stillwaters: silent and reticent

Perspective

2008-02-25T17:14:00.000-08:00

The CIA's World Factbook has a page on each country's account balance. Search for the United States on the page. It's there. After you find it, try to give it a few moments to sink in. Absorb the information and take it in context. See it in perspective and imagine.

And this is just their trade balance.

Thoughts on the U.S. presidential campaign

2008-02-19T06:23:00.000-08:00

Up here in my comfortable vantage point, I can see how much the United States is suffering, morphing daily into a more dysfunctional society. It's a country dominated for years by partisan politics that at times, such as now, seem to come to peaceable terms only to serve interest groups above the will or benefit of the people. Though Canada is not without their own issues, they pale in comparison with what has been happening in the U.S. That is perhaps why this upcoming election is so important, and yet falls so short of having any hope of reversing the country's downward trend.

At a glance, the campaign so far seems balanced and perhaps even hopeful. A relatively young senator riding on a campaign for change is challenging an experienced powerhouse in the Democratic primaries, and over on the Republican side, a seemingly moderate John McCain is poised to take the nomination, with conservative Mike Huckabee and Ron Paul stubbornly trailing behind, each with his own strong base.

But it really is dreadful. Whilst it is refreshing to see that the shameful tradition of white male dominance in the White House may be about to end, many issues are yet to be addressed, and the candidates are not diverse, all of them to various extents tangled in the status quo. A recession and a weak dollar slowly wreak damage, the War in Iraq is still a fiasco and humanitarian crisis, and a weak legislative branch populated by corporate shills are all problems that will not go away immediately at the passing of the torch.

George W. Bush may well have been the worst president in American history, but the fight to remove him and his cronies has been tired and lacking momentum, and though people rally around choosing a better successor, the lack of willingness to face Bush head-on is very discouraging and speaks volumes of a populace that enables such governance. Even today, George W. Bush is destroying his country, and people seem content to ignore him and hope everything will be fine until the election.

And meanwhile, third-party candidates and 'fringe' runners from the two-party system are thoroughly ignored and marginalized by the US media. Journalism that focuses on appearances and entertainment dominates, and alternative views are laughed out of the newsroom. Dennis Kucinich, the candidate I thought had great potential and was willing to support, was cast out by a broken system, his message unheard and his political career in jeopardy. Mike Gravel, another candidate similar to Kucinich with a strong message, is portrayed, if at all, as a loony radical, a national laughingstock. He has yet to quit, but with ailing health and little support, there is zero chance of him getting any farther.

Back to the running candidates, Hillary Clinton is determined to resort to underhand tactics in order to win the nomination. John McCain is a crass and juvenile man, bigoted and racist, having reversed his positions only in order to suit political needs. Mike Huckabee is a disgraceful shill, a false prophet running on the premise and to the great shame of Christianity a hypocrite, a fool, and a dangerous psychopath. As for Ron Paul, I believe he is a good conservative (not libertarian) and would make a competent president in different circumstances, but the U.S. does not need a conservative; it needs a progressive. Ron Paul's hope of giving more power to the state, while it is the states that empowered Bush and the consequences of a reactionary backlash would therefore be dire, is untenable in my opinion.

Anyhow, I have my own reservations about Obama, and for now, I'm going to continue supporting Susie Flynn and kat swift. Someone has got to support the third-party runners.

Parva fabula, pars nona

2008-01-31T16:14:00.000-08:00

Latina:
Ita in hortis ludentes, Adam Lamiaque feliciter vixerunt ad fines temporis. Duobus horis, sabbatum finivet, et fuit proximus dies, et Dominus missit requiescere; et paratus est de nihilo ad multitudinem creatandum, velut de nihilo formans omnes. Caelum inde descendit forma Sancti Spiritus, et velut columbus erat qui super paradisum Eden volaret, plenus potentis maiestatisque.

Deus deinde Adamum et Lamiam in pratis iacentes despectavit, qui foedo cum peccato intertexti sunt qui Dominum irritarent, quoniam Adam pravo cum homine erat, homine alio nondum creato, et Deo non placebat. Ecce ira Dei grandis erat, fecitque ut vox magna in caelo crepet primum in historia hominis, et Adam, qui inter creatione absoluta, offensus terretusque caelum suspexit.

"Quid accidit, O Lilith mi simi?" Adam tremens inquit, nam deinde miscebat flamen qui fragorem comitaretur.

Lamia suspicebatur factum potente divino esse, atque plena metus, et non Adamum correxit eam non simia esse. Celeriter respondit Adamo, "O, certe nihil fuit, sed ecce hora. Iam vesperascit, et in cubile dormiendum mihi est."

"Cubile quid est?" inquit Adam.

"Vale!" Sine responso currebat Lamia ad arbores, et antequam confusus Adam plus dicere poterat, intra silva ea abivit.

"Quid erat? Bone Domine!" Adam dixit.

"Salve?" Vox tonitro in responso resonavit quae paradisum Eden concuteret, sed Adam cognoscebat eam vox Dei esse, quem imprudenter vocaverat. Non expectans responsum hominis, vox murmurabat. "Sentias te magnopere velle dormire, Adam. Nunc cupias tu somnum."

Iuncus commotionis Adamo statim vanescuit, et pro ea venit cupido dormiendi quae fecit ut homo in somnum decideret. Non stertuit, nihil tamen in iugulo habens ut spirandum impediret.

