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An interesting podcast on radiolab - on Lucid Dreaming, and I'm inspired - again, if it's as easy enough as asking oneself throughout the day whether one is dreaming or awake, the only qualm is that I desperately look forward to those 6, 7, 8 hours of unconscious oblivion, and I worry that any sort of dream-activities will only tire me out in the morning.
It's worth a chance.
Today I've reminded myself easily 30 times that I'm Awake, not dreaming, so I'm curious as to how this evening's dreams will pan out.
I imagine a scenario in which I realize I'm dreaming, arrange (when the novelty of materializing the Dallas Cheerleaders wears off) a perfect den in which I can work upon my writing, a cabinet of curiosities, a sense of flow uninterrupted by my day-to-day life. I imagine a sense of continuity - being able to continue said work night after night - while sleeping, of course, and I imagine being able to pack a notepad or file-folder under my arm when I return to my waking self that I can easily transcribe into my notes.
There will be no writer's block or interruptions to my thought processes here.
And then - today again, curiously (or not so) - a link on tCDS - Transcranial Stimulation - on Boing Boing. This has interested me for a while (in addition to Ganzfeld devices) - I've even been looking for Rectifiers and bought a belt to wear about my head for these experiments.
Really, there has to be an easier way to write and paint for a living, but they involve time and practice, and I don't have these. The shortcuts all the way.
Anyways, for those interested in getting into flow, links on tCDS below:
Links: Boing Boing: Zapping the Brain into Expert Mode, New Scientist: Fast Track to Pure Focus, DIY tCDS
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Now this is an idea I've had for a while, probably I'm not the only one but to read the media - well, my point of view is seriously underrepresented.
That is - given the climate of economic cutbacks, budgets, politics, etc - the priority for government funding should be education.
Education first, as it were.
Now this is not a popular choice, especially in Alberta, where the Conservative Party has had sway for some 40 odd years.
It makes sense that the Conservatives would underfund education - if only in the fact that educated - by this I mean properly educated - well rounded educated - people - generally don't vote Conservative. I say generally, there are always a few...
To quote John Stuart Mill:
"Although it is not true that all conservatives are stupid people, it is true that most stupid people are conservative."
So the legacy of the Conservatives is explained.
But I'll explain it in an even clearer way, that should make it obvious to all but the most stubborn and conservative.
Invest in Education, and you can reduce your expenditure in any number of other areas - some examples: Welfare, Social Services, Healthcare, EI...
I could go on.
The fact is, any investment in education - be it elementary through to University - always pays off, if only in increased taxes. But it has spinoff benefits as well - The bulk of healthcare spending is on people of lower education. Educated people take an interest in their own health and maintain it at their own expense.
Welfare, Social Services, EI - all these claims can be directly and inversely correlated with the amount of education people have received.
Invest in education, and over time you'll be able to reduce funding to the other sectors.
Now there are other reasons too, far too esoteric to go into here, things such as quality of life, community, etc, but - it all begins with education. So - on any government's list of priorities - it should always be "Education First". Any talk of cutbacks to education should be considered a flag that the government needs to be replaced.
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Now this, because it's Xmas and I'm not even slightly in the Xmas spirit (what waiter is? Who has time?)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLnl5ZWG4tg
The Austrian version of Christmas, compete with Krampus, this year I am Krampus, and I marvel (briefly) on how pasteurized, homogenized our version of Xmas has become....
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In which someone makes the case for Enkidu being a Neanderthal. Whether you buy it or not, it's an interesting read:
Link: http://architecturalwatercolors.blogspot.com/2011/10/gilgamesh-new-interpretation.html
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And these are fascinating (probably you're already aware) - the religions that sprouted all over the South Pacific following the interactions of primitive indigenous peoples with Allied Servicemen.
Links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cargo_cult
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,892609,00.html
http://www.damninteresting.com/john-frum-and-the-cargo-cults/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A2267426
Quoting Time Magazine: "Imitation radio antennas made of rope and bamboo were set up to receive news of the millennium, when black skins would turn white and all the harsh demands of life would miraculously disappear." & "All of them share the belief that black men will acquire the white man's magic to materialize goods from overseas without doing a lick of work.
John Frum: Probably a corruption or pidgin version of "Hi I'm John from /OHIO/NEBRASKA/IOWA/WISCONSIN" - reduced to John Frum.