About Me:

Let me say what I'm not into:

*being the spectator on sports (love to play,  hate to watch/talk about them)
*jealousy (I flirt and most of my friends are women, deal with it)
*homophobes (but they are fun to blow kisses to)
*dishonor (death before...)
*self-righteousness (everyone falls from their own grace at some point in their life)
*illiterates (if your mind can't comprehend basic literary works than don't bother me)
*mornings (My soul BURrrnnnsss)
*my current weight (but on it's way down)
*close-mindedness (at least make an attempt to think thru what you hear and not react instinctively to it)
*gullibility (the extreme form of open-mindedness, have some convictions and don't be led around by others)
*paranoia (people by and large are basically good albeit caught up in their own lives. Trusting others is not gullibility)
*people who consider talking about religion/politics/sex to be rude/boring (these define people way too much to be ignored)
*liars (I try to be honest to a fault. Deal with it and extend me the same courtesy)
*energy vampires (I'm a sucker for taking care of friends, don't... fucking... abuse... that!!!)
*attention whores (joking is one thing, being a prima-donna is another)
*cliques (don't send in the clones)
*people who don't love kids (sorry, my kids are my life. If you don't want kids I can respect that, but don't mess with my kids and expect a clean death)
*poor speech (I may not always say things correctly, but I try. Show your intelligence and do the same)(text speak in small portions may or may not be tolerated)
*zealotry (mostly but not exclusively limited to religious. I'm fine if you have strong beliefs but don't presume I don't have mine and that they aren't equally entrenched)
*bravos (kinda like keeping a rolled up pair of socks in your pants)
*racists (ok, I look white I know, but I'm one of the biggest damn mutts you'll ever know. You don't like it? Get the hell off my land pale face!)
*sexists (if you use terms like 'skank', 'bitches', or 'hos' in my presence I will probably toss you in a dumpster... and yes, I have done that before)
*rudeness (non-humorous)(let's be clear, I'm a gentleman, not a sexist. Courtesy is one thing I extend to all who don't earn my spite)
*animal apathy (jokes are one thing, but if you didn't cry at Old Yeller then stay away from me)
*censorship (say what the you want, but take responsibility for it and let others do the same)
*alpha bullshit (keep the dom stuff in the bedroom)
*most pop culture (BLLEEECCHHH!!!!)
*lacking sense of humor (all the above can be joked about and more)
*and probably more that I'm not recalling.


I'd like to meet:

I have no litmus tests on who my friends are. They are to a person strange, outrageous, quiet, loud, smart, stupid, wise, foolish, ugly, beautiful, sadistic, compassionate, creative, pedantic, exhibitionist, inhibited, sinners, saints, shallow, thoughtful, single, married, trusting, paranoid, and all other manner of adjectives that all depend upon the time you talk to them and their place in life. They are contradictions and I find all of them interesting and fascinating. I don't add people unless I've gotten to know them enough on some level to pique my interest. If you fit this, message me. If not, don't bother. Only be yourself and I'll extend that courtesy of myself to you.


General:

*Exploring the inner and outer worlds I inhabit,
*hiking to places beyond where I have travelled,
*tempering the chaos and the order of recreating with the spawn who call me father,
*playing sports of the bone crunching contact variety but I can go lite for the poor mortals (detest being a spectator however),
*debates with more intellect than supposition and more passion than vitriol,
*historical and anthropological musings with more than a dash of the psychological freakishness thrown in for good measure,
*intriguiging people willing to respect curiosity for curisioty's sake and self respect twinged with healthy self-deprecation,
*the occasional physical endeavor to push me to my limits,
*appreciating the visual works of art while also endeavoring to further my own expressions in those mediums,
*setting up a camp site that would make a pioneer stop and pray to me as their god,
*aromas and tactile sensations of a sensual nature,
*balancing a passion for the edible with a hunger for health,
*dipping into a lake sans clothing under a moonlit sky,
*being the moth that dances near the flame and the bear that ignores being singed,
*contrasting the religious and the spiritual in society as well as within my own soul,
*finding comfort in the social and solace in solitude,
*edges and steel and how they meet in art and practicality,
*puzzles wrapped inside enigmas,
*balances and dychtonomies and paradoxes and how to span their breadths,
*finding truths in fiction and the fiction of truths,
*treading the fine lines between the sensual and the erotic
*anachronistically embracing the socially progressive,
*consuming vast quantities of caffeine and yet still staying cardio healthy,
*delving into the dreaming with total lucidity,
*and evolving ever onward to doing the one thing I am best at: being me.