Homine dormiente, Deus.coepit hominis secandi causa. Ungues Sancti Spiritus primo cutem hominis diffindit, Deusque, arbitrans se requirere manum tertiam, fecit et eam extendit in apertura cruenta ubi stabant intestina hominis membra. Comprehendens os idoneum, manus Sancti Spiritus ungues torsit hocque fragmentum ossis velut serra secavit, spargans farinam ossium in organis vitalibus. Sic est, Adam posterus cancrum contracturus erat, sed nunc non pertinens est.

Osse extracto, Deus accepit acidum desoxyribonucleicum (ADN) hominis quo clonem hominis facere posset (et ut structura sceleti Adamo milibus annis posthac concisura certissime esset).

English:
So, frolicking in the garden, Adam and Lilith lived happily ever after. Two hours later, the Sabbath ended, and it was the next day, and the Lord ceased to rest; and He was ready to create a multitude out of nothing, as He had moulded everything out of the void. Hence, He descended heaven in the form of the Holy Spirit, and like a dove he hovered over Eden, full in His might and majesty.

Then God looked down at Adam and Lilith lying on the meadows, intertwined obscenely, and this angered the Lord, for Adam was with the wrong person, because the other man was not yet created, and his behaviour did not please God. Behold, the wrath of the Lord was great, and it caused a great noise to rumble in the sky, for the first time in the history of man, and Adam, who was relaxing amongst perfect creation, looked up in shock and horror.

“What is happening, O Lilith monkey?” Adam said, trembling, for then a gust stirred accompanying the thunder.

Lilith guessed that divine power was at work, and thus was filled with fear, and failed to correct Adam that she was no monkey. She hastily answered Adam, “Oh, I’m sure it was nothing, but look at the time. It is growing dark already, and I must to bed.”

“What’s a bed?” said Adam.

“Goodbye!” Without a response, Lilith ran toward the trees, and before the befuddled Adam could say anything more, she was gone within the woods.

“What was that about? Good Lord!” Adam said.

“Yes?” A thunderous voice boomed in response, shaking Paradise Eden, but to Adam it was recognizably the voice of God, whom he had inadvertently called. Not waiting for the man to respond, the voice droned on. “Thou feelst very sleepy, Adam. Sleep now dost thou desire.”

The rush of excitement in Adam vaporized within an instant, and in its place came a drowsiness, which caused the man to fall down into slumber. He did not snore, there being nothing in his throat to constrict his breathing.

With the man asleep, God began the process of operating upon Adam. The claws of the Holy Spirit first ripped through human skin, and God, realizing that He needed a third limb, created one and extended it into the bloody aperture, where the man’s organs stood. Taking grip of a suitable bone, the limb of the Holy Spirit flicked its talons and sawed off a bone piece, scattering bone-meal everywhere on the man’s innards. Adam would of course contract cancer because of this later on, but that is irrelevant for now.

Having extracted the bone, God has gotten ahold of the man’s DNA with which to clone a new person (and ensured the collapse of Adam’s skeletal structure a few millennia hence).

Parva fabula, pars octava

2008-01-06T19:59:00.001-08:00

Latina:
Probabiliter vos me cogitatis scelestum dirumque scriptorem esse, nunc quia scribo me recantare omnia quae scripsi vulgavique, et relinquere dubitationem indiciaque actorum futurorum, et vos duxisse ut erraretis in nullum in loco. Dirum scriptum, exclamatis vos, et cur fecis quod fecis; sed quaeso ut me audireatis et scite bene me sub impulso Mali fuisse, et non optionem habuisse ut scripsissem quod voluerat; non enim est fictio sed verum et historicum. Ho recanto fabulam quam creavi et promitto me soli Verbo Dei. Bona nunc fide sum; iuro per poenis mortis, verus futurus sim.

Ego vos irrideo. Nunc argumento manebo quod exstruxi.

Nunc Lilith in mundum descendit, in paradisum Eden ambulans. Illa forma viri erat, et veneficiis est usa sese ut lepida videretur esse oculo mortali. Quidem ut per mirabilem hortum ambulabat, animalia agitata sentibant et in oestrum fiebant; et futuere coepiunt. Lamia digitos traxit de medio suorum capillorum blandorum, coccineorum velut sangue et silvestribus velut herbis ferorum (etsi neutrum nondum in mundo novissimo erat), dum Adamum hominem accedebat. Salax risus in homine inculcavit ut is altus staret. Salutationes mutaverunt.

Ait Adam, "Eheu, vel, salve," quo Lamia respondit, "Salve, care."

"Quae es? Tibi non antehac obveni, et tu es similis parvo simio quondam meo adiutori. Esne fortasse utrum frater an alias cognatus?" rogavit Adam.

Lamia dixit, "Minime. Nomen Lilith est, et Ille me missit ut deinde tuus adiutor sim."

Adam dixit, "Ille qui?"

Lamia dixit, "Illum, scis. Quidam. Ille-Cuius-Nomen-Non-Locutendum-Est (sive loquar, fulmine occidar, nam ego mala sum.)"

Audiens male murmurem quod Lamia fecit, dixit Adam perplexus, "Ille-Cuius-Nomen-Malissimum-Est? Per Dei iucundum nomen, quid praedicas?"

Vox nominis Domini Dei fecit ut Lamia anhelaret. Celeriter imperium Satana invocavit quod in Adamo seminatum erat ut parvo tempore mentem caperet. Ait ea, "Dediscas illud. Missus sum ut novus adiutor fiam. Adiutorium cupis ut paradiso Eden provideas, non?"

Fascinato, Adam oculis caliginosis et stupefacto ricto innuit. In mente, futurum mirabilem tanto cum bello exspectabat; non curae sibi est unde qua illa venisse.

