collectik-ppp's playlist

Unquiet Desperation: For ZeevMichael, Who Will Laugh In Spite of Himself

Thu, 04 Dec 2008 13:20:16 -0500

I enjoyed this. See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die Other posts you might enjoy: Mahalo - Now Enhanced with Microformats Moving to L.A: Days 3-5 in Bartlesville OK You Got Your Manga in my DB Documentation! a For ZeevMichael, Who Will Laugh In Spite of Himself

Unquiet Desperation: Thoughts on the G1

Thu, 04 Dec 2008 13:20:16 -0500

photo credit: dalelane About a month ago, I got a G1 from my local T-Mobile dealer. I’d like to bore you with the details. I like the style of the phone. At it’s most basic, the G1 is a Sidekick with a better OS and rounded corners. Since my last phone was also a Sidekick, I’m [...]

Unquiet Desperation: Flap

Thu, 04 Dec 2008 13:20:16 -0500

I’ve decided to create a Tumblelog for some of the neat stuff I find that is not necessarily a proper blog post. If you’d like to follow along, head over to http://flap.tumblr.com, or subscribe with this link. Other posts you might enjoy: Sisyphus and the Firehose, part 1 Episode 13: Earl Newton and Stranger Things Portable Apps for the [...]

Unquiet Desperation: Another December, Another Fast

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 12:32:09 -0500

photo credit: Todd Mecklem Traditionally, I’ve taken the month of December and gone on an infofast. I’ve shut down my instant messaging programs, turned off Twitter, and read email only sparingly. It feels good to get off line once in a while, and I heartily recommended it. But not this year. This year, I’m doing something [...]

Unquiet Desperation: A Sense of Perspective

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 04:28:16 -0500

Louis CK is my new hero. Speak the truth, brother. Sure, it’s funny, but in a world where people are dying on the day after Thanksgiving for — get this — shopping at Wal-mart, maybe we do need a little time in the middle ages to remind us that we live in an age of miracles. Thanks [...]

The Secrets In Plain Sight!: November 29, 2008: Thanksgiving And Giving Thanks!

Sun, 30 Nov 2008 16:30:02 -0500

In the United States, the fourth Thursday in November is the federal holiday known as Thanksgiving Day. Many other countries have a thanksgiving day of some sort during the course of the year. In the case of the US, it is claimed to commemorate a celebration had by the Plymouth Pilgrims to celebrate a bountiful harvest after a hard winter in which many of them died of starvation and cold.

It is a mundane holiday, and we are spiritual people. What can we do with this?

This is a celebration of "the harvest" in the same manner as Lammas, Mabon and Samhain are the celebrations of three distinct harvests. For those of us in modern times, this might not seem so apparent to someone whose food comes not from a field but from a supermarket. But there had to be a harvest even if you and I don't experience it.

Another dimension of the mundane Thanksgiving holiday is the number of families who come together, some of them overcoming miles and others setting aside issues for the sake of the celebration. How well I remember trips to Duluth (Minnesota) for Thanksgiving. What a way to give thanks, including for family!

But it is a time set aside for giving thanks.

And the kind of thanks we can give at such a special time (or any other time we set aside) is more than just thanks. It is the basis of something which we can build upon! And build we shall!

Blessed Be!

Unquiet Desperation: Test post

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 12:04:34 -0500

Just a test post to see if I can blog from my G1. Other posts you might enjoy: Twitter Updates for 2007-03-24 Mahalo Toolbar Developer for Internet Explorer Mmmmyeah…So I’m going to need you to come in on Sunday… a Test post

From the Edge of the Circle: Episode 2008-23: Good, Evil, Its What I Intended

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 07:04:20 -0500

A discussion of Good, Evil and Intent. Music from In This Moment and Cruachan. Email: elfster@gmail.com

The Secrets In Plain Sight!: November 22, 2008: When It Happens!

Sun, 23 Nov 2008 23:56:13 -0500

When it happens? Yes, it can happen and it will! It's what you've been praying about, isn't it?

When it happens, what are you going to do? As one actor in a commercial for travelers' checks once expressed it, "What will you do?"

You've prayed, you've done (or attended) rituals and other gatherings, and done everything else you're supposed to, and maybe worried about not doing enough, and suddenly - there it is! What you've asked for is yours.

Strange thing, there isn't much good advice about how to handle things when it happens. From Sister Sweathog and/or Mrs. Broadbeam at Sunday School to Brother Billy-Bob behind the pulpit telling you about "God's will," there just isn't much decent advice about what to do when you have what you've been asking for!

Will you know what it is when it is staring you in the face? It might not look like what you thought it would look like, you know. Some seeds do not look much like the trees which they can become.

Will you know what to do with it once you have recognized it?

Will you have any idea what the next step will be once you understand what is yours?

Please understand that there might be something coming to you. You do not have to give in to the naysayers, the meddlers and the people who ought to mind their own business. It can be yours.

And if you can grow that into what you pictured in your minds' eye, what can be next?

Blessed Be!

Unquiet Desperation: UDTV: Making Pasta

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 19:32:04 -0500

Chris and his wife get a new pasta-making attachment for the new Kitchen Aid mixer. While she’s away, Chris decides to try making pasta with no clue what he’s doing. Other posts you might enjoy: Science vs. Religion re: Awe Twitter Updates for 2007-03-27 Code Zombie a UDTV: Making Pasta

Unquiet Desperation: The Seven Weird/Random Things Post

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 19:32:04 -0500

Kris Johnson and Jason Penney have tagged me. I must obey. Link to the person that tagged you, and post the rules on your blog. Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself. Tag 7 people at the end of your post, and include links to their blogs Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a [...]

The Secrets In Plain Sight!: November 15, 2008: The 10 Most Popular Ways To Destroy Your Own Spirituality!

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 07:28:19 -0500

Here are the ten most popular ways to destroy your own spiritual life!

With the coming and going of Samhain, we have the end of one year and the beginning of another year. And this is a most appropriate time to reflect for a bit on some of the most basic of basics.

Everyone from the Pope and the Dahlai Lama down to frizzy-haired church gossips will offer advice on how to have a quality spiritual life. Some of the advice might be excellent. But, there is so much of "how-to".

Some folks take another approach and speak of "how not to". They show the more common shortcomings of some efforts in hopes that we'll avoid repeating the mistakes of others.

Here' I've taken a third approach. Every day, there are people whose spiritual life just sort of whimpers. One day, someone wakes up and suddenly discovers that their spiritual life is not only gone, it has been gone for a long time. So, I've decided to show how to make your spiritual life do an outright crash-and-burn!

Now, of course, it is not my intent to encourage you to be spectatular failures. Rather, it is my hope that in this list of the most popular ways to colossal spiritual failure, you'll find some clues as to how to be a major success.

As is often the case in many fields, the difference between success and failure is the grasping of a basic principle. Take marketing as an example. One store prospers over the long run, while another store does very well initially but then just sort of dies and goes out of business. There's a principle that says that once you've got the customer to come to your store, you need to give that customer reason to come again. And so one store flourishes over time while another store seems to be doing very well and then suddenly begins to wither away. It's the same thing with your spiritual life.

And perhaps there might be some clues here as to how to make your spiritual life sizzle!

Blessed Be!

From the Edge of the Circle: Episode 2008-22: Relationships With Non-Pagans

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 06:20:49 -0500

How does one handle a relationship with a non-Pagan? Especially one who doesn't like the idea of Paganism?? Excellent listener responses in today's show. I also toss out my last political commentary on the US election. Music is "Pagan Girl" by Emerald Rose. Email: elfster@gmail.com

The Secrets In Plain Sight!: November 8, 2008: Samhain's Follow-Through!