Music:

Anyway, what do I like in music? Most everything. I can go from opera (like Wagner) to country (Johnny Cash) to hard rock (old Metallica or Godsmack) to 60s (early Elvis to Jimmy Hendrix) to classical (Tzaichovsky) to some rap (but rare). I will try and listen to anything with sincerity and raw talent. In general, as with any artform, once an industry mentality takes over it loses its soul and its appeal. For example, what I truly despise is this bubblegum pop crap that I'm certain they use in secret terrorist prisons and cthulhulian gulags to break the spirits of the hardcore prisoners.


Movies:

Name it, I've probably seen it. I love movies from classics like "Casablanca" to modern films like "Pan's Labyrinth". I revel in my geekdom with movies like "Star Wars" or in my more mature with movies like "Crash" or "Good Will Hunting". I've also been known to take in the odd zombie flick or dozen.


Television:

Don't watch much right now. Usually just DVDs. I sorta opted to not watch anything regularly on TV a few years back and barring the odd binge, I've pretty much stuck to that. I love documentaries on nature, science, history, religion, or sexual attitudes. Mostly when I do watch TV it's whatever is on late at night as a sci-fi or horror show and then mostly as background noise while I do something else.

Really, I'd rather go hiking.


Books:

Aw hell, did I tell you that my too few bookcases are collapsing under the strain of literary weight? No? Well let me say I read a lot of different stuff. I'm big on history and religious books. I read a variety of comics though not like I used to. Fantasy and some sci-fi as well. Right now I'm at an odd place where I'm not reading four different books at once (which usually are a history textbook, non-fiction religious politics, a fantasy novel, and something off the wall that caught my eye like War and Peace).

Heroes:

Me, myself, and I. I mean seriously, what's the point in having heroes? I look at it this way, if you know what it is you'd like to be like why go looking for it in others? We can appreciate others and what they have done but the world would be a lot better off if everyone just worked at being those heroic qualities they so admire.

Okay so I got engaged yesterday. I was wanting to wait till Friday with dancing and dinner and such, but somethings I suck at waiting with. This has been floating in my head now for a good month or so. It all started with talks of polyamory inspired by the lifestyle being sorta omnipresent in my life with others and such (most notably my ex-wife). However, poly was primarily a catalyst for other thoughts... ones of what does she mean in my life, where I want us to go, what goals and waymarks in my life do I want to hit before upping the relationship and such.

So I crawl in bed with her and start talking about some of this stuff. Some of the waymarks are things like career and job, her finishing nursing school, getting a larger place so my boys have their own room, finalizing the divorce with my ex-wife... oh yeah, most of you don't know this but I'm still legally married (finances and legal advantages are why we haven't finalized it). Weird thing is I can, for now, say Stef and Becka get along really well. I'm talking all this stuff with the lack of usual confidence in my voice, slightly teary and such, and then I ask her:
"Becka, will you marry me?"

And promptly get punched right in the face!

WTF?

"This better be real and not some intellectual discussion?"
~grinning~
"No it's real. I really want you to marry me. I won't guarantee what our lives will be like or that we won't hurt each other in the future. We're both divorced and we both know how things can play out, but I really want you in my life."
All the waymarks I was looking at solidified one thing in my head: I want to marry her.

So she said 'yes'.

Now the engagement orgy can begin.