English:
Ye must think me a villain of a poor scribe, now that I write I wish to retract all that I have written and published, to abandon the suspense and hints at future action I have set up, and to have led you on a futile chase into a dead end. Atrocious writing, ye exclaim, and wherefore hast thou done as thou didst; but if it pleaseth you, know full well that I was under the influence of the Evil one, and had no choice but to write as he desired; for this is not fiction, but truth and history. I hereby renounce the fairytale that I have created and pledge myself to only the word of God. I am in earnest now; cross my heart and hope to die.

Just kidding. I will now continue with the plot I had set up.

Now Lilith descended into the world, walking into Paradise Eden. She was in the form of a man, and she cast magicks on herself to seem appealing to the mortal eye. Indeed, as she walked through the perfect garden, animals began to feel excited and rut; and they began to reproduce. Lilith ran her fingers through her striking hair, scarlet as fresh blood and wild as weeds (though neither yet existed this early in the world) as she approached Adam the man. Her lurid smile impressed upon the man, and he stood up. They exchanged greetings.

Adam said, "Whoa, I mean, hello," to which Lilith replied, "Hello, dear."

"Who are you? I have not met you before, and you look somewhat like Little Monkey my former helper. Are you perhaps his brother or cousin?" Adam said.

Lilith said, "By no means. My name is Lilith, and He has sent me to be your next helper."

Adam said, "He who?"

Lilith said, "He, you know. You-Know-Who. He... He Whose Name Must Not Be Mentioned (or I shall be struck down by lightning, for I am evil)."

Mishearing the whisper Lilith made, Adam said in bemusement, "He whose name is evil? By the jolly name of the Lord, what do you mean?"

The mentioning of the Lord God's name made Lilith gasp. She quickly invoked the power of Satan, which had been planted in Adam, temporarily to enchant his mind. She said, "Never you mind. I was sent here to become your new helper. You want a helper in tending to Paradise Eden, don't you?"

Having been bewitched, Adam nodded with hazy eyes and a dopy grin. In his head, he began to look forward to a fantastic future with such a good-looking partner; never mind where she came from.

Parva fabula, pars septima

2008-01-02T03:49:00.001-08:00

Latina:
Tempore eodem in caelo, Deus secum dixit de parvis insidiis Diaboli contra mundum creatum.

Inquit Pater, "Nunc Satana Parva vult res dirimere, sed velut excogitavimus est nobis mansurum sine mora."

Filius concordavit, dicens, "Formabimus vero hominem secundum, contemptis labores Mali."

Spiritus Sanctus sub divo volabat, alis plaudens.

Pater dixit, "Verbum creat, mi fili. Quid excogitavisti?"

Filius dixit, "Eripiemus ex homine ipso ut secundum hominem creemus et non eundem sed magnopere dissimilem creabimus."

Pater dixit, "Dic plus mihi."

Filius dixit, "Vero, estne similis cui fecimus omnibus animalibus terrae?"

Inquit Pater, "Tu sapis. Cur homo dissimilis est cum eum formavimus? Sentimus effugium argumenti."

Filius locutus est, "Ecce hoc colloquium memoratur scribeturque ab quodam seducto ab quo seducit ut seducat."

Dixit Pater, "Non est bonum memoriam falsam datam iri."

Sic Spiritus Dei in mundum iactus est, et explevit hunc scriptorem humilem casi divini ut correctionem facturus sum cui scripseram impulso Diaboli.

English:
Meanwhile, in heaven, God spoke to Himself regarding the Devil's little scheme against His creation.

The Father said, "Now Young Satan wisheth to disrupt matters, but we are to proceed as planned without delay."

The Son agreed, saying, "Verily, we shall mould the second man in spite of efforts of the evil one."

The Spirit hovered in the air, flapping His wings.

The Father said, "The Word createth, my son. What planst thou?"

The Son said, "To make a second man, we shall take from man himself and create one not selfsame but differing greatly."

The Father said, "Tell me more."

The Son said, "Really, is it not like what we have done with all the animals of the earth?"

The Father said, "Thou art reasonable. Why was man any different when we created him? I sense a plot loophole."

The Son said, "Behold, this conversation is being recorded, and shall be written down by one deceived by the Deceiver to deceive."

The Father said, "It is not good that a false account will be presented."

Thus, the Spirit of God was cast into the world, and filled this humble scribe of a divine encounter, that I shall revise what I had written falsely under the influence of the Devil.

Parva fabula, pars sexta

2007-12-21T22:49:00.001-08:00

Latina:
Cum Diabolus turpius excelsa descendisset, in culo calcitratus ut celeriter abiret, tamen contendebat ut ostentatioem venustatis conservaret pro exercito daemonum suorum.

Baphometus daemon Satanam accessit, non videns culum contusum eius, et dixit, "Ave, noster dux summus. Quod novum nobis refers de excelsis, O Nocifer?"

Celerrisime in solio sedens ut nemo vexationem videre posset, respondit Diabolus, "Omnia est quam optimum sine nobis in caelo. Sed laborem habemus quem exigere debemus, nam hodie adhuc dies domini est ubi Deus requiescit."

Rogavit Asmodeus, "Quid est quod faciemus, et quare?" Sua verba inter aliis daemonibus resata sunt, nam multi tamen Satanae iracundi erant propter exitium quod eis fecit.

Dixitque pater omnium peccatorum, "Nunc habemus spem, par pro pari referemus, hominem corrumpemus."

Asmodeus, cornibus glaucis flagrantibus igne, multo odio dixit, "Quomodo? Forma serpentis quae inferma verba spuebat? Ego dico nobis ut bellum gessuri simus contra paradisum Eden!"