Fri, 07 Nov 2008 22:28:22 -0500

Spiritually, just possibly the most powerful of all Sabbats has just made its yearly visit to us here in the Northern Hemisphere. So, what now?

The answer can be found in a term often used by athletes and their coaches: follow-through. In baseball, it's what you do with the bat after it encounters the ball. In football, it's what your arm does after you release the ball. In golf, it's what you do with the club after it hits the golf ball. Sometimes, it seems as if follow-through is as important as anything else you do. Quite often, it actually is!

We often make jokes about our more mundane friends and the resolutions which they make at the mundane new year - and usually break before February. Then again, they make the same jokes about themselves. They make the resolution, but what's next?

Like all Sabbats, this past Samhain will be with us until the next Samhain. And while our mundane friends make their December 31st/January 1st resolutions to family, friends, the office water cooler and the person filling their glass, we do more. Samhain is a time for endings and beginnings. And so, we do well to be a bit more serious.

And how to follow through? There are some basic principles, and a few "rules" which seem to work for me. At any rate, at the 2007 Samhain I once again resolved to end my smoking habit, and it seems to be ended. At any rate, I am 11 months smoke-free. I can't say that precisely what I did will work for you, but it was follow-through and I share some thoughts on follow-through.

We have some great things to build, and the building begins at Samhain. And the follow-through continues through the year.

Blessed Be!

Unquiet Desperation: Which is it, America?

Fri, 07 Nov 2008 18:48:15 -0500

photo credit: thomwatson We elected our first black President this week. On the same day, we in California denied the civil rights of a segment of the population. The irony is not only palpable, it’s repugnant. The language in Proposition 8 was, and I quote, “Eliminates Right of Same-Sex Couples to Marry.” Period. That’s it. Do not [...]

Unquiet Desperation: 2008 Election: Exit Polls and Election Results

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 10:40:31 -0500

Looking for live election coverage with a little more depth? Mahalo has you covered. We have 2008 presidential election exit polls and election results in real time. Plus we have a meta-list of Presidential Polls for 2008. Additionally, Mahalo has great election result pages for every state. Check out the full list: Alabama Election Results Alabama Exit Polls Alaska Election Results Alaska Exit Polls Arizona [...]

From the Edge of the Circle: Episode 2008-21: Evangelizing in the Workplace

Sun, 02 Nov 2008 21:33:21 -0500

Just a quick Tweener show. Wanted to answer Shadowalker's question on how to deal with evangelizing in the workplace. "Singing to the Bones" by Wendy Rule is the closing music for the show. Email: elfster@gmail.com Happy Hollow Weenie! (mis-spelling intentional!)

The Crooked Path: The Crooked Path - Episode 107

alkhemy@ca.rr.com — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 12:48:14 -0500

Peter talks about leaders and followers, while Raven takes a look at hops.

Unquiet Desperation: HoNoToGroABeMo: Day 1

Sat, 01 Nov 2008 18:04:18 -0400

I decided I did not have time for NaNoWriMo this year. Too intense, too much work. This year, I’m going to join the ranks of my fellow passive underachievers during How Not To Grow A Beard Month, or HoNoToGroABeMo for short. This is the brain child of Kris Johnson, a mild mannered fellow who farms a [...]

The Secrets In Plain Sight!: October 31, 2008: It's Samhain!

Sat, 01 Nov 2008 05:52:08 -0400

It's Samhain!

If there's ever a time when we shouldn't have to mention the specific date, it would be Samhain, and it is Samhain!

According to lore, Samhain is the time of the year when the veil between the worlds is thinnest. That is when we can most easily reach through the veil to those on the other side, and when those on the other side can most easily reach through to us.

That is not to say that it is not possible at other times, because it certainly is. But this is when it is the easiest to get things done which involve both sides of the veil.

This is when we can remember those who have left us, especially those who have left us since last Samhain. But we can also remember anyone else who has left, even someone who left before we began this particular incarnation. Not only do I commemorate those I knew, I also commemorate those I wish that I would have known (and maybe might have known in another life).

This is a time when we can also look ahead to what is to come. Do you have a vision of what you wish to make of your future? I certainly do. And if you do, now is a great time to ask for it.

So long as you remember the basic "rules" about what you wish for, there is no limit. And, it can happen.

Why do I say that it can happen? You might recall my comments about Chase Utley, the second baseman of the Philadelphia Phillies. He and his wife Jen do a lot for animals. They came to my attention about a year ago when they were involved in the rescue of a dog who had been terribly abused. I'm not a fan of athletics, but someone like that has my respect. It became my opinion that someone like that deserved the best honor he could achieve in his profession - and in his case, that would be winning the World Series. And he did! And those of you who joined in with me had a part of it.

So, yes you can!

And so, this celebration of Samhain can be the most powerful that you have ever experienced, if you're willing to see what's on the other side of the door.

Blessed Be!

Unquiet Desperation: What’s this? ANOTHER episode? So soon?

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 09:48:05 -0400

Yes, indeed, my friends. All the political candidates are assulting you with messages, and since we strive for that level of evil, The Secret Lair is back with another episode less than a week after posting the last one. Is this a trend? Some sort of diabolical plan aiming toward making you listen? A vast [...]

Unquiet Desperation: The Great Old Pumpkin

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 09:48:05 -0400

One of my favorite retellings of a classic tale is the John Aegard’s short story “The Great Old Pumpkin.” It’s the tale of Linus waiting for the Great Pumpkin, but instead of the childlike innocence engendered by the original Charles M. Schultz story, it has a Lovecraftian bent. Steve Eley did a reading of [...]

Unquiet Desperation: Lepers are the new Zombies

Sun, 26 Oct 2008 17:12:15 -0400

The Secret Lair is back with a new episode. Drop by the site and check it out! The Secret Lair returns with a full hour of dual-Lair goodness. Overlord Johnson reports in from the Cleveland Lair, while Overlord Miller is breaking in the furniture at The Secret Lair West. Chris has discovered that Los Angeles has [...]

The Secrets In Plain Sight!: October 25, 2008: Getting Ready For Samhain

Sat, 25 Oct 2008 13:12:06 -0400

If it hasn't been obvious (and it probably has been blatantly obvious), everything that I've been talking about for the past few weeks has been a lead-up to Samhain. And the next episode will be the Samhain episode, released on Samhain. And so, this episode concerns with specifically getting ready for Samhain.

I consider Samhain to be the most spiritually powerful of the eight Sabbat we celebrate in the cycle of the year. It is so powerful that other paths have similar celebrations around this time, too.

The veil between the worlds is at its thinnest. This is the time when you have the best chances of reaching through the veil to someone who has crossed over and you miss. It is also the best chance for someone on the other side of the veil who misses you to reach out. It is also a time for resolutions. It is a time for beginnings, and it is a time for endings. Then again, every beginning is an ending and every ending is a beginning, isn't it?

It is also a good time to share your visions with the Divine, by whatever name or names you address the Divine. We can begin with the most basic question: What is it that you want to accomplish between now and the next Samhain? And five years hence? And ten years hence?

OK, so if they're listening, it would be a good idea to ask in such a way that you might get what you want - and recognize it when you have it.

And so, let's look into that. It's a good question anytime, but especially now.

Blessed Be!