A 1700 yr old gaming die

                            

 

 

 

A ROMAN GLASS GAMING DIE

                                                                             
                                                                                                                 

Price Realized

                            (Set Currency)                                                         

• $17,925

                     

• 
• Christie's Buying Guide

                                                         

A ROMAN GLASS GAMING DIE
Circa 2nd Century A.D.
Deep blue-green in color, the large twenty-sided die incised with a distinct symbol on each of its faces
2 1/16 in. (5.2 cm.) wide
 

 

Pre-Lot Text

THE PROPERTY OF A
MARYLAND FINE ARTS PROFESSOR

 

Provenance

Acquired by the current owner's father in Egypt in the 1920s.
 

 

Lot Notes

  Several polyhedra in various materials with similar symbols are known from the Roman period. Modern scholarship has not yet established the game for which these dice were used.

Text stolen from this linky


---- (ring ring) ----

TechSup: Hello, undead technical support. May I please have your name and the date of your death?
Cust: Ummmm, yes. I am Vlad the Impaler and I am a GREAT AND MIGHTY VAMPIRE!!!
TS: Can I please have your date of death, sir? We have currently around 120 Vlad the Impalers on file, it's a fairly common name among the undead.
Cust: Ummm, yeah... uhhh, well you see, I haven't actually died yet. I was just sort of, you know, looking to see if someone would, you know, bite me, or if there is some sort of trial...?
TS: Yes, sir. Unfortunately, we can not provide that service. I would however point you towards your nearest foreboding castle or dark alley to find a blood sucking fiend of your choice.
Cust: Oh, why thank you! (Click)

---- (ring ring) ----

TS: Hello, undead technical support. May I please have your name and the date of your death?
Cust: Ummmm, Herman Carpinski, July 12, 1876.
TS: So what can I help you with?
Cust: I need to know how I deal with this whole rotting problem.
TS: Rotting?
Cust: Yes, pieces of me keep like falling off, and there's this horrible smell.
TS: Oh. Sir, were you killed by having an undead bite your neck and suck your blood?
Cust: No, some guy danced around my grave a lot and then blew dust into my face.
TS: Oh, I see. Sir, you are not a vampire as it were. You are what is known as a zombie, and while I can't really support that, I can tell you that the rotting smell is fairly normal. However, I can give you the zombie support line.

---- (ring ring) ----

TS: Hello, undead technical support. May I please have your name and the date of your death?
Cust: I AM VERY UPSET!!!
TS: I understand, sir, becoming one of the walking undead bloodsucking fiends is a big step-
Cust: NO that is not what I am talking about you (bleepity bleep bleep)!
TS: Sir, if you will please calm down, perhaps I can help you?
Cust: I want to speak to whoever is in charge!!!
TS: I can alert a manager, sir, but they will have to call you back in a few hours. Are you sure there is nothing I can help you with?
Cust: YEAH, WHAT THE HELL IS WITH THIS DAMN SUN THING??
TS : Excuse me sir? A vulnerability to the sun is fairly standard to all vampire types, so that behavior is by design.
Cust: It is not! It says right here in this pamphlet I downloaded from the Internet that if I ingest the blood of 12 virgins on 12 consecutive nights and gouge out my own eyeballs I'll be immune. Which I have done mind you and I am still vulnerable to the sun, so what gives?
TS: Well, sir, that is a different...ah... application of your powers. You probably want to talk to the people who wrote it, or if it is something specific to your particular type of vampire, you may wish to speak to the person who brought you across.
Cust: WHAT A LOAD OF CRAP! YOU PEOPLE SUCK, AND NOT IN A GOOD WAY! (CLICK)
TS: You know I honestly hate calls like that. I mean what is with these people? Is it my fault they don't read the fine print? I mean, OK immortality is cool and the nifty vampire powers are great, but they all call me when they can't handle it and expect me to deal with this crap, I mean...one sec got a call