Diabolus dixit, "O stulte humilisque daemon, qui nihil scis! Nescisne me occulte magnaque cum sapiente laborare? Finivi tibi loqui." Et volvebat ad quandam animam malam cuius nomen erat Lilith sive graece Lamia.

"Cara Lamia mea, hoc opus tuum est." Diabolus subridebat, aperiens dentes albos. "Cras Altissimus Deus hominem de osse hominis faciet, qui auxillium Adami erit. Volo te ire prae illo auxillio. Fac quod facere debes ut eum illaqueas."

Lamia, leaena noctis cuius ignes cupidinis malae furebant, accepit quasi provocatio fuerit.

English:
Although the Devil had descended heaven rather disgracefully, having been kicked in the backside that he might leave quickly, he nevertheless strived to maintain an air of grace in front of the host of his demons.

The demon Baphomet approached Satan, not seeing his bruised backside, and said, "Hail, our highest leader. What news do you bring back from heaven, O Nocifer [bearer of darkness]?"

Very quickly sitting in his throne so that no one could see his discomfort, the Devil responded, "All is as well as it can be in heaven without us. But we have work which we must complete, for today is still the Lord's Day when God is resting."

Asmodeus asked, "What is it that we are to do, and why?" His words were echoed amongst the other demons, for many were still resentful toward Satan because of the ruin he caused them.

And the father of all sins said, "Now we have a chance, we will pay Him back in kind, we will corrupt man."

Asmodeus, his grey horns flaring with fire, said with much hatred, "How? By the form of a snake that spat feeble words? I say we wage war against paradise Eden!"

The Devil said, "O you foolish and lowly demon, who know nothing! Did you not know that I work in mysterious ways and with great wisdom? I'm finished talking to you." And he began to turn to some demoness whose name was Lilith.

"My dear Lilith, this work is yours." The Devil smiled, baring his white teeth. "Tomorrow God Most High will make a human from the bone of man, who will be Adam's help. I want you to go before that help. Do what you have to in order to snare him."

Lilith, the lioness of the night whose fires of wicked passion burnt wildly, accepted it as if it were a challenge.

Parva fabula, pars quinta

2007-12-20T22:16:00.001-08:00

Latina:
Dominus igitur Iesu Filium appellare continuit, nam Filius Verbum erat et ipse erat qui notiones clara voce fatus est.

"Emmanuel mi fili, dic mihi quem cogites Adamo bonum adiutorem facturum esse."

Dixitque sine mora Iesus, "Noster quondam angelus secundus tamen custos Adami est. Eum vocemus rogemusque." Itaque Spiritus Sanctus sic fecit ut invitaretur.

Satana catulum edebat et arbores veneno interficebat. Deinde in excelsos vocatus est. Sensum non dulciorem transiti ferrente, multa sine volupte deposuit Diabolus pedem catuli et Deo dixit, certum facens verba perverse pronuntiare, "Gloria in excelsis Deo Patri et Filio et Spiritui. Beatissimus sum obire me meum Dominum, sed quare sum relatus paradiso unde rogatus eram ut relinquerem?"

Spiritus Sanctus propter superbiam alapam pampino dedit tante cum vi ut Satana taceret.

Fatur Iesus, "Quod Adami custos es, te vocavimus ut nobis diceres quidnam sentires. Homo adiutorio simile sui eget. Dic nobis quod sentias, si sentis."

Diligenter Diabolus dixit, "Parve scio, sed optimum homini ipse est. Non sentio eum adiutorio egere," nam cupivit hominem solum solacio carere, credens tales insidias satis esse ut Deo nocerent.

Nuntiavit tum Dominus, "Sic, est dictum esse adiutorum optimum homini ipsum. Sit ita ipse.

"Faciamus hominem alium ad nostram imaginem ne Adam solus sit."

Diabolus obtulit, "Heia! Sit nomen Stephanus."

Illi dixit Deus, "Haud."

English:
The Lord therefore decided to speak to His Son Jesus, for the Son was the Word and it was He who spoke the thoughts aloud.

"My son Emmanuel, tell me whom thou thinkest will make a good assistant for Adam."

And Jesus said without delay, "Our once favourite angel is still Adam's guardian. Let us summon him and ask him." And thus the Holy Spirit made it so that he was summoned.

Satan was eating a puppy and killing trees with poison. Then he was summoned to heaven. Enduring the none-too-pleasant transitional feeling, the Devil put down the leg of the puppy without much pleasure and said to God, making sure to mispronounce the words, "Glory to God the Father, the Son, and the Spirit in the highest. I am most happy that I'm meeting my Lord, but why have I been brought back to the paradise from which I was asked to leave?"

The Holy Spirit slapped him with a tendril for his insolence with such force that Satan stayed quiet.

Jesus said, "Because thou art Adam's guardian angel, we have summoned thee that thou mightest tell us what thou thoughtest. Man needeth a helpmeet. Tell us what thou feelest, if feelings hast thou."

Carefully the Devil said, "I know little, but the best thing for man is man himself. I do not feel he needs help," for he wished for the lonely man to be without comfort, believing that such treachery is enough to harm God.

Then the Lord announced, "Yea, it hath been said that the best help for man is man himself. So let it be he himself.

"Let us make another human in our image, that Adam may not be alone."

The Devil offered, "Oh! Let's call him Steve."

To that, God said, "Nay."

Parva fabula, pars quarta

2007-12-13T13:45:00.000-08:00

Latina:
Itaque Deus hominem dormiendem videbat, viditque eum se complecti. Sapientissimus sibi cogitabat, "Adam solus videtur esse. Non bonum nobis est. Conemur invenire ei adiutorium simile sui." Ita Dominus expectavit hoc adiutorium in paradiso Eden.