Unquiet Desperation: …by it’s cover

Sat, 25 Oct 2008 09:04:05 -0400

What do you mean all “urban fantasy” book covers all look the same? Wait…hm: [via Genrewonk] Other posts you might enjoy: Fantasy Flight Games Price Increase Joe Murphy, Rest In Peace …And Bill Said, “Shalom” a …by it’s cover

From the Edge of the Circle: Episode 2008-20: Open Swim -- Politics and More!

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 13:04:43 -0400

Latest Open Swim podcast, topics range from older shows to the current political issues. New topics of "How to handle evenagelizing Christians in the workplace" and "what do you do for Samhain?" are slated for the November 1st show. Music is from The Killdares: www.killdares.com. Buy their music, they are AWESOME!!

The Secrets In Plain Sight!: October 18, 2008: Yes, You Can!

Sat, 18 Oct 2008 20:48:23 -0400

In case you haven't figured it out, the last few weeks (and this episode also) have been a lead-in to one of the most spiritually powerful times in the cycle of the year: Samhain. Not that the rest of the year can't be spiritually powerful, but what sparkles or shines the rest of the year can really sizzle and shine at Samhain.

Last week, we spoke about confronting The Divine, the week before we spoke about confronting your priesthood, and the week prior to that we spoke of confronting tradition. And this week, we'll look at the three-word phrase which pretty much sums it up. Yes, there is more to it. Yes, there are some other considerations if you really want success. But it all hangs on three words.

Personal responsibility is there, too. In fact, what we explore in this episode just might be the ultimate expression of personal responsibility we can deal with. After all, if we're talking about your spiritual life, then by definition we have to be speaking of your personal responsibility for it. After all, it is yours. And so, you need to be in charge of it. Suggestions, advice, teaching and learning are all good and worthwhile, but that does not mean you need to be led around by the nose.

Given that, there's much that can be done. You might surprise yourself. And the most powerful point of all reveals the sheer power of all of this in just three words.

Blessed Be!

Unquiet Desperation: Angeles Forest Fire

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 00:13:05 -0400

A picture for the Angeles Forest Fire, from our balcony in Woodland Hills. Taken at 6:45 AM. Other posts you might enjoy: Marvel vs. DC, After Hours #2 Portable Apps for the Occupationally Challenged She was the last of the Kr’yylia, and did not know her power… a Angeles Forest Fire

The Crooked Path: The Crooked Path - Episode 106

alkhemy@ca.rr.com — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 11:12:12 -0400

Peter shares the results of his experiments in contacting the Mythic Landscape and the Ancestors in Rio, London, Munich and Rome.

The Secrets In Plain Sight!: October 11, 2008: Confronting Gods, Goddesses, and God!

Sun, 12 Oct 2008 04:04:13 -0400

Samhain is coming soon, and according to many (including me) that is spiritually the most powerful time of the year.

Hence, this set of "Confronting ...." episodes. So that you might have an appreciation of the tools and resources you already have. You might be stronger than you know. Unfortunately, there are some folks who think that they are weak only because they have been told that they are weak. And so, some of the strongest people can behave like weaklings. This can be unfortunate if the person has to deal with someone who is a genuine weakling but has convinced himself/herself that he/she is actually strong.

And so, we come to confronting The Divine. It can be done. In fact, it is very likely that there are times that The Divine wishes to be confronted.

Some people get told a long list of what you aren't supposed to ask for. Add to this the things that some say that The Divine cannot do. And then there's that infamous excuse generally referred to as "God's will."

Do you know what The Divine's will really is regarding you, me and each and every one of us?

And, so we can go beyond the walls of what may have once been our spiritual prisons and see what lies beyond. But to do that, we need to know that we can confront The Divine - provided we do it the right way.

Blessed Be!

Unquiet Desperation: You Got Your Manga in my DB Documentation!

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 23:56:04 -0400

Princess Ruruna is stressed out. With the king and queen away, she has to manage the Kingdom of Kod’s humongous fruit-selling empire. Overseas departments, scads of inventory, conflicting prices, and so many customers! It’s all such a confusing mess. But a mysterious book and a helpful fairy promise to solve her organizational problems�'with the practical [...]

Unquiet Desperation: The Brand New Mahalo

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 23:56:04 -0400

We’ve been hard at work for the last few months, but it’s definitely worth it. Behold, the new look of Mahalo. We have a new box in the upper left of the homepage which automatically cycles through the most recent news in a number of categories. Beneath that, we have a second set of [...]

Unquiet Desperation: Interesting Ad Placement

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 07:28:07 -0400

‘Nuff Said. More like this: You Got Your Manga in my DB Documentation! a Interesting Ad Placement

The Secrets In Plain Sight!: October 4, 2008: Confronting Your Priesthood!

Sun, 05 Oct 2008 11:40:19 -0400

Last week I spoke about confronting tradition, and this week I'm speaking about confronting your priesthood. It sounds like a spiritual path can involve a lot of confrontations. And yes, it can. Especially if it's successful enough to worry some folks.

We're talking about your own priesthood. And yes, you are your own priest or priestess. This doesn't have anything to do with ordination, which primarily concerns taking the authority to act in public in the name of a body. Your own priesthood concerns your own your own ability and authority to deal with The Divine directly on your own behalf.

There are those who are very uncomfortable with the idea of you having your own priesthood for yourself. They are the same people who want your spiritual path to fit their agenda. That's why it can take some courage to claim it and use it. And you'll need to guard it jealously.

Here's some ideas of where to look and what is built first. And there's so much more.

Blessed Be!

Unquiet Desperation: Don’t Vote

Sat, 04 Oct 2008 22:52:13 -0400

More like this: And then the fight started… a Don’t Vote

From the Edge of the Circle: Episode 2008-19 -- Tweener Show -- Walking and Religulous

Sat, 04 Oct 2008 11:12:07 -0400

Quick tweener show for ya'll. I talk a bit about my forays into walking and expound a bit on how it has become a rite of sorts for my daily Path. I also talk a bit about Bill Maher's upcoming movie "Religulous" and spare a few thoughts for what I think the movie will actually be. I close the show with "Rememberance" by Chalice and Blade from their 'Wild Hunt" album.

Unquiet Desperation: You’re kidding, right? Right?

Sat, 04 Oct 2008 06:48:16 -0400

photo credit: wootam! Allegedly, this is Sarah Palin’s answer to a 2006 candidate question for the Alaska gubernatorial race: 11. Are you offended by the phrase “Under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance? Why or why not? SP: Not on your life. If it was good [...]

Unquiet Desperation: Making Terminal Less Terminal

Sat, 04 Oct 2008 06:48:16 -0400

Thanks to an article from Lifehacker and some basic python, I’ve managed to make my terminal a bit more interesting. If folks are interested in learning more, I’ll post a how-to on Unspecified Error. Other posts you might enjoy: Mahalo - Now Enhanced with Microformats Twitter Updates for 2007-03-29 Brave Men Get Published a Making Terminal Less Terminal

Unquiet Desperation: She was the last of the Kr’yylia, and did not know her power…

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 06:32:30 -0400

I’ve ranted on The Secret Lair about how modern fantasy novels are pretty much cookie-cutter pieces of shite, especially when the blurb on the back goes something like this: She is (insert Celtic-ish name here), an orphan girl in the land of (insert made up word, usually ending in -ia). Pursued by (insert bad guy with [...]

Unquiet Desperation: And then the fight started…

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 06:32:30 -0400

Got this from my sister today, and I nearly blew coffee across my laptop screen from laughing: I rear-ended a car this morning. So, there we were alongside the road and slowly the other driver got out of his car. You know how sometimes you just get soooo stressed and little things just seem funny? Yeah, well [...]