---- (ring ring) ----

TS: Undead Techni-
Cust: YOU GOTTA HELP ME! THERE IS SOME GUY WITH A CROSSBOW OUTSIDE, AND HE IS SCREAMING THINGS LIKE, "DIE FOUL FIEND!!!"
TS: Okay sir, please calm down.
Cust: CALM DOWN! HOW THE HECK DO I CALM DOWN? HE IS BATTERING DOWN THE DOOR! AND HE SOUNDS PISSED!!!
TS: Okay sir, are you vulnerable to holy symbols?
Cust: Ummm, actually no. I am a farquath vampire, we don't do the holy symbols thing.
TS: Ah, good! I also see your kind of vampire has increased strength and speed and can take a lot of punishment. Okay, is he through the door yet? Are there more than one of them?
Cust: There are 3 of them! And they have crosses and one of them has a crossbow.
TS: Well, okay. Do you have a phone book?
Cust: Yes, WHAT THE HELL GOOD IS A PHONE BOOK GOING TO DO ME?!?!
TS: Sir, I need you to remain calm if you want me to help you, okay?
Cust: All right, now what? They're almost through the door!
TS: Tuck the phone book inside your jacket over your heart. When they come through the door, let them shoot you with the cross bow, and then hit the one in front as hard as you can.
Cust: Okay, I'll try. I'm not very violence literate though.
TS: That's okay, just follow my instructions and I'll talk you through it.
Cust: (sounds of crashing and muted thunk and a loud scream) Okay, there are two left, now what?
TS: Okay, throw the one you hit at the second one as hard as you can, and then grab the third by the throat and lift him off the ground.
Cust: (loud crashing and some moaning followed by some choking gurgling noises.) Okay, I have the head guy dangling - now what?
TS: Okay, now look into his eyes and laugh maniacally.
Cust: Heh heh heh.
TS: You might want to try a more maniacal laugh. Kind of like this - MUHAHAHAHAHA!!
Cust: Wow, you scared me. Okay, I'll try. Muhahahaha. How was that?
TS: Close enough. Now repeat after me, "YOU PITIFUL HUMAN INSECT, DIE LIKE THE CATTLE YOU ARE!!!" and then please squeeze as hard as you can.
Cust: (repeats statement and a cracking is heard from the phone) Nothing is happening.
TS: Sir, I mean squeeze with the hand you are holding him with.
Cust: Oh. Okay. (wet cracking sound is heard) Wow, this isn't so hard. Maybe I will get the hang of this whole violence thing! Thanks so much for your help!!
TS: That's quite all right, you have a good night now, and thank you for choosing undead technical support. (click)
See now, I kind of like those calls. I got to help someone, and you know that's what this job is all about. Am I one of the undead? Heck no. I don't care much for the hours really, I am just doing this for money while I study for my Occult Sciences degree. Then I can go out and make some real money as either an undead admin, or maybe a troubleshooter type. Support is great experience for that sort of thing because it gets you learning, and working with people. I know tons about the undead vampire types, and I heard we are going to start supporting werewolves and magic users next. Hey, if they want to train me, I'm not going to complain. I mean, after all-

---- (ring ring) ----

TS: Undead technical support. Can I have your name and the time of your death?
Cust: Hey, is this where I call about problems with being a vampire?
TS: Yes, it is.
Cust: Okay. Do I have to drink blood? That's kind of gross - can't it just be Kool Aid or something?
TS: No, I'm sorry, but blood is definitely a requirement.
Cust: Oh, well, OK.
TS: Anything else I can help you with?
Cust: Hey, yeah. Can I catch AIDS and things from bad blood?
TS: (hits mute button) MORON! (lets go of mute button) Sir, you're dead, okay? You really don't have to worry about that at this point.
Cust: Oh. How do I get the blood?
TS: Generally you bite people.
Cust: Oh, OK. Well, bye. (click)
TS: (sigh)
Geez, dude, read a book. There are times when this job gets on my nerves. But anyway where was I? Oh yeah. I get to start training today for supporting werewolves and magic users. And vampire hunters. You'd think that would be a conflict of interest... oh well.

