Burning Witches
Tonight in the Czech Republic is know as Burning Witches. Pretty brutal name right? So, it’s 30th April and the day before Beltane and right there is a clue perhaps to the origin of Burning Witches. What people do is make an effigy of a woman suing two sticks and whatever else they can find and then they burn the effigy on the bonfire while celebrating with beer, wine and food. Of course, it is a pagan tradition in which the old woman of winter gives way to the maiden of springtime, rebirth and fecundity. What I find interesting is that it is similar to the broader slavic tradition of burning and effigy of Marzanna – the Goddess of winter – usually around the Spring Equinox. In the latter case,
Read More »Common Sense Anyone?
I read today a beautiful poem about Baba Yaga at a website written by a slavic woman living in the USA. Her website had a sub heading – Fighting the Patriarchy at every opportunity….. A quick glance around the site and it was obvious to me at any rate that contrary to fighting the Patriarchy, she was perpetuating it. Her website would have made Joseph Stalin proud and that isn’t Matriarchy – its left wing ideology – a belief system that if approached with a critical and logical viewpoint would immediately identify itself as rabidly patriarchical. None the less – the poem was very good. I watch the world with my peculiar viewpoint. I have remarked on many occasions recently that the way my mind works it puts me at
Read More »Beware Stories of Our Demise …..
Since its Earth day, lets look back at expert predictions from the 1970s… and then reflect on why we still believe these so called experts in Government and media… I’m guessing that No.10 is the only one you could claim happened and doesn’t No7 sound like the climate change alarmists of today pushing their unproven pseudoscientific hypothesis? Just look at No. 11 and consider there is so much oil in 2020 it is priced negatively…. We never learn that humanity is an opportunistic species well adapted to change with the ingenuity to solve almost all problems….. Thats the truth people. Wake up! 1. “Civilization will end within 15 or 30 years unless immediate action is taken against problems facing mankind.” — Harvard biologist George Wald 2. “We are in an
Read More »Words
All it takes is the right piece of music And the words, they come rushing out Spilling roughly onto paper In my head delivered as a shout The beat gives me rhythm The bass is the pounding pulse Somehow the words emerge From some deep subconscious impulse To speak To communicate To tell the world What I feel To give you sight Of my emotion The urge to create My words replicate All it takes is a moment of derision And floods of letters emerge Presorted concepts, nouns and verbs Their meaning once submerged Deep within my being Deep within my vibrant soul Ideas forming and silently screaming To resonate in birth, almost whole To speak To communicate To tell the world What I feel To give you sight Of
Read More »The Quality of Humanity
I saw a post on a musicians forum today – it was a meme pointing out how many likes a female selfie got versus a song someone spent hours working on. Another person commented maybe it was the quality of the music? I was scrolling through instagram last night and I noticed how some twenty something had posted a selfie of herself more or less naked. 22k likes. A photographer had posted a beautiful picture of a church. 2 likes. Sums up the modern world really doesn’t it. Artistry and talent – 0 Pointless nude selfie – 6 I wondered what that meant about quality, people and their values. I went back to the musicians forum and posted my thoughts – What does it say about the music? Nothing. It
Read More »Is there meaning in chaos?
Just recently, it seems like everywhere I look, people are trying to give meaning to current events. ‘It’s a plague on humanity, punishment for some collective crime’, we are told by some. It’s a plague sent by God to punish us for some other collective sin’, say others. Frankly, I grow weary of all of this. Did anyone stop and think that perhaps we live in a chaotic system and this is what chaotic looks like? Does there have to be a reason for these events? Does there have to be a super power or deity behind them? And, if there was a deity or intelligence behind these events – what meaning would that have? Surely, to us, it would be chaotic and unknowable? Why do we even ask these
Read More »What Works? My Inability to Lose Weight
Although in lockdown, we are allowed out to walk dogs and take walks – so long as we are only one or two people and wearing a face mask of some type. So I still get my daily exercise and combine it with my bicycle and weights. According to my apple watch anyway, I am burning 3500 or so calories a day. Neither do I think I am over eating – although there are days I have a bit. But, this last 2-3 years, I slowly gain weight. It doesn’t matter what I do. I have tried; Low carb No carb Carb cycling Eating only in a 6 hour window daily Breakfast/No breakfast Fasting Swimming a km every day and more … Nothing works! I believe I eat less calories
Read More »Being Creative in a Time of Negativity – Reblogged from Peter C. Whitaker
My wife reminded me lately that I once said that if I could have a couple of months of work then I could write another book! Prophetic words. I have not exactly had a couple of months to dedicate to writing another book, I am a key worker, but I have recently had a couple of weeks at home due to changing priorities at work and during that time I have written absolutely nothing! I am not suffering from writer’s block. I have plenty of ideas. In fact, I even started writing a new novel despite telling myself that I would not commit to such a project so as to give myself more time for marketing endeavours. Although I have tried to sit down and continue this work I found
Read More »Life is Fun. Live it.
There are times when people make snide remarks to me like who do you think you are? There are others who think that my interest in certain topics is a reason to make fun of me. Some marvel at the range of things I do – ‘how do you find the time?’ they ask. It has been like that all my life and when I was younger, the unkind words hurt and wounded me. Even now, there are times when I realize that whatever it is inside of me that drives me, it often puts me counter to mass thinking, fashion or ideas. But sometime around 20 or so years ago, something clicked. It was this. It is my life. I have one shot. Whatever is going on around me,
Read More »The Dream
Can you play a tune or Strum a chord Sing a harmony? Can you close your eyes And see a vision or Hear a song And sing along? And if you can then Do you know what is real What is solid to the touch And what will disappear If you look too much? And when you dream Do you dream within that dream Is there some trick So that life is my dream And the dream my life? Turned inside out Perhaps you doubt What is real and what is not Are you just like me and think a lot About what and who you are? Where you came from And where you might go? When this dream is over
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