From the Edge of the Circle: Episode 2008-18 -- Poli (meaning "many") Tics (meaning "blood-sucking insects")

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 10:52:07 -0400

Some excellent Email responses from listeners on the topic of politics. I have a few more things to say about the sorry-ass 1st Presidential "debate" as well. Open Swim is the next listener response topic -- any topic you want - respond before October 10th. Email: elfster@gmail.com I close the show with "The Old Ones" by Gaia Consort from their Gaia Circles album.

Unquiet Desperation: Saturday, Sunday, Monday

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 06:12:11 -0400

photo credit: carlosgomez Had a nice weekend…drove up to Santa Barbara on Saturday and spent some time at Stearns Wharf. We hung out on the Wharf itself for a bit, then walked down to Wheel Fun Rentals and rented a double surrey. We rode along the beach, four of us pedaling, my son in the [...]

The Secrets In Plain Sight!: September 27, 2008: Confronting Tradition!

Sun, 28 Sep 2008 18:56:07 -0400

Back when I was an Episcopalian, I was a traditionalist. Today, I am a traditionalist. I may have adopted a different tradition than the one I was following a few decades ago, but I honor the tradition which I follow.

But there are those who are not comfortable with tradition, and especially with traditionalists. To some, a traditionalist is some individual, too hide-bound to explore, secure in saying that what was good enough for his or her ancestors is good enough for them. I suggest that a different approach might be more appropriate, and perhaps more common.

Learning about tradition is learning about where you and those who preceded you have been.

Questioning tradition is a usually-healthy way of exploring the basis of a tradition and seeing how it fits in to your life today. There are occasions, and I describe one, in which you might discover that the basis isn't really there. And there are other cases in which the basis is really there, especially if you follow the tradition in the same heart as those who first established it.

And on the way, there can be learning and growth!

Blessed Be!

Unquiet Desperation: Definition of Irony

Sat, 27 Sep 2008 21:48:30 -0400

My blog is rebelling. Check out what it returned as a set of random posts when testing a new plugin. The irony is not lost on me. More like this: Beware the Magic Pony Rushing Amazon is *so* Early-2008 This post is from Chris Miller's Unquiet Desperation Definition of Irony

Unquiet Desperation: Beware the Magic Pony

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 17:28:09 -0400

photo credit: ishkamina First, I want to thank everyone who posted comments on my article about the Amazon Rush. When I write articles like these, I’m looking to start some discussion, and the discussion is now happening. I believe that’s a good thing, whether I’m right or wrong in my assessment. Second, there’s a misunderstanding. [...]

Unquiet Desperation: American 419

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 09:20:19 -0400

photo credit: twenty_questions Dear American: I need to ask you to support an urgent secret business relationship with a transfer of funds of great magnitude. I am Ministry of the Treasury of the Republic of America. My country has had crisis that has caused the need for large transfer of funds of $800 billion dollars US. If [...]

Unquiet Desperation: Sarah Palin and the Spirit of Witchcraft

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 17:04:46 -0400

I don’t normally talk about politics on my blog, but this really bugged me. Video: Palin Shown Praying With “Witch Hunter” Blumenthal, in addition to his on the scenes reporting, posts video of the sermon which Palin references (footage begins at 7:30). In it, the minister implores Jesus to protect Palin from “the spirit of witchcraft.” Earlier, [...]

Unquiet Desperation: Rushing Amazon is so Early-2008

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 17:04:46 -0400

photo credit: mpsfender182 I have yet to see any evidence that these Amazon rushes are accomplishing anything apart from making the author realize how ardent their fans are. “We’re going to make the suits at Amazon stand up and take notice!” seems to be the battle cry, but can you show me something that indicates [...]

Unquiet Desperation: Mahalo is Hiring!

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 16:48:05 -0400

If you want to be part of a fast-growing start-up company, please read the job descriptions and see if you qualify. If you have editorial and writing skills, please see our page on available writing positions. We also give out bonuses for successful referrals! Developers and Senior Developers Hadoop and Hbase Developer MySQL DBA Unix [...]

Unquiet Desperation: HBase Backup/Export/Import Tool

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 16:48:05 -0400

We (Mahalo) have just released a backup and restore tool for HBase. From the docs: Attached is a simple import, export, and backup utility. Mahalo.com has been using this in production for several months to back up our HBase clusters as well as to migrate data from production to development clusters, etc. Simple MapReduce job for exporting [...]

Unquiet Desperation: One more to 50K for Podiobooks.com

Sun, 21 Sep 2008 16:20:05 -0400

Almost there…almost 50,000 registered users…. More like this: Beware the Magic Pony Episode Feeds Available on Podiobooks.com This post is from Chris Miller's Unquiet Desperation One more to 50K for Podiobooks.com

The Secrets In Plain Sight!: September 20, 2008: Let's Celebrate Mabon!

Sat, 20 Sep 2008 18:33:42 -0400

It's Mabon! And Mabon is one of the most powerful yet one of the least understood of all of the Sabbats. Or, at least until you see how the mundane folks have re-arranged the calendar for their convenience. Most countries have a Thanksgiving Day of some sort, many of them of that very name, but few are on Mabon.

Mabon is the second of the three harvest festivals. Lammas was celebrated a while ago, and Samhain will follow soon enough. And for now, we have Mabon!

Like all Sabbats, Mabon has its lessons for us to learn and take with us through the cycle of the year. Like all Sabbats, Mabon has a contribution in each of the other Sabbats.

And especially, Mabon can help us to see why the year in a cycle is so important. It teaches us some points that are missed in linear calendars in which the spirit of a holiday is pronounced dead the following day.

Blessed Be!

Unquiet Desperation: I can haz sign?

Fri, 19 Sep 2008 15:52:44 -0400

via flickr from jasoncalacanis We have a sign above the door at Mahalo. I feel so grown up now. Other posts you might enjoy: A Program Should Be… Missing Windows? Inner Peace This post is from Chris Miller's Unquiet Desperation I can haz sign?

Unquiet Desperation: Announcing the Los Angeles Hadoop Meetup

Fri, 19 Sep 2008 15:52:44 -0400

The Los Angeles Hadoop Meetup aims to be a Birds-Of-A-Feather style gathering of people working with Hadoop1 and related technologies. We’ll be kicking off the new group with pizza and beer. It will be a meet and greet, we’ll discuss how we’re using Hadoop, what we’d like to get out of it, and what’s new [...]

Unquiet Desperation: Episode Feeds Available on Podiobooks.com

Thu, 18 Sep 2008 07:40:20 -0400

For the last three years, we’ve had a “default” feed on Podiobooks.com that we’ve not publicized. It originally started out as a feed for sharing three episodes with your friends, but later, we expanded it to include all the episodes for a given book. We didn’t publicize it because we thought that the majority of the [...]

From the Edge of the Circle: Episode 2008-17 -- Tweener Show: Palin, the Third Wave and Your Vote

Mon, 15 Sep 2008 17:12:57 -0400

I talk about Republican VP candidate, Governor Palin, her ties to the New Apostolic Reformation movement and how this affected my own choice in voting. The ties between Palin and the NAR first came to my attention through the Wild Hunt blog, which can be found at http://www.wildhunt.org/blog.html. Ending music is "Pagan Soldier" from the Dragon Ritual Drummers http://dragonritualdrummers.com

The Secrets In Plain Sight!: September 13, 2008: How To Make A Miracle!