---- (2 weeks of training later) ----

Instructor: ... just to reemphasize a few things - we do not support major summoning or world destroying rituals. And if the customer is a werewolf and has just shifted and can no longer communicate you will need to direct them to the growling and grunting specialist. Any questions?
TS: What exactly constitutes a major summoning? I mean what is our policy if they attempted a summoning and mispronounced the name and got a major demon lord instead of the minor imp they were trying for?
Inst: Well, assuming they are still alive, you would probably want to send it to Escalation. Any other questions?

---- (Later that month) ----
---- (ring ring) ----

TS: Shape shifter technical support. May I please have your name and the type of shifter you are?
Cust: This is Derek Thorfin and I am having this problem... (scratching noises) I can't get this damn hair to go away after I shift. There's this one patch that just won't not go away.
TS: Well, sir, is it a rectangular patch on your chest and abdominal area?
Cust: Yes, actually it is.
TS: Well, sir, that will not go away. That patch of hair is the mark of the animal demon that currently possesses you. If you were a shifter by birth rather than by position, it wouldn't be there.
Cust: So when will there be a solution to this problem?
TS: Sir, that particular behavior, as I have said, is a side effect of being a shifter by position.
Cust: Whatever, when are you going to fix it? Cause I don't like this hair, it itches.
TS: Sir, as I said this is something that cannot be fixed, unless you want to go through a cleansing ritual and give up being a shape shifter.
Cust: No, you don't understand! I want this hair gone and you need to tell me how to get rid of it! Have you got that, fella? Cause if not, I'll have to come down there and rend you limb from limb. I am a werewolf, got that, geek boy? Now you go on and tell me that secret way you have of getting rid of this here hair.
TS: Sir, I must tell you that if you continue to be threatening, I will have to terminate this call and refer your case to our security department. That being said, we do not have a secret way to remove your hair.
Cust: All right, that's it! You're lying to me! Either tell me or I come down there and REND ALL YOU blankety blanks INTO SMALL QUIVERING CHUNKS OF FLESH!!! YOU GOT THAT GEEK BOY? WHAT DO YOU SAY TO THAT, HUH?? WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO, HUH??
TS: I am sorry sir, you've forced me to terminate this call. (click)
--- (A few days later) ---
(Loud growling followed by a loud pop followed by distraught howling)
TS: Hmmmm, I wonder if I should have told him about the silver trap we have for werewolves... oh well, back to work.

---- (ring ring) ----

TS: Mystical Technical Support. May I please have your name and the name of your group, or your contract number if you are an independent.
Cust: My name is Mike Evenstar and I am a member of the Most Glorious Order of Hiparcthurs and Tolemay.
TS: Okay, sir, what can I help you with?
Cust: Well it's a small thing really, I was just wondering what would happen if, ah, well, when summoning a 9th level elemental spirit I had gotten two of the glyphs wrong?
TS: Which Glyphs, sir? (Sound of head pounding on table is heard)
Cust: Well, that is, I sort of changed the 9 into a 90 and the elemental to demonic.
TS: I see. Sir, can you hang on a second?
Cust: Sure, no problem. But please hurry - the glowing purple thing is getting worse, and the walls have started bleeding.
TS: I'll just be a moment, sir. (hold music) AHHHH why do I get these calls? (off hold) Okay, sir. I want you to listen to me carefully. Once I'm done talking, I want you to follow these steps. First open the door to the room you are in, step through it, and run as fast as you can. Then call 555-DUMB. This is the number for a service that takes care of these kinds of situations.
Cust: Okay, so I open the... (sound of a wet crunching sound, a scream, and then silence)
TS: (sigh) I lose more idiots that way. Oh well, at least I got promoted to major conjurations, summonings and escalation support last week. It means more money, although now I end up with even bigger problems to deal with. But they're giving me more training I guess.

