and circumstance around the haggis.  I am so glad I researched the dinner before I attended so I was not completely out of place.  It was great fun and I enjoyed every minute of it.

The haggis I ate was okay.  I think some ketchup might have helped it but all in all, not entirely unpleasant.  The Pipes & Drums of the R.C.M.P. performed and I heard some very nice bagpipe music.  There were even a couple of melodies that I did not recognize and it was wonderful to hear the compositions.

Next year I hope to attend again; though I might find something a wee bit Scottish as this lass had a great time.

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Little Things

With the rush of our modern lives, how many of us really stop to notice and appreciate the little things.  Do we really stop and notice them at all or have they become the background noise of everyday life?  Little things include seeing your neglected houseplant has blossoms on it, the perfume of a lilac bush under an open window, the buzz of a bee flying from one bloom to the next or the taste of butter melting into the crevices of our toast.

I use my ‘good’ china cups and saucers for my tea or my newly purchased chintz Royal Doulton mug.  I love using Christmas themed dishes at that time of the year, I enjoy putting ornamental gourds into baskets for my Thanksgiving table.  My iced tea glasses are in full use during the hot days of summer.  These are the little things.

Little things enrich us, renew us and at times, delight us.

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Solid Flooding

Watching the news I have seen many countries dealing with severe flooding, and I am thinking of friends in Australia.  We are experiencing it on the prairies as well; though our flooding is solid, white in colour and can be moved with a shovel.

– 33 degrees,  30 inches of snow and it has been snowing for 9 days in a row and from the forecast we get another 3 to look forward to.

Stay safe, have your emergency kits available and ready, shelter in place if you can.  Excuse me now, I really need a cup of tea.

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For 2 New Year’s in a row, I have had the opportunity to support Plumbers in my fair city.  This year, it skipped me and went to my neighbours.  I don’t mean to sound gleeful at some one else’s hardship, but I am so grateful it wasn’t me this year.

New Year’s dawned in 2009 and I returned to blocked sewers.  It took a journey man and his apprentice 2 days at triple time, to take apart all the plumbing, many nearly inaudile curses but they managed to get them working at full function again.

Fast forward to New Years Eve of 2009 and my home flooded, ever so discreetly as a connecting hose from the hot water tank developed a crack, and misted hot water into the walls, floors and when they were saturated found a new path through the pantry, down the hall to the kitchen and of course the carpet in my bedroom served as a great soaker.  Again, it took a journeyman plumber 2 days to fix the problem and replace the hoses.  I had to call the insurance company who sent the disaster clean up team to my home on the first day of 2010, to remove all damaged, saturated, and destroyed articles from it.

2011 came with no problems!  I could hardly believe my good fortune, maybe it was because I had a plumber and an electrician come out while it was still warm this fall, to check all the lines and do any preventative maintenance that had to be done.

There was a knock at my door tonight as my neighbour came to get a bucket of water, it seems their water runs for a bit after the pipes are warmed up but quits as soon as the warmth is gone.  I also gave them a can of gel heat, maybe it will help.

So as much as I am very glad it is not me, it just isn’t in me to delight in their misery.  Grateful has an entire new depth of meaning for me, this year I am grateful.

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Brain Frenzy

Notice I said brain frenzy, not brain fried or freeze?  Ever since I put Christmas decorations, stuff and nonsense away for the year, I find my place to be in need of a good clean up.  Not that the place is dirty or anything, it’s just my desire to change things up around here.  I think I’ll go with red and mossy green or pink and light green or surprise everyone and go with yellow and blue.  I always imagine my decorating projects to be worthy of any glossy magazine spread though the sad reality is these ‘visions’ never come to fruition.  If I was as creative as my thinking believes I am, I would be the Canadian version of Martha Stewart; which of course I am not. (I could be better with her income but that’s our secret).

Now, where did I put that paint chip and wallpaper sample?  This room is going to look fantastic….

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This week my glass if half full of snow on the rocks.  My driveway is full of the same mix.  Watching the weather forecast on a local channel, a featured story is the wild weather around the globe.  Fortunately I am a Canadian prairie girl so the worse the weather gets, the hardier I believe myself to be.

