Wednesday, July 18, 2007

which lolcat r u?

Your Score: Longcat

85 % Affection, 33 % Excitability , 35 % Hunger

Protector of truth.

Slayer of darkness.

Loooooong.

Longcat may seem like just a regular lengthy cat, but he is, in fact, looong.

It is prophesized that Longcat and his archnemesis Tacgnol will battle for supremacy on Caturday. The outcome will change the face of the world, and indeed the very fabric of lolcatdom, forever.

Be grateful that the test has chosen you, and only you, to have this title.

My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:
free online datingfree online dating
You scored higher than 98% on Affection
free online datingfree online dating
You scored higher than 7% on Excitability
free online datingfree online dating
You scored higher than 22% on Hunger
free online datingfree online dating
You scored higher than 0% on Felinity

Take the test (NB - have to sign in to site to get results)

Sunday, July 15, 2007

political

ACCORDING TO YOUR ANSWERS,

The political group that
agrees with you most is...

.

LIBERAL


LIBERALS usually embrace freedom of choice in personal

matters, but tend to support significant government control of the

economy. They generally support a government-funded "safety net"
to help the disadvantaged, and advocate strict regulation

of business. Liberals tend to favor environmental regulations,

defend civil liberties and free expression, support government action

to promote equality, and tolerate diverse lifestyles.

The RED DOT on the Chart shows where you fit on the political map.

Your PERSONAL issues Score is 100%.
Your ECONOMIC issues Score is 40%.

Found at "Oh Taste and See". Take the quiz.

equal access to love

Equal Communications Access and what it means.

To me, it means that Deaf people should not be shut away in a world where no-one communicates with them. Communication is the vehicle of love and companionship - why should they be excluded from the fellowship of other people? The web has made a tremendous difference in terms of communication; one can find things out really quickly; it would be a pity if this accessibility to all was lost as we move towards more video and audio on the web.

And let's not forget the blind in all this as well. They need audio provision as much as Deaf people need captioning.

Friday, July 13, 2007

mental fight

Mental Fight by Ben Okri
A few selected extracts:

Already, the future is converging with the past.
Already the world is converging.
The diverse ways of the world
Will create wonderful new forms,
Lovely cultural explosions
In the centuries to come.
Already I sense future forms of art,
Of painting, sculpture, humour,
Already I sense future novels,
Plays, poems, dances.
Already I sense the great orchestras
Of humanity, a world symphony,
A world jam, in which the diverse
Genius of the human race -
It's rich tapestry of differences -
Will combine, weave, heighten,
Harmonise all its varied ways
And bring about a universal flowering
In all the vast numbers of disciplines
And among the unnumbered people.
Already I can hear this distant music
Of the future,
The magic poetry of time,
The distillation of all our different gifts.

Will you be at the harvest,
Among the gatherers of new fruits?
Then you must begin today to remake
Your mental and spiritual world,
And join the warriors and celebrants
Of freedom, realisers of great dreams.

You can't remake the world
Without remaking yourself
Each new era begins within.
It is an inward event,
With unsuspected possibilities
For inner liberation.
We could use it to turn on
Our inward lights.
We could use it to use even the dark
And negative things positively.
We could use the new era
To clean our eyes,
To see the world differently,
To see ourselves more clearly.
Only free people can make a free world.
Infect the world with your light.
Help fulfill the golden prophecies
Press forward the human genius.
Our future is greater than our past.

We are better than that.
We are greater than our despair.
The negative aspects of humanity
Are not the most real and authentic;
The most authentic thing about us
Is our capacity to create, to overcome,
To endure, to transform, to love,
And to be greater than our suffering.
We are best defined by the mystery
That we are still here, and can still rise
Upwards, still create better civilisations,
That we can face our raw realities,
And that we will survive
The greater despair
That the greater future might bring.
From "Mental Fight - an anti-spell for the 21st century", Phoenix House 1999

posted on the Facebook / Change.org group CHOSA by Jared S.

Monday, July 09, 2007

Monkey

We went to Manchester at the weekend to see Monkey (the opera by Damon Albarn, Jamie Hewlett, and Chen Shi-zheng). It was fabulous. The sets and costumes were in a graphic novel style; the music was a blend of east and west; and the choreography was Chinese, with juggling and dance and martial arts. The story is based on a 16th century novel, Journey to the West, about the journey to fetch the Buddhist scriptures from India. My favourite scene was when Monkey goes under the sea - they managed to make it look as though the stage was underwater by use of screens and lighting. But it was all beautiful.

On the way there we had a lovely walk in the Peak District, and on the way back we visited Moreton Hall, where Charles II stayed when he was fleeing from the Battle of Worcester (after he had stayed at Boscobel House). On both occasions he hid in a priest-hole. Moreton Hall has a Catholic chapel in the attic. It was very atmospheric.

Friday, July 06, 2007

the glory in things

surely this is holy, the fane of circling stones
where dreamers have dreamed
for unnumbered years
that fall like tears or sunlight;

the tree that catches the moon in her branches;
the glimmer of the golden cup:
the divine light shines through these things also -
for here the hearts of people were lifted up,
up into the empyrean blue
the realm of love and limitless light.

the Holy One has rent the veil
that we might see the light within and pass into it
but loving these things - is this not also the love of the Holy One?