---- (ring ring) ----

TS: Escalations, go for it
Other Tech: Okay, I've got this guy on the line who says that he is trying a major summoning, and he has a wizard class account, so he is covered. But I have no clue what's going wrong. He has the sacrifice he needs, all his sigology looks fine, I mean he even has the blue pillar of fire going for him! Could you take it, please, because frankly, I am stumped.
TS: Sure, go ahead and transfer him. (pause) Hi there, I hear you are having some problems.
Cust: Yes, I don't understand it. I have all the materials and everything appears to be fine. I have gateway open but I am getting no response to the truename.
TS: A sacrifice was mentioned - could you tell me what kind?
Cust: Yes, a virgin human female sacrifice was needed, and she is waiting right here all bound and prepared for the demon to come through and rip her to pieces. I mean, we even have the proper amount of screaming.
TS: (knowing chuckle) Did you say virgin sacrifice? And how old is she?
Cust: She is 17. I had her checked out beforehand and she is a certified virgin.
TS: Of course. By any chance do you have a young male assistant? A teenager, perhaps?
Cust: Well, yes I... DAMNIT ALL TO HELL, Jedrick come over here! I'm gonna peel the skin off your back and feed you to -- truename of major demon omitted --
TS: Sir, you may not realize this, but saying names like that in front of open gateways can be a bad idea.
Cust: What, you mean -------? Why would that be bad?
TS: Sir, I would once again advise you against saying that name in front of a gateway.
Cust: Oh, come on, no one actually expects ------- to answer, I mean he (sound of a thunder clap)
TS: (sigh) If this keeps happening I might get written up.

---- (ring ring) ----

TS: Escalations, go ahead.
OT: Ummmm, I have a demon on the phone.
TS: You mean someone summoned a demon and he needs help with it?
OT: N-n-no, the demon killed him while he was on the phone and, ummm, it somehow got my name and now it says it owns my soul as well, and I am kinda in over my head, HELP please.
TS: Okay, go ahead and conference it.
OT: Okay, here goes.
Demon: YOUR SOULS ARE MINE -- ALL OF THEM!!!
TS: With whom am I speaking, sir?
Demon: I am the Demon Rathgarton! And your souls are mine by the contract of the fool! MUHAHAHAHAHAHA!!
TS: Well, all right, sir. But I need to tell you one thing first.
Demon: SAY WHAT YOU WILL, PUNY MORTAL! MUHAHAHA!!
TS: notraghtar BY THE POWER OF YOUR UNNAMEING, DEMON BEGONE!!!!
Demon: NOOOOOO AHHHHHHH THE PAIN NOOOoooooooooooo (fades into nothing)
TS: See, it's no problem, you just can't let those demons push you round!
OT: Cool -- thanks dude!

---- (ring ring) ----

TS: Escalations, go ahead.
OT: I've got an irate, would you please take her?
TS: (sigh) Go for it.
Cust: NOW YOU LISTEN HERE! I AM A POWER CONJURER, AND I KNOW IT IS NOTHING I DID! THE PROBLEM IS WITH YOUR SHODDY MATERIALS!! I KNOW BIG PEOPLE IN HIGH PLACES AND I'M GOING TO HAVE YOU ALL TURNED INTO TOADS!!!
TS: Ma'am, if you will please calm down and read me your conjuring formula, maybe I can help you.
Cust: OH VERY WELL! (long incomprehensible formula follows)
TS: Ma'am, I think I've found your problem -- it is on the 3rd, 8th, and 21st lines.
Cust: OH REALLY AND WHAT IS THAT MR SMARTY PANTS??
TS: Ma'am, 2+2 is equal to 4 not 8.
Cust: WHY YOU WORTHL - ummmmm... wait a minute... (click)
TS: Thank you for calling magic support, and have a nice day.

Linky stolen from Darth Guapo

'Darth Vader' spared jail in Jedi church attacks

The attack involved a church founded on the Jedi faith of 'Star Wars' films

HOLYHEAD, Wales - A man who dressed up as Darth Vader, wearing a garbage bag for a cape, and assaulted the founders of a group calling itself the Jedi church was given a suspended sentence Tuesday.