Primo parvo simio venit, nam simius similis homini sollersque erat. Aestimans, Deus eum spectavit et rogabat, "Requirimus adiutorem Adamo. Potesne ei dare omnia quibus eget?"

Simius respondit, "Ita! Possum ulla facere!" Sic Deus simium Adami adiutorem fecit.

Duobus diebus Adam venit Deo et questus est, "Mi Domine, cur istum contemptandum simium misi? Quandcumque dormivi, iste stercus in meo vultu facebat! Et si excitavi, stercus ad me iacebat! Non ferre possum!"

Suspirans, Adam dicere mansit, "Sive culus parvior est. Colei saepe contundebantur inter femoribus sine cupidite quandcumque fututi summus. Postea autem verpa semper lita merda est."

Haec auditis, Dominus iratus simium amisit et profectus est ut alium adiutorem expectaret.

English:
And so God was watching the sleeping man, and He saw that he was hugging himself. The Most Wise One began to think to Himself, "Adam looks to be lonely. That is not good to me. Let's try to find a suitable helper for him." So the Lord was looking for this helper in the Garden of Eden

At first he came to the small monkey, for the monkey was similar to the man and clever. Estimating, God looked at him and began to ask, "I require a helper for Adam. Can you give him everything that he needs?"

The monkey responded, "Yes! I can do anything!" so God made the monkey Adam's helper.

In two days, Adam came to God and lamented, "My Lord, why have you sent this despicable monkey? Whenever I slept, he made poop on my face! And when I awoke, he threw poop at me! I cannot bear it!"

[redacted]

These things having been heard, the Lord angrily let the money go and set out to find another helper.

Ronaldus Paulus?

2007-12-10T08:45:00.000-08:00

Ronaldus Paulus, qui Anglice vocatur Ron Paul, est homo repraesentans Congressu Civitatum Foederatarum Americae. Cum ille in Factione Republicana, quidem corona conservativisma de rebus communis, sit, videtur habere multas sententias contra factionem suam.

Sive ita est? Paulus non bellum cupit, sed pacem rationemque mavult. Adventus Pauli hoc anno cursu pro praeside rem novam fecit, praecipue in Interrete, ubi multi homines putant Paulum esse ipsum salvationem ex Georgio W. Bush et periculosis bellis.

Sed Paulum ego non amo. Puto eum periculosum esse. Cum Paulus vir rationis videretur esse, ecclesiam religionemque veretur nimium. Aluit enim leges qui C. F. A. patriam imperiosioram facere conati sunt. Omnia fecit in nomine civitatum contra foederatam gubernationem, et accipitur sine mora. Amantes Pauli cultum hominis noti gerent potius quam vera principia democratiae.

Parva fabula, pars tertia

2007-12-09T20:42:00.000-08:00

Latina:
Postquam Deus Adamam fecisset, Satana eius custos remanebat esse. Olim quondam angelus illo venire constituit, nocere volens. Nesciens vero daemonem esse, homo serpentem vidit esse aliud animal quod appellare debiturus erat. Vir serpenti venit et dicebat, "Ave, animal sublime." Serpens, suspendens in arbore, subridebat, ut loquebatur nesciens vir.

"Quid agis? Dic mihi, quaeso, quod facias ut tibi idoneum nomen dare possim," rogavit vir, nam datus est officium ut omnia animalia terrae appellaret.

"Ave, O dilectande homo, et salve! Magnus animus sum qui vocatur Lucifer filius aurorae! Habes nomen melius mihi?" respondit serpens mala.

Perplexus, vir quaesivit, "Habes iam nomen? Sed Dominus me iussit appellare omnia animalia terrae, tacens exceptiones. Quomodo exciperis ex ceteris?"

Tum Satana exclamabat, "Nescivi te nescire! Ita res est, natus sum priusquam es. Nescis me, mi amice. Senissimus optimusque omnium sum, potentissimus et sapientissimus, surgens prae omnibus."

Vir perplexior fiebat et solum isdem verbis referre potuit, dicens Deum quam potentem et cetera esse.

Satana consensum simulavit et subito discessit, iubens Adamam salvere. Sed in hac breve mutatione est male volens vox tradita in pectorem hominis.

English:
After God had made Adam, Satan remained his guardian angel. Once, the former angel decided to come to that man, wishing to do harm. Truly ignorant of the demon's existence, the man saw that the serpent was another animal which he would have to name. The man came to the serpent and began to say, "Hail, noble animal." The serpent, hanging in the tree, smiled down on him, as the unknowing man was speaking.

"How do you do? Please tell me what you do, so that I can give you a proper name," the man asked, for a duty was given to him to name all the animals of the earth.

"Hail, sir worthy of esteem, and hello! I am the great soul who is called Lucifer, son of the dawn! Do you have a better name for me?" The evil serpent responded.

Perplexed, the man asked, "You already have a name? But the Lord commanded me to name all the animals of the earth, mentioning no exceptions. How are you excluded from the rest?"

Then Satan began to exclaim, "I didn't know you were ignorant! Of course, I was born before you. You don't know me, my friend. I am the eldest and best of all, rising before all, the mightiest and wisest one."

The man was becoming more confused and could only answer with the same words, saying how mighty God was and so forth.

Satan feigned agreement and suddenly departed, bidding Adam farewell. But in this short exchange, a malevolent voice was seeded into the heart of man.