Time for some hot chocolate and a romantic comedy to finish my day.  Life is good, embrace it.

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The announcer said, “Worst weather since 1966,” which only made me think he was born way after that year and had not really had anything to check his facts against.  My fact checker for today consisted of, wait for it, common sense.  I could not see across the road, I could only see a huge drift of snow where my car was last parked, and I felt the sting of the cold air and the biting wind on my face.  My second fact checker, experience.

Where did the winter days of hoping for snow storms go?  Those rare and hoped for snow days and no school.  A day when our home was filled with the delicious aromas of baked treats and roasted meals.  The best of these days included big bowls of popcorn and a cup of hot chocolate as we spent the day playing in the front room.  Before bed we ate a of porridge to keep us warm from the inside out.

Tonight, I will enjoy a steaming mug of hot chocolate and before I go to bed tonight, I am going to have a bowl oatmeal.

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Category Archives: Suri Cruise

Climate Change vs. Celebrity Culture: Which Topic is Hotter?

Climate change threatens the entire existence of mankind, yet on the day when leaders at the G8 Summit agreed on reducing global emissions by up to 50 percent by 2050 – the dominant headline was that Paris Hilton was out of jail.

You gotta love our celebrity-obsessed culture. So we’re going to lose a few coastlines in the decades ahead, the more important discovery seems to be that Paris is going back to court in the morning. Enough about melting icebergs and give the world what they want – judicial warming on Paris’ case.

Peering into the future, we can expect the below stories to make the front pages. Which one will you care about more?

April 2027

“Venice Is Lost Forever” vs. “Suri Cruise Turns 21”

September 2045

“20 Hurricanes Slam the United States This Season” vs.

“Angelina and Brad Adopt 20th Child”

January 2062

“Paris Endures 10-Year Heatwave” vs.

“Paris Hilton’s Granddaughter Goes to Jail”

Filed under Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, climate change, G8, global warming, Paris Hilton, Suri Cruise


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Category Archives: Illustrated

Protecting myself from the heat

I have built a

shrine of shadows.

The snow recuses itself from the grass, but

retains my sole, though my

thoughts are salted with

such impurities the snow

should surely melt.

The garden at night folds into the

fog rolling in whilst beneath it the

frost works its wonders

refiguring the bench-cover into a

carapace for some

movie monster and

freezing each dewdrop into

enough jewels to encrust

Orion’s ice-taut belt.

Unperceived Winds

You slept so long you missed how a

drizzly day changed so abruptly, the

concussed clouds battered aside by

winds we can’t perceive, the sky all

torn attire and blushes.

The sun set

The Sun set like a stone

rippling the calm sky.

Great Red Spot

Great Red Spot

Great Red Spot

Jupiter came down to Earth,

atmospheres meshing, the

Great Red Spot spreading like a

cataract cutting Sun’s light,

last-gasping Heaven through a

prism of dust.

All day the sky wrestled with the word grey and

wrought endless fugues and variations on that

seemingly sombre theme when the

wind got up and whistled through letting in

setting sun and a shower smearing that

slate palette with a Fauvist fantasy.

Cloud Kingdoms

New Found Land

Frozen Majesties

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My Life is like a Volcano by Kerkphon Ketboonsai (age 12)

My life is like a volcano because sometimes it gets hot and sometimes it gets steamy. Also you never know when it will explode. Only scientists can tell you. When I was in Thailand, I fought a lot, but in the U.S.A. I never try to fight with anyone. When I am angry, I’m like a volcano, but after 2 minutes, it is like nothing happened. This volcano is young, high and covered by snow. I have to work hard and at the same time when I go to school. The name of this volcano is Kerkphon. This volcano is slowly moving and has a lot of patience. I will not give up because I will try the best I can. Also when I study English, math and science, those are very hard for me to learn. I hope I can learn to control the volcano when I grow up.