Sun, 14 Sep 2008 02:05:10 -0400

This is another one of those difficult topics, and for the usual reasons, just like charity is such a difficult topic. Neither topic is actually difficult, except for the fact that people made them that way.

If a spiritual path actually works, then there can be miracles. And I think we can agree that the one thing expected of any spiritual path is that its followers expect it to work.

Miracles can be a major source of contentment or contention, and therein lies so much of the problem. I'll speak more on this in the podcast, especially the contention. It might be one of the reasons why so many have turned their backs on religion.

But how do you recognize a miracle? If you were looking at a miracle right now, would you recognize it?

And if you want a miracle, would you know how to go about it? And perhaps especially, would you know what to avoid?

Some have forgotten, some have re-discovered, and some knew but were told that they were wrong. Sound familiar?

I think it might be good to see just how much we can do.

Blessed Be!

Unquiet Desperation: Fantasy Flight Games Price Increase

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 23:04:09 -0400

photo credit: EvaSan Fantasy Flight makes some great games, but this might be pricing them out of my range. Roseville, MN, USA. Fantasy Flight Games (“FFG”) announced today that it will increase suggested retail prices on a wide range of its products. These 10-25% price increases are broad reaching, affecting most of FFG’s [...]

The Crooked Path: The Crooked Path - Episode 105

alkhemy@ca.rr.com — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 00:12:07 -0400

Peter talks about what it is like to craft in Hong Kong, while Raven explains what a wortcunner is (from her workshop at The Cauldron in Silverlake, CA).

Unquiet Desperation: Does this look familiar to you?

Tue, 09 Sep 2008 14:52:14 -0400

In her latest post, Bethlet says that this reminds her of her job at times. I think that all of my friends in the web industry will find it familiar… This post is from Chris Miller's Unquiet Desperation Does this look familiar to you?

Unquiet Desperation: Best Quote I’ve Read Today

Tue, 09 Sep 2008 14:52:14 -0400

Like most folks of a security bent (and if you’re reading this, that probably means you), we’ve spent a lot of time watching Web 2.0 with bemusement. Promiscuous sharing of information, client-side Javascript goop, blogging, mini-blogging, micro-blogging, vlogging, social nets and social media have all given the web much of what the starry-eyed latte-chugging idealists [...]

From the Edge of the Circle: Episode 2008-16 -- Initiations, Again....

Tue, 09 Sep 2008 00:52:15 -0400

Together, we tackle some of the basic aspects of initiation on a requested question from Bernadette. Major hellos to all the listeners and fellow podcasters â especially to Fortuna and Fluffy at Catnip Brew (meow!), Tegan at Moonshine podcast, and Fox and Arrowind with the Pagan Parentsâ on the Edge (LOVE that podcast name!).
Catnip Brew: http://www.catnipbrew.com
Moonshine: http://moon-shine.org/wordpress/
Pagan Parents on the Edge: http://paganparentsote.podbean.com/
Music is âSweet Emptinessâ from Gaian Consortâs âGaia Circlesâ album. http://www.gaiaconsort.com/

Reminders:
DFW Pagan pride Day is September 13th. http://ntxppd.org/
DFW Witches Ball will be held November 8th at 8PM this year at 2607 Walnut Hill Lane Suite 200 at Shady Trail Dallas, TX 75229. Tickets are on sale now. You can purchase them online through PayPal at tickets@witchesball.org $25 for singles or $40 for couples. If you have any questions or would like to help in any way, email RavenMae at magick@witchesball.org

Check out the following blogs:
LitheWolfâs The Broom Closet podcast blog site http://thebroomclosetshow.blogspot.com
Celestiteâs A Pagan Tapestry blog at http://apagantapestry.blogspot.com

The Secrets In Plain Sight!: September 6, 2008: What About Charity?

Sun, 07 Sep 2008 09:04:08 -0400

Among those who consider themselves clergy, there seems to be two lines of thought on this subject. There are those who consider it a subject "too hot to handle," and those who don't seem to talk about very much else. Please note that I am not limiting the scope to any particular kind of clergy.

In the meantime, it is a subject that we're forced to deal with every day. If you don't see a poster for some cause, there will be the annual charity drive at work. And if it isn't the annual fund drive at work, there's the commercial on TV about a hungry child you can sponsor in some far-off land. And if it isn't a TV commercial, someone will ask for "change" the next time you go downtown. And as if that isn't enough, there's always the possibility that someone you know will be knocking on your door with either a tale of woe or some great venture for you to invest in. And we still haven't mentioned the folks who go to church and have a plate passed at them, have we?

Meanwhile, you and your family have legitimate needs. And if you gave in to all of the pitches you hear and see, you might find yourself in a situation in which you're doing without lunch so that someone else can have beer with their lunch! And that's not fair.

And then there's the question of attitude. Actually, it's a question of more than one attitude. Those who give with the expectation of reward might be disappointed. And that's a shame, because nature abhors a vacuum. What goes out will have its place taken, but you've got to give karma some room to maneuver. And there's the other expectation: the expectation of those who are receiving the charity. That can wear things down.

And no wonder some consider the subject of charity "too hot to handle", especially in a religious context.

And maybe that's why I decided that I needed to say something about charity. It's not like I can get away with avoiding it!

Blessed Be!

Unquiet Desperation: Settling In: End of the Move and the First Week

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 22:28:08 -0400

photo credit: Old Shoe Woman Forgive me for not writing sooner. Things were crazy, exciting, and exhausting ever since New Mexico, and blogging fell completely off the radar. So…looking back… We spent a night in Flagstaff, AZ, and met up with Evo Terra and his better half, Sheila, for some fabulous pizza. I want to say [...]

The Secrets In Plain Sight!: August 30, 2008: Labor Day!

Sun, 31 Aug 2008 16:28:15 -0400

Most countries celebrate Labor Day, or have an equivalent holiday. When it is celebrated depends on the country and its traditions. In the United States, Labor Day is celebrated on the first Monday of September.

Labor Day is a secular holiday. It is not a religious holiday, although some faiths hold services and some have special prayers to be said or hymns to be sung on Labor Day (or the nearest Sunday/ Sabbath). But that does not mean that there isn't something of the Divine to find in Labor Day. In fact, Labor Day can teach one of the most important spiritual and theological lessons which we all need to learn.

We all labor, and almost all of us at some time in our lives will be doing the kind of labor honored on Labor Day. It doesn't matter if you're the president of some manufacturing company, or the janitor on the factory floor - it's labor.

And there, in that point I just made, is the kernel of a theological point worth recognizing.

And Labor Day is when we honor the labor done by ourselves and others. And that, combined with the previous point, leads us to a morality issue.

Morality, you question? Yes, especially if you understand what authentic morality actually is.

And from there, you can see what might be one of the nastier issues facing us today.

And you'll see how there can be a very powerful spiritual and theological lesson found in a secular holiday.

Blessed Be!

Unquiet Desperation: Moving to L.A: Quick Update

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 06:04:07 -0400

photo credit: lumierefl We’re here. All is finally settling down. Sorry for not blogging, but after three days crazed activity and some customer service calls, we only JUST for the phone/DSL working. Lengthy post tomorrow to explain what’s been happening. This post is from Chris Miller's Unquiet Desperation Moving to L.A: Quick Update

The Secrets In Plain Sight!: August 23, 2008: The Threefold Law, The Cop, And You

Sun, 24 Aug 2008 10:40:38 -0400

Officer Paul Stephens of the San Marcos, Texas Police Department has been spending most of the past week experiencing the enforcement of a law more powerful than any law which he might be called upon to enforce. He has been experiencing the enforcement of The Threefold Law. The Threefold Law is one that most of us are very familiar with: Whatever you do, for good or for evil, returns to you threefold.