Parva fabula, pars prima parsque secunda

2007-12-02T17:10:00.000-08:00

Latina:
In principio erat Deus, et Deus erat apud se, et Deus erat ipse, et ibi habuit exercitum angelorum. Cum Deus dux exercitus sui esset, secundus princeps erat, qui ipse appellatus est Lucifer filius aurorae. Numquam comprehenditur cur ille appellatus sit filius aurorae potius quam filius Dei, qui ipse erat. Fortasse eius nomen verum numquam sciviemus. Sed digredior...

Olim Deus Lucifero dicebat, "In caelo multum otii est. Aliquid novi facere volumus." Dominus suo secundo rogavit quod facere posset. Suggestus est Lucifer primo ut Deus omnia deleret ut, omnibus gloriam ostendens, iterum omnia moliretur. Haec auditis, plenus clementiae beneficiique omnibus, Deus firme recusatus est.

Tum miratus scintillans filius aurorae est Deusne creare aedificium quam pulcherrimum et iucundissimum, atque deinde mille plus creare omnibus angelis, vellet. Haec sententia grandis Domino placebat, sed Deus putavit eam animi carere. Recusato bis, Lucifer sentiebat se infelicem.

Postremum, magno cum plausu exclamabat Deus sic: "Scimus! Faciamus vitam novam ad nostram imaginem. Eum appellabo hominem, nam is satis sapientiae habebit ut omnibus creatis praesit. Talis humana sententia!" Deprehenso verbis Domini, Lucifer tacebat, etsi sua lux minuebatur acriter, nam in se minima planta contemptionis bono Dei crescebat.

"Eumque faciamus defensorem terrae," inquit Deus -- sed Lucifer non audivit, quod plenus ira fuit -- "Is deinde defensabitur ex malo quod crescet."

"Etiam eius nepotes ipsi custodias habebit, unam pro quoque. Mei angeli illos conservabunt dum illos in caelum vocaturi sint. Et tu prima eris, quod meus secundus es.

"Ita locuti summus et ita sit factum, quia ego Dominus tuus Deus sum quem verentur civitates."

Millia annorum transierunt, et Lucifer filius aurorae adolescevit Satanaque pater malorum omnium factus est.Multae rationes fuerunt cur Lucifer tam plenus ira Dei esset, sed in summa erat simpliciter Lucifer superbior. Gessit bellum contra Deum, sed facile Dominus eum de caelo iecit tanta cum vi ut mundus, qui nondum exactus est, tremeret in vitam.

Lucifer enim magna stella cosmi erat et multissima parvioria astra in manibus habebat. Dictum est quidem spatium, ubi Lucifer omnesque angeli se sequentes fuerant, gurgites atros vel chaotum ipsum tum fieri, quando quondam filius aurorae deiectus est.

Sed illo eidem tempore Omnipotens hominem creabat. Dominus uno digito sinistrae manus Satanam deicit, formabat pulverem manus eaedem digito altero in corpus. Tum dicabat, "Quod hoc nocte cenabimus? Quiddam humanum in humo faciemus. Fames adsummus; sic eum Adamam appellemus."

Sic est Adam natus. Deus eum fecit, de cena cogitans et iacens daemones de caelo. Sed ita res est, tamen erat Satana custos Adamae omnis ossis...

English:
In the beginning there was God, and God was with Himself, and God was Himself, and there he had an army of angels. Although God was the head of His own army, there was a second-in-command, who was called Lucifer [star of the morning], son of the dawn. It is never understood why he was called son of the dawn rather than son of God, which he was. Perhaps we will never know his true name. But I digress...

Once God began to say to Lucifer, "There is much leisure in heaven. I wish to do something new." The Lord asked his favoured one what he could do. Lucifer at first suggested to God to destroy everything that he might, showing his glory to all, build everything again. Having heard these words, God, full of mercy and kindness for all, firmly refused.

Then the sparkling son of the dawn wondered whether God wished to create a structure as beautiful and pleasing as can be and then even create a thousand more for all the angels. This lofty thought was pleasing to the Lord, but God thought the idea lacked a soul. Having been refused twice, Lucifer began to feel wretched.

Finally, with a great clap, God exclaimed thus: "I know! I shall make a new life in my image. Him I shall call homo sapiens, for he shall have enough wisdom to preside over all created things. Such a refined thought!" Surprised by the words of the Lord, Lucifer remained silent, although his light was diminishing keenly, for in him began to grow a very small seed of contempt for God's goodness.

"And him I shall make the guardian of the earth," said God -- but Lucifer did not hear, because he was full of anger -- "He thereupon shall be guarded from the evil that will arise."

"His descendants themselves also will have guardians, one for each. My angels will protect them until such time as they are called to heaven. And thou shalt be the first, because thou art my favoured one.

"Thus I have spoken and thus let it be done, for I am the Lord thy God whom nations fear."

Thousands of years have passed, and Lucifer, son of the dawn has grown up and become Satan, father of all evil. There were many reasons why Lucifer was so full of ire towards God, but in all Lucifer was simply too prideful. He waged war against God, but the Lord with ease threw him down from heaven, with such great force that the world, which has not yet been completed, trembled into existence.

Truly, Lucifer was a great star in the heavens, and he held in his hands very many lesser stars. It is said indeed that the space where Lucifer and all the angels following him had been then became black holes or chaos itself, when the former son of the dawn was cast down.

But at that same time, the Almighty One was creating man. The Lord threw Satan down with a finger of His left hand, and moulded dust into flesh with another finger of the same hand. Then He began to say, "What shall I eat this night? I will make something refined in the soil. I am almost hungry; thus let us call him Adam."