I am a Thai boy. I can speak two languages, little bit of Thai and Lao. I lived in the countryside, as a farmer. I lived in a small village. There are 1,500 people in my village. They were so friendly, and if they saw you they would say, “Come eat rice with us.” Anyway I went to school and when I finished school, my grandmother came and picked me up and we went home. She said that I had to talk with my mom about going to the U.S. I was so surprised because I had never seen my grandmother come and pick me up before. And before I left my village, I drew my picture on the black board in the school and told my friends that I was going to America. I gave my grandmother a hug and I said goodbye to everybody in my village. They were so sad because I was the funny guy, and usually I liked to talk a lot. Somebody drove a car to the train station for me and I got on the train. On the way to Bangkok the train was broken and I had to wait for another train to come and pick me up. When I got to Bangkok I felt frustrated because there was a lot of traffic and I felt sick. I had to go to the U.S. embassy 2 times, and answer many questions. I needed a lot of paper work such as a picture, my dad’s signatures, and health papers. When I finished with that paper work, and they told me that I could go to America, I felt so happy. My mom hoped for me that she wanted me to have a better life, good future, better school, good job, and be a good person. I came to the U.S. by airplane. I took 3 airplanes. This was the first time that I sat on an airplane and I felt excited. It was fun because they have games on the airplane. And I hoped I could go visit my village again. I will never forget my own languages.

My life in Thailand was not so good. My mom has a big family and her goal is to build a new house for her mother. Also, when my mom went to the store, sometimes she didn’t have money with her, and that was why my mom’s family had a lot of credit debt. She had to go to work when she was 14 years old. And I didn’t have brothers or sisters. When I was in Thailand, I didn’t live in Bangkok. My family lived in the countryside. We grew a lot of rice. We lived as farmers. I lived in a small and quiet village. My village had 1,500 people. Almost every house had water buffaloes. The water buffaloes were helpful, and they could help you to plow. Some people who didn’t have money had to sell their water buffaloes. Sometimes I saw the water buffalo at my school. I can still remember the sound of water buffalo and the smell of animal poop. The water buffalo loved grass and my school had a soccer field, and had a lot of grass.

At school I was very kind, friendly, helpful, and a little bit creative. I made a lot of friends. One of them was my girlfriend. My girlfriend was kind of smart, and creative, also helpful and friendly. Anyways I had this teacher in Thailand. His name was Suriyan. He was a very smart teacher. I did a lot of activities with him, such as growing mushrooms, drawing pictures, and playing soccer. In my village in Thailand, there was only one teacher to teach everything, like reading and writing, history, science, and, math. I know that my mom has a big family and I need to earn money and sent it back home, so maybe she can build a new house for my grandmother.

On my first day in the U.S., I was scared and cold. I felt excited when I stepped out from the airplane. I was so confused because I didn’t know what my dad and my mom were talking about since they spoke English. The people there were so different from my country and also strange. They wore different clothes, spoke different language, ate different food, and had a different climate. In Seattle there is a lot of rain and wet. The east side of the Washington is dry. When I sat in the car on the way to our home, I felt a little sick. When I got home, there was no bed for me to sleep. I was also scared of ghosts. The house is big and has a lot of rooms. Two weeks later I went to school, I was nervous, sad, and scared. I couldn’t speak any English. And when I wanted to go to the bathroom, I had to wait for half of the day. I met a Thai girl, her name was Gaynapark. She was a nice person, and she told me the way to go to the bathroom. After school finished, it was the Halloween so I went to trick or treat and I got a lot of candies. I have studied in SBOC for 1 year. In SBOC there were 3 levels so I started from level 1 to level 3, and now I’m in level 3. Now I think I feel good and better because I know some English. I hope I will not be scared and nervous when I got to a new school.

My life is like a volcano because I had to work so hard when I was in my county. I had to learn to study and take care of the buffalo at the same time. Also, I had to help my grandmother to wash dishes and clean the house. Sometimes I thought the life was easy but when I look back I see that the reality was so hard. And now I am in the U.S. and I don’t have to work so hard and take care of buffalo anymore. My life is easier than before. So for now the volcano named Kerkphon is a dormant volcano. In my future I want to do many things like be a doctor and be a teacher. One thing that I am good at is to be an artist. I hope I can learn how to control my volcano in my future because it might explode again.

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