Arwel Wynne Hughes, 27, attacked Jedi church founder Barney Jones — aka Master Jonba Hehol — with a metal crutch, hitting him on the head, prosecutors told Holyhead Magistrates' Court.

He also whacked Jones' 18-year-old cousin, Michael Jones — known as Master Mormi Hehol — bruising his thigh in the March 25 incident, prosecutors said.

The two cousins and Barney Jones' brother, Daniel, set up the Church of Jediism, Anglesey order, last year. Jedi is the faith followed by some of the central characters in the "Star Wars" films.

The group, which claims about 30 members, says on its Web site that it uses "insight and knowledge" from the films as "a guide to living a better and more worthwhile life."

"We all love the films and what they stand for. Obviously some people are going to laugh about it," the Wales on Sunday newspaper quoted Barney Jones as saying last month. "But a lot of people do take it seriously."

Unfortunately for Hughes, his March attack was recorded on a video camera that the cousins had set up to film themselves in a light saber battle.

"Darth Vader! Jedis!" Hughes shouted as he approached.

Hughes claimed he couldn't remember the incident, having drunk the better part of a 2 1/2-gallon box of wine beforehand.

"He knows his behavior was wrong and didn't want it to happen but he has no recollection of it," said Hughes' lawyer, Frances Jones.

District Judge Andrew Shaw sentenced Hughes to two months in jail but suspended the sentence for one year. He also ordered Hughes to pay $195 to each of his victims and $117 in court costs.

In the 2001 United Kingdom census, 390,000 — 0.7 percent of the population — listed Jedi as their religion.

Your Score: The Grizzly Bear

Here's your results!  Your spirit animal has a Nobility ranking of 14 out of 18.


     

      Your spirit animal is the Grizzly Bear.  No other spirit animal matches it's size and strength.  This creature is among the noblest and most respectable, and you are truly fortunate.  It is both fearsome and awesome to behold.  It will serve you well, and shows that you have a deeper understanding than most.  It is quite rare indeed to have a Grizzly as a spirit animal!

***Wondering how this animal was chosen for you?  These questions were carefully thought out to see how important you hold certain virtues such as: humanism, self-knowledge, rationalism, the love of freedom and other somewhat Hellenic ideals.  Some of the questions were very subtle.  Your score was then matched with an animal of corresponding nobility.  However, you shouldn't think this was a right/wrong sort of test, but more of an idealistic values test.  It's ok to not hold these values, you'll just get an animal spirit of lower stature if you do!***     

..tr>..table> ..tr>..table>

.. -->t-->Link: The What is Your Spirit Animal Test written by FindingEros on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test.. -->/t-->

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Linky to your evolutionary equals

April 2, 2008 · A peculiar band of chimpanzees lives amid the grasslands of Senegal in western Africa.

While most chimps live in the canopies of tropical forests, these primates live mostly on the open ground of the savannah. And they have adopted highly evolved survival strategies — such as hunting with weapons.

Photographer Frans Lanting traveled to an area of Senegal known as Fongoli last summer to record the chimps for National Geographic. He teamed up with anthropologist Jill Pruetz, who has spent six years in the region studying the animals. Each morning, they would get up before dawn and follow the chimps as they foraged — sometimes traveling as much as 15 miles.

"They don’t look different from other chimpanzees," Lanting tells NPR’s Alex Chadwick. "It’s more that they live in a very different environment."

To cope with their harsh environment, the Fongoli chimps have developed unusual behaviors. Lanting and Pruetz observed the primates fashioning spears from tree limbs to capture bush babies, small mammals that hide deep inside hollow trees.

"No one has ever seen that before in any other chimps elsewhere," Lanting says.

The Fongoli chimps often displayed behaviors akin to those of early humans.

"There is very little fundamental difference in my opinion between how these chimps live and how our very earliest ancestors lived," Lanting says. "It’s just like looking at human beings. I regard these chimpanzees as very shy, private people."