So Adam was born. God made him, thinking about dinner and throwing demons out of heaven. But of course, Satan was still the guardian angel of Adam's every bone...

35-years of Tokyo skyline in video

2007-09-08T16:06:00.000-07:00

Trees cause global warming, says Fox News!

2007-09-06T21:33:00.000-07:00

Carbon cycle! Sheesh. Fox ignores basic science and twists anything to present propaganda.

Left Behind?

2007-09-02T20:28:00.000-07:00

The exercise of the day is to spot how many things are wrong in this video.

No Begging involved in the reading of this book

2007-08-22T17:23:00.000-07:00

Beg Me by Lisa Lawrence is another good novel, a superb new release in 2007, and a sequel to Strip Poker by the same author. It's not necessary to have read Strip Poker, though, as Beg Me is a separate episode and all relevant background information is thoroughly covered in the novel.

It's a sophisticated modern book, a detective thriller offering a superb mix of entertainment and insight. In this novel, the main character is Teresa Knight, a black-British freelance detective with a strong personality and independent sexuality. With one of her friends murdered, she travels across continents to pursue the case, crossing dangerous individuals in her path.

Beg Me is a fine sensual thriller that exposes the reader to plenty of well-researched culture and history. It's quite heavy on African cultures and mentalities, with large sections devoted to the recent history of a country Teresa finds herself in. Barely over 300 pages, it's an easy read, not terribly heavy on lectures, and superior to your run-of-the-mill detective novel. I'd recommend this book to all who don't mind explicit narrative on deviant sexuality.

Ghost Train, a 1986 novel

2007-08-19T01:46:00.000-07:00

I just finished reading a novel titled Ghost Train, a debut novel by Stephen Laws, a British author. It's a very good psychological thriller and horror book, containing strong imagery and fear-evoking language. This is probably one of the better horror novels I've read, and after finishing it, I think I'd give it a 4.5 out of 5.

I did notice one thing after finishing the novel, though. Notably, the story has some interesting overlap with the Harry Potter story. I'll give out the basic background information of Ghost Train first, and then add some more plot details to illustrate my thoughts.

Ghost Train is the story of a man named Mark Davies who falls from the King's Cross train, nearly dies, and recovers only to find himself haunted by disturbing nightmares and visions that turn him dysfunctional. The novel depicts his journey into his own mind, searching into the past to conquer his fears and battle the sinister reality that threatens to destroy his life and sanity.

The novel contains strong occult themes and some Christian elements.

More spoilers follow after this point to explain why I think it reminds me so strongly of Harry Potter.

Mark Davies is actually the unwitting victim of a great evil that dwells on the King's Cross line. The malevolent entity subsists on people who take the train, feeding on their fear and destroying them. Mark is the only one to have survived the evil one's grasp, and becomes inexplicably linked to it, turning partially immune to its powers. Mark also retains a scar on his forehead that changes its appearance sometimes when the evil entity attempts to act.

By surviving, Mark becomes the chosen one, and the evil one develops an obsession on him, giving him names such as "One Who Has Twice/Thrice Denied", or "One Who Has Been Chosen" and such. It attempts several times to drive him insane and destroy him.

This evil entity apparently has its roots in ancient druidic and pagan tradition.

Government coverup and denial result in the evil one's unimpeded growth, and in the end, the Ghost Train roars into action, causing great carnage in its path, while the government intervenes too late, helplessly baffled by the Ghost Train. Ultimately, it is up to Mark Davies (and his companions) to put an end to this ancient evil.

The story is only half of the book though. The vivid imagery the author is able to conjure up really is the highlight in this novel, and despite any similarities in the story, Ghost Train really delivers the scares. Highly recommended.

The Matrix, Indian version

2007-08-15T14:08:00.000-07:00

Cool stuff. It's gory.

US presidential campaign links

2007-08-07T02:05:00.000-07:00

I've been loosely following the US presidential campaign, and came across a couple of potentially useful links.

1) This site has a script that matches candidates for you according to your stance on issues (link).

2) Quick table for referencing candidates and their views on various issues (link).

Nifty, huh? I still find myself liking Gravel and Kucinich a lot more than the others. Sadly, these two are completely marginalized, unlike even Ron Paul, who has a sizable Internet following, and they really haven't shown much charisma.

It would be nice if they could run as independents in the all-too-likely case that they fail to make it through the primaries.

Classics galore

2007-08-03T22:07:00.001-07:00

This Japanese video merges a bunch of classic video games in truly incredible ways (link). Can we say nostalgia?

And the part where the dragon shows up, the Japanese text reads something like this:

Dragon god: "I grant you one wish of your choosing."
Thomas: "1. Immortality, 2. World Conquest, 3. Girl's Panties"

The third option is picked, and dragon god says, "Understood."

Then the following text boxes appear:
"Thomas received Girl's Panties!"
"Thomas equipped Girl's Panties!"
"Thomas drank Girl's Panties!" -- followed by "Life up"

...yeah. Wacky humour aside, it's sure to bring back memories for old-school gamers.

(Via Sexy Videogameland.)

Greatest band-aid solution to Global Warming?

2007-07-25T01:06:00.000-07:00

The Greenbox! It captures greenhouse gases and releases water vapour, and the contained gases are in turn used to grow algae and produce biofuel.

It sounds so simple, almost too good to be true, but I hope it turns out to be something worthwhile.

This week's status report

2007-07-21T17:53:00.000-07:00

The Internet is such an infuriating place. The number of vocal global-warming deniers seem to be at an all-time high. The coalition of libertarian global-warming deniers and fundamentalist creationists is making life rather grim and depressing, when all you see these days is people raising unnecessary arguments over hollow issues.