Officer Paul Stephens pulled over a motorist for speeding. As a former police officer myself, I appreciate the situation in which Officer Stephens found himself. When he found the situation was that a couple was trying to get their seriously ill dog to an emergency vetrinary clinic because the dog's life was in danger, his response was "It's a dog, relax, you can get another one."

My personal guess is that if Officer Paul Stephens has any form of a law enforcement career left after his becoming internationally famous for that remark (captured for posterity on his dashboard video camera), nothing that he can accomplish will be able to overshadow his remark to the desperate parent of a loving poodle who had a medical emergency.

And here is where we can see how this can apply to us. Admittedly, Officer Stephens was recruited out of the same human race as the rest of us.

And so, let's see what we might be able to see in this incident that can be four our own learning.

It's hard to tell if Officer Stephens or his bosses learned anything, but that does not stop us from being able to learn from it.

Blessed Be!

The Crooked Path: The Crooked Path - Episode 104

alkhemy@ca.rr.com — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 14:56:04 -0400

Peter talks about Dragon and Serpent Traditions, while Raven looks at catnip.

Unquiet Desperation: Moving to L.A: Day Six on the Road

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 05:12:09 -0400

We’ve made it to Tucumcari, New Mexico. What a hole. This post is from Chris Miller's Unquiet Desperation Moving to L.A: Day Six on the Road

Unquiet Desperation: Moving to L.A: Days 3-5 in Bartlesville OK

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 13:04:58 -0400

photo credit: bravofourthree Holy cow…they have trees here. That was my first thought when driving through the upper corner of Oklahoma. I know…it’s silly. The mental picture I’ve had of Oklahoma has always been one of dry grass, dust, and weatherbeaten farmhouses standing watch over herds of cattle. I got the cattle part right. The rest [...]

Unquiet Desperation: Moving to L.A: Day One on the Road

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 04:56:22 -0400

We wanted to get started around 7am. It was an ambitious deadline, and made a very pretty whooshing sound as it flew by. By the time we packed every square inch of our cars with the remaining boxes, luggage, etc. it was about 8:30. We finally rolled out around 9am. We had three vehicles: one 2007 [...]

Unquiet Desperation: Moving to L.A: Day Two on the Road

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 04:56:22 -0400

The second day on the road was much smoother. We decided that the minivan with my wife, my mother-in-law, and kids in it should drive on it’s own, and my father-in-law and I would follow along in his car and the truck. This gave the minivan the ability to stop whenever it needed. [...]

Unquiet Desperation: Microsoft HPC

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 04:56:22 -0400

Microsoft HPC - O’Reilly ONLamp Blog Windows HPC Server 2008 is about high performance computing on the Windows platform. Or highly productive performance computing how we call it on our main product website www.microsoft.com/hpc. Will this be better than the LPC we’ve been dealing with for years? Promise? This post is from Chris Miller's Unquiet Desperation Microsoft HPC

The Secrets In Plain Sight!: August 16, 2008: An Eye-Opener!

Sun, 17 Aug 2008 18:04:19 -0400

Let me invite you to a web site which is full of some of the greatest information you'll find anywhere: http://www.universalgnostic.com/. And on the front page, you'll find two of the most exciting!

I'll leave "The Heiroglyphic Monad" for another time. Right now, I'd like to talk about "The Severn Sermons Of The Dead" by Basalides of Alexandria, as translated by Carl Gustav Jung.

These seven sermons deal with a great deal, but more than anything else, it is perhaps one of the best sets of writings dealing with what many of us know as either the Law Of Polarities or the Law Of Opposites. Most books, including some very good ones which have probably been recommended to you, mention that such a law exists, and gives mention to the obvious fact that there are polarities. This work goes the additional step and tells us how to work with them and deal with them.

Believe it or not, some spiritual paths do not really address balance or polarities except in a black-and-white of way, kind of like "good guys" and "bad guys" in an old cowboy movie in which the "good guy" always wore a white hat and didn't cuss, and the "bad guy" looked like he needed a bath. And no wonder some of their followers encounter spiritual frustration - it's impossible to be "good enough."

Well, here is a different approach, making use of balance.

I can't recommend "The Severn Sermons Of The Dead" enough, and I'm using this episode to introduce them to you.

They were an eye-opener for me, that is certain! Enjoy this, and have fun with it!

Blessed Be!

Unquiet Desperation: Inner Peace

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 12:32:03 -0400

Me: I’m currently hunting about for inner peace. It’s around here somewhere. I know it is. Julia: inner peace can be found most anywhere you look… in the moments when you realize you’re packed and ready… on a drive west… setting up a new home without the things you’ve chosen to unclutter… waking up the first [...]

Unquiet Desperation: Speaking of Hadoop

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 04:20:59 -0400

We’ve recently switched the backend of Mahalo to use Hadoop for all of our text archiving needs. What’s Hadoop? Glad you asked… Hadoop: When grownups do open source | The Register Hadoop is a library for writing distributed data processing programs using the MapReduce framework. It’s got all the makings of a blogosphere hit: cluster [...]

Unquiet Desperation: Mahalo Olympics Coverage

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 04:20:59 -0400

Mahalo is covering the Olympics! Keep up to date with these posts: http://www.mahalo.com/Olympic_Medal_Count_2008 and http://www.mahalo.com/Summer_Olympics_Opening_Ceremony_2008 This post is from Chris Miller's Unquiet Desperation Mahalo Olympics Coverage

Unquiet Desperation: Moving to L.A.: Three Days Out

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 04:20:59 -0400

photo credit: artnoose The house transferred today. I am no longer a home owner. I have mixed feelings about this. Everything little repair is no longer my responsibility, but we won’t be able to change things as much in the new townhouse, since we’re renting. I will not miss yardwork, however. My family and I have descended like [...]

Unquiet Desperation: If Only…

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 04:20:59 -0400

rsync -avz -e ssh --exclude=useless_crap /cleveland/house/stuff codeshaman@LosAngeles:/woodland_hills/home/. This post is from Chris Miller's Unquiet Desperation If Only…

The Secrets In Plain Sight!: August 9, 2008: The Bible Verse Which Some Christians Hate!

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 01:04:10 -0400

A Bible verse which some Christians hate? How can that be?

Well, to begin with, it might well be the most well-corroborated verse in the Christians' entire Bible! It's just about verbatim in three of the four gospels, and it makes reference back to the Old Testament.

If you read just a wee bit more than the single verse, you will see that this was the verse which Yeshua uttered which got him into really big, bad doo-doo! He might have irritated and angered the powers-that-were in his day until then. But that was what caused them to decide that he had to go!

There is a definition of ministry which goes: "comfort the afflicted, and afflict the comfortable." We will do well to remember that in the light of what this verse tells us.

Depending on who you are, it is either a promise, or it is a threat. It is either a reassurance which gives you comfort, or it is so scary that it is spine-chilling.

Many have avoided the subject, but many more simply try to dodge the thought that it might still be an issue.

The act of repeating the same action and expecting different results is a popular definition of insanity. By that definition, an establishment which has the same issues about itself as the establishment which it replaced but does not expect to be replaced - by that definition that establishment is insane! But that is the aspect of it that is a threat to many.

And the promise? There might be something there that could be the clue to build something more wonderful that we can imagine!

Blessed Be!

Unquiet Desperation: Desk?

Sun, 10 Aug 2008 04:04:08 -0400

My current workspace. It’s the last week in the house, and everything is packed. This is all I have left to work on. After today, I won’t be working from my house anymore. That’s a strange thought. This post is from Chris Miller's Unquiet Desperation Desk?

The Secrets In Plain Sight!: August 7, 2008: Lammas! - And Requiem

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 08:40:08 -0400

It's Lammas, and it's a time to celebrate the first harvest Sabbat!

We also need to give some honor to Danessa Smith, who crossed over on Monday due to complications from recent surgery.

For those who don't know who Danessa Smith is, she is Tempest Smith's mother. Tempest Smith, as you know, died a few years ago by her own hand because of the constant torment she was receiving from her classmates due to the fact that she was a Wiccan. Tempest Smith was twelve years old at the time of her death.

Danessa Smith founded the Tempest Smith Foundation, and I recommend you visit their web site.

Seeds of sadness were sown in sorrow. The work of the Tempest Smith Foundation is the harvest that we pray will not stop having a bountiful yield. And so, Danessa Smith's life illustrates a major point of Lammas and the other harvest Sabbats.

The harvest is a fulfillment of a promise. There's no quibbling about "God's will" or any of those other cop-outs. We do our part, the Divine does their part, and the harvest is the fulfillment of the promise!

And that's the point we're celebrating at Lammas!

Blessed Be!

The Crooked Path: The Crooked Path - Episode 103

alkhemy@ca.rr.com — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 13:52:10 -0400

Peter takes a good look at cursing, while Raven talks about the willow.

From the Edge of the Circle: Episode 2008-15 -- "Open Swim" Topics

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 03:20:08 -0400

A wide variety of topics that I tackle in short bursts -- thus the "Open Swim" notation. Show closes with Neko Case's "Hold On, Hold On" From her album "Fox Confessor Brings the Flood". News about an upcoming Neko Case concert here in Dallas, the North Texas Pagan Pride Day, and CMA Samhain. Email: elfster@gmail.com

Unquiet Desperation: Our New Home

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 19:32:09 -0400

View more photos up on Flickr. After several days of looking at houses, apartments, and condos, we’ve finally settled on our new place in LA. We’re renting a townhouse at The Summit at Warner Center, and we’re very excited about it. The kids are looking forward to the move, Cathy is thrilled with the new [...]

The Secrets In Plain Sight!: July 26, 2008: Freedom!

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 16:04:27 -0400

Of all of the words that I can think of, it seems that "freedom" just might be the most over-used, and perhaps the most mis-used. And where spiritual matters are concerned especially!

I try not to disparage other paths, but there are some times when I can't help it, and this is one of those times. I will admit to spending some time among the "New Age" folks, but I did not pick-and-choose. Nor did anyone ever succeed in accusing me of "dabbling." Either I did or I did not, and there was no in-between. The New Age are not the only ones who have "pick-and-choosers" in their midst. We've heard of "Sunday Christians." And I can't help remembering the episode of the sitcom "Different Strokes" in which the younger brother attends a friend's Bar Mitzvah and decides to become Jewish - until he discovers what else is involved in being Jewish. And there is one thing I've always wondered about the "pick and choose" crowd: how do they get anywhere, if at all?

Someone I admired greatly wrote in one of his better-known books about how much freedom he had in the Trappist monastery. Most folks don't associate monasteries with freedom. Understanding what he meant sheds a whole new light on the concept.

If you draw an analogy to sailing a boat, if you cast off from the dock and went into the middle of the lake/ river/ sea and just got batted around by the winds and the waves, would that be freedom? No, that would actually be a form of captivity. Freedom in this context would be the ability to cast off from the dock, and sail to your chosen destination and arrive at about the time you chose to arrive.

And here you can find freedom. And with that, you gain yet more power.

Blessed Be!

Unquiet Desperation: Best Thing I’ve Read Today

Sun, 27 Jul 2008 19:20:03 -0400

I don’t think you’ve truly bonded with your father until you’ve spent 36 consecutive hours in a holding cell mocking and taunting an inmate set consisting of multiple thirty-somethings decked out in homemade hobbit, fairie, chocobo costumes, where the only thing the lot of them had in common aside from a complete lack of human [...]

Unquiet Desperation: From the Phone…

Sun, 27 Jul 2008 19:20:03 -0400

Mobile post sent by codeshaman using Utterz. Replies. mp3 This post is from Chris Miller's Unquiet Desperation From the Phone…

Unquiet Desperation: From the Phone…

Sun, 27 Jul 2008 19:20:03 -0400

Mobile post sent by codeshaman using Utterz. Replies. mp3 This post is from Chris Miller's Unquiet Desperation From the Phone…

Unquiet Desperation: Housing report in Woodland…

Sun, 27 Jul 2008 19:20:03 -0400

Housing report in Woodland Hills for this is what we did on Saturday, we saw several houses and a couple of apartment building. We put them offers on 2 houses and when I say offers, I mean that, offers to rent them not buy them, but we have high hopes for one of the homes [...]

The Crooked Path: The Crooked Path - Episode 102

alkhemy@ca.rr.com — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 05:28:04 -0400

Peter talks about raising kids in a Pagan home, while Raven takes another look at harvesting.

Unquiet Desperation: Not the droid you’re looking for…

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 18:48:11 -0400

Day 47 Originally uploaded by a Dan of action Very nice! Thanks to Ray Slakinski for sending this my way. It made my morning.

The Secrets In Plain Sight!: July 19, 2008: An Episode On Obstacles

Sun, 20 Jul 2008 23:12:24 -0400

It's time to talk about obstacles. I know I've talked about them before, but it's time to discuss them again.

You've seen what I've been talking about in the last few episodes, and the result is inevitable: someone, somewhere, is going to think "it didn't work." And it is amazing when they ask why it didn't work, the ignorant will give all sorts of pseudo-reasons, generally in either the category of "you aren't good enough," or the infamous "God's will." And of course, there could also be "God's time" and "God's higher plan" (and what did he have to be high on to make such a plan).

Take a look at the obstacles that I mention here, and you'll see that they all have one thing in common: The Divine, by whatever name or names, is not involved in them. That is because The Divine wants you to have that which you want, need, and love. Unfortunately, some people think that they are doing The Divine's work by speaking as if they actually knew what The Divine is thinking.

And there's a way to deal with obstacles. And, there's a way to recognize what the situation is and move appropriately.

And with this, you might really be equipped!

Blessed Be!

From the Edge of the Circle: Episode 2008-14 -- Rant on Elitism

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 18:04:05 -0400

Glad to be back in the podcast saddle! I tackle a question posed by Bernadette about elitism within the Pagan Community. Next show will be 7/26 with an open forum for the listeners. Whatever you want to ask...I'll tackle as many questions as I can in the show. Email: elfster@gmail.com

The Secrets In Plain Sight!: July 12, 2008: Beyond The Bookshelf

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 06:52:08 -0400

With this episode, we'll take the previous one to one of its logical "next steps." I'll also use it to give an answer to one of the questions which every Pagan or Wiccan podcaster has already addressed at least twice, and which every teacher of The Craft probably addresses weekly. That question is the perpetual one: "Why are there so many primers and so few advanced books?"

A major part of the answer to the question lies in the very nature of our path. What is the main difference between your Book Of Shadows and either the Maryknoll Missal or the Book Of Common Prayer? What would your most powerful book begin with - or as? And where is the pen that can write the most powerful book you can ever have?