Like humans, the male chimps also seem to have a bit of a rhythmic bent; Lanting observed them drumming on hollow baobab trees as a way of impressing potential mates and intimidating rivals.

It took several months for the Fongoli chimps to begin accepting Pruetz and Lanting, who says they wore the same clothes every day so that the animals could become accustomed to their presence.

On days that the chimps let their guard down, Lanting says, he and Pruetz were able to observe behaviors that "are all confirmation to the fact that the boundaries between humans and chimps are really quite fuzzy."

I deleted a bunch of folks, local people I know, from my list. Mostly those associated with a certain pagan group that I don’t affiliate with any longer. If any of you I have deleted see this please understand it is nothing personal, far from it. A few might even understand beyond my blog here. Suffice to say that I need space from a variety of reminders even to the point of myspace. Flashbacks in the middle of the night and unresolved issues take precedence.

Always your friend
Vince

title of blog in honor of Greg and El Guapo

THE SPOILED UNDER-30 CROWD!!!
If you are 30 or older you will think this is hilarious!!!!

When I was a kid, adults used to bore me to tears
with their tedious diatribes about how hard things were
when they were growing up; what with walking
twenty-five miles to school every morning ... uphill BOTH ways
yadda, yadda, yadda


And I remember promising myself that when I grew up,
there was no way in hell I was going to lay
a bunch of crap like that on kids about how hard I had it
and how easy they’ve got it!

But now that... I ’m over the ripe old age of
thirty, I can’t help but look around and notice the youth of today.
You’ve got it so easy! I mean, compared to my
childhood, you live in a damn Utopia!

And I hate to say it but you kids today you
don’t know how good you’ve got it!

I mean, when I was a kid we didn’t have The
Internet . If we wanted to know something,
we had to go to the damn library and
look it up ourselves, in the card catalog!!

There was no email!! We had to actually write
somebody a letter with a pen!
Then you had to walk all the way across the street and
put it in the mailbox and it would take like a week to get there!


There were no MP3’s or Napsters! You wanted to
steal music, you had to hitchhike to the damn record store and
shoplift it yourself!

Or you had to wait around all day to tape it off the radio and the
DJ’d usually talk over the beginnin g and @*% it all up!

We didn’t have fancy crap like Call Waiting! If you
were on the phone and somebody else call ed they got a busy signal,
that’s it!

And we didn’t have fancy Caller ID Boxes either!
When the phone rang, you had no idea who it was!
It could be your school, your mom, your boss, your bookie, your drug
dealer, a collections agent, you just didn’t know!!!
You had to pick it up and take your chances, mister!

We didn’t have any fancy Sony Playstation video games with high-
Resolution 3-D graphics! We had the Atari 2600!
With games like ’Space Invaders’ and ’asteroids’. Your guy was a
Little square! You actually had to use your imagination!!
And there were no multiple levels or screens, it was just one screen forever!
And you could never win.
The game just kept getting harder and harder and faster and faster
until you died! Just like LIFE!

When you went to the movie theater there no such thing as stadium seating!
All the seats were the same height!
If a tall guy or some old broad with a hat sat in front of you and you
couldn’t see, you were just screwed!

Sure, we had cable television, but back then that
was only like 15 channels
and there was no on screen menu and no remote control!
You had to use a little book called a TV Guide to find out what was on!
You were screwed when it came to channel surfing!
You had to get off your ass and walk over to the TV to change the
channel and there was no Cartoon Network either! You could only get
cartoons on Saturday Morning. Do you hear what I’m saying!?!
We had to wait ALL WEEK for cartoons, you spoiled little rat-bastards!

And we didn’t have microwaves, if we wanted to heat
something up we had to use the stove or go build a frigging fire ..
imagine that!
If we wanted popcorn, we had to use that stupid Jiffy Pop thing
and shake it over the stove forever like an idiot.


That’s exactly what I’m talking about!

You kids today have got it too easy.

You’re spoiled.

You guys wouldn’t have lasted five minutes back in 1980!


Regards,

The over 30 Crowd