Anyhow, I don't particularly feel like ranting on that topic this time, so I'll give a little status report on my reading.

I took a sneak peek at the local bookstore earlier, and it seems Harry Potter manics are filling the place to the brim. They sold out of all adult-cover versions, though. I thought the children's version had an overly colourful cover that looked rather ugly.

I've yet to go past a hundred pages in The Law of Dreams by Peter Behrens, but so far, it's a pretty promising novel. Simple and effective language, strong imagery, and involving history and narrative that evoke reactions. The story is proving rather grim, but I ought to have expected that when I knew it was in the middle of the Irish Potato Famine.

In place of Harry Potter book 7...

2007-07-15T23:23:00.000-07:00

Even though I live under a rock, I did recently hear that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is coming out in just a week. I'm not a HP fan, but I do follow the series, albeit slowly. It's a good thing the franchise is coming to a conclusion; I'm no fan of long-winded series and sequels. That said, I hope to see this book at least before the corresponding film comes out.

Unfortunately, I've been forbidden to get my hands on the book for now, since my sibling, who lives out of province, is getting a copy first and will hand it down to me once they're done. Deprived of the book and soon to be catapulted into in a world of rabid HP readers, I stumbled across this article: Harry Potter and the Death of Reading.

The editorial caught my interest with a last-minute mention of The Law of Dreams by Peter Behrens, and provides an interesting, if short, premise. After a bit of searching on my own, I've placed a request for the book in the local library. This will fill the HP vacuum for the week, so I hope it meets expectations.

By the way, these are some other novels I've been perusing: Dressed To Kill by Margaret Duffy, Stalker by Faye Kellerman, and The Night of the Twelfth by Michael Gilbert.

NYT article on Williams syndrome

2007-07-09T00:12:00.000-07:00

Link: The Gregarious Brain

Interesting article on a cognitive disorder that causes, among other things, a lack of social fear. As a social phobic, I see great contrast and similarities. I'd love to meet one of these people myself.

Failed switch to Ubuntu...

2007-07-04T21:32:00.000-07:00

Over the last few weeks, I got a hand-me-down laptop with a dead hard drive. After replacing the faulty hardware, I thought I might try installing a Linux distro on it, just to continue my adventures with open source. Naturally, I picked the distro with the strongest reputation for user-friendliness -- Ubuntu. Now, this system certainly isn't that buff. It's a Toshiba Satellite A50 import. It's about a year old and rather slow, but did its job well enough until the choking demise of its system drive.

The last time I fiddled with Linux on my own computer was back in maybe '01, when I tried Debian on my frail old PC. That wasn't a particularly attractive experience, with some major driver issues I never worked out. Then I tried Mandrake Linux (now Mandriva Linux), which didn't work out either. The added stress of those few days seemed to have (or not) quickened my old PC's death. After that, I stayed far, far away from Linux distros, only touching RedHat and FreeBSD briefly during my brief online stints as site admins. I'm not that much of a techie, so even then, my activity was pretty much restricted to the simpler tasks.

So I grabbed the latest Ubuntu distro ("Feisty Fawn", a name I really like, too), and burnt it to a CD. Installation went straight-forward enough, until I entered a beige screen, with a white rectangular box in the top-left corner. This persisted for quite a few minutes, until the beige screen was then populated with an Ubuntu banner. Another ten minutes ticked by, and I finally saw my first message.

"There was an error starting the GNOME Settings Daemon.

Some things, such as themes, sounds, or background settings may not work correctly.

Did not receive a reply. Possible causes include: the remote application did not send a reply, the message bus security policy blocked the reply, the reply timeout expired, or the network connection was broken.

GNOME will still try to restart the Settings Daemon next time you log in."

The system stopped reacting after then.

Googling GNOME Settings Daemon Ubuntu startup error proved fruitful, though perhaps not so helpful to myself, with my limited Linux expertise. There was a variety of advice, but nothing definite or particularly relevant came to me. A little frustrated, I checked the disc for errors (none, as the built-in tool indicated) and went for Kubuntu (opting also for Feisty Fawn, if just for the name). Perhaps KDesktop would work better if GNOME decided to act up on me.

The installation certainly went a bit smoother, and I liked the colour scheme better. But something similar happened.

KDesktop said, "The process for the file protocol died unexpectedly."

Again, the system hung. At least I got to see part of the GUI. Yay.

Hmm... Kubuntu KDesktop dead upon installation? I decided enough was enough, and dug out my XP CDs to see if the hardware was truly messed up. And the system booted up fine. Ugh.

Maybe if I feel more adventurous another day, I'll give it another shot. Maybe Gutsy Gibbon'll fix the mysterious issue for me. Maybe I just have a Linux/Ubuntu-hating machine. I suspect the last is probably the most probable explanation...

Armless women -- inspirational videos

2007-06-27T18:28:00.000-07:00

This video features an armless Chinese woman who does everything with her feet better than many people can with two hands. I'm very impressed!

Some background I gathered:

Her name is Ren Jimei, from Shandong, China. The narrator comments in Cantonese, while the everything else is in Mandarin.

She was born armless, and her mother almost threw her into the ocean before her father intervened, saying they could keep her as they would a 'mongrel puppy' (I believe that was the term used).

Everything else is pretty much self-explanatory. It's very inspirational.

The title used plurals, so here's an armless Italian woman who is equally amazing:

Amazing Armless Italian Woman - These bloopers are hilarious

Kind of makes one feel silly to wallow in self-pity, sometimes!