But it doesn't end there. Let's never forget balance. There needs to be balance. In the same manner as I enjoy pizza but know better than to have pizza for three meals a day, there needs to be balance in peoples' spiritual lives, too!

And so, let's examine how to step beyond the bookshelf.

Blessed Be!

Unquiet Desperation: Improv Everywhere: Human Mirror

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 09:48:05 -0400

Powered by ScribeFire. Human Mirror is the latest mission by Improv Everywhere where a group of identical twins rode on a NYC subway car, creating a human mirror. Here’s the full report. via Laughing Squid

Unquiet Desperation: Missing Windows?

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 09:48:05 -0400

photo credit: myrtti I missed Windows for a while this weekend. I was looking for a game to take my mind off of selling the house and moving to L.A. I wanted to relax and play a game, and I was craving a game like Galactic Civilizations. A sci-fi empire builder with exploration, colonization, [...]

Unquiet Desperation: The United States is a Cancer

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 01:40:14 -0400

No, really. July 4th falls in the astrological sign of Cancer. What did you think I meant? Powered by ScribeFire.

Unquiet Desperation: Wisdom from Kibo

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 01:40:14 -0400

Web browsers are fragile assemblies of bugs, held together with Hello Kitty stickers. from Kibo : Kibo : About Kibo’s official Web site Powered by ScribeFire.

The Secrets In Plain Sight!: July 5, 2008: Snatching Excitement From The Jaws Of Dullness!

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 22:12:09 -0400

Snatching Excitement From The Jaws Of Dullness! Now, there is a topic that most of us would at least like to relate to.

Where would we be in technology if fewer elementary school teachers had used math drills as a punishment? And had more actual interest in science? I recall how Miss Lauer, my third grade teacher, managed to make mathematics repulsive to me. We had the little rhyme "Miss Lauer is sour" for a reason.

And where our spiritual learning is concerned, how much of our earlier (and even later) learning was so concerned with the form that the substance was almost entirely forgotten?

We got drilled on memorizing the words to prayers, on when to bow our heads and close our eyes, and even how to fold our hands (should the right thumb or left be on top?), but did anyone bother to consider telling us in plain English what the words to the prayers meant? Or what the particular exercise was supposed to accomplish? No, we just learned to recite "la-te-da-te-da-te-da", in some cases while Sister Sweathog hovered over our heads with a brass ruler in her hand!

I admit to being lucky. Instead of being dragged into a Catholic school, I walked into an Episcopal church on my own feet, and the priests I met were a better kind than most you'd meet today. And they taught me the substance, and let the form fall into place when it came along. And so, I came to love and find meaning in something that so many people learned as, in essence, an empty drill.

And so, let's see what it might be to reclaim something that was made into a hollow rote drill, and let's make it exciting!

I'm telling you how I'm going about it with something that I am reclaiming. And, I'm giving you some specifics.

So, what might you do? Find something that you can reclaim, and reclaim it for yourself.

The possibilities are limitless!

Blessed Be!

Unquiet Desperation: Growing Up on Star Wars

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 09:12:02 -0400

My parents’ generation was informed by great and powerful things. By the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Vietnam War, the deaths of John Kennedy, his brother Robert and Martin Luther King. Before them, my grandparents were raised on dirt, suffering through the Great Depression with a grim determination to do it better for their kids. Me? [...]

Unquiet Desperation: The Basics of Wine

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 09:12:02 -0400

This was a lot of fun to watch, and I’m not just saying that because I work for Mahalo. I’ve been wanting to learn things like this for some time. I think I’ll be checking out Gary’s show.

Unquiet Desperation: Audience Participation: Caption This Photo

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 01:04:07 -0400

Let’s have a little fun. What should the caption of this photo be? Come now, be creative.

The Secrets In Plain Sight!: June 28, 2008: Retrospect On A Sabbat!

Sat, 28 Jun 2008 05:40:07 -0400

Just like we did a few Sabbats ago with Yule, let's do a retrospective on Litha.

As Wiccans, we have a special advantage with our Sabbats. Our Sabbats are in a cycle, with each Sabbat having an influence on each other Sabbat. And the end result is that there really is no such thing as a Sabbat being "over" in the same manner as Christmas is "over" on December 26th.

Sometimes in the mundane and Christian calendars, a holiday being "over" can really be felt. It's not that way with a Sabbat.

And at Litha, we can ask some of the same questions we can ask about life itself: where am I, where have I come from, and where am I going? Then again, the cycle of the year does mimic the cycle of life, doesn't it?

And what can we see?

Our ancestors, most of whom had a closer relationship with the land than we get to have, looked back at the planting and nurturing, and saw at this time the crops and herds growing in the fields and pastures. They knew what they wanted to have when the olast harvest was over at Samhain. And from Litha they could look at what has been done and guage what needed to be done in order to arrive at Samhain with what they wanted to arrive with.

Let's look, and see how everything weaves together.

Blessed Be!

Unquiet Desperation: Get In to IF

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 00:40:08 -0400

photo credit: daniel.julia Often called a dead genre, interactive fiction continues to flourish long after reaching the end of its commercial lifespan. In the decades since whiz-bang graphics drew away the attention of the masses, hundreds of games have continued to evolve the genre — to the point where it can be a little intimidating [...]

collectik-ppp's playlist

Unquiet Desperation: For ZeevMichael, Who Will Laugh In Spite of Himself

Unquiet Desperation: Thoughts on the G1

Unquiet Desperation: Flap

Unquiet Desperation: Another December, Another Fast

Unquiet Desperation: A Sense of Perspective

The Secrets In Plain Sight!: November 29, 2008: Thanksgiving And Giving Thanks!

Unquiet Desperation: Test post

From the Edge of the Circle: Episode 2008-23: Good, Evil, Its What I Intended

The Secrets In Plain Sight!: November 22, 2008: When It Happens!

Unquiet Desperation: UDTV: Making Pasta

Unquiet Desperation: The Seven Weird/Random Things Post

The Secrets In Plain Sight!: November 15, 2008: The 10 Most Popular Ways To Destroy Your Own Spirituality!

From the Edge of the Circle: Episode 2008-22: Relationships With Non-Pagans

The Secrets In Plain Sight!: November 8, 2008: Samhain's Follow-Through!

Unquiet Desperation: Which is it, America?

Unquiet Desperation: 2008 Election: Exit Polls and Election Results

From the Edge of the Circle: Episode 2008-21: Evangelizing in the Workplace

The Crooked Path: The Crooked Path - Episode 107

Unquiet Desperation: HoNoToGroABeMo: Day 1

The Secrets In Plain Sight!: October 31, 2008: It's Samhain!

Unquiet Desperation: What’s this? ANOTHER episode? So soon?

Unquiet Desperation: The Great Old Pumpkin

Unquiet Desperation: Lepers are the new Zombies

The Secrets In Plain Sight!: October 25, 2008: Getting Ready For Samhain

Unquiet Desperation: …by it’s cover

From the Edge of the Circle: Episode 2008-20: Open Swim -- Politics and More!

The Secrets In Plain Sight!: October 18, 2008: Yes, You Can!

Unquiet Desperation: Angeles Forest Fire

The Crooked Path: The Crooked Path - Episode 106

The Secrets In Plain Sight!: October 11, 2008: Confronting Gods, Goddesses, and God!

Unquiet Desperation: You Got Your Manga in my DB Documentation!

Unquiet Desperation: The Brand New Mahalo

Unquiet Desperation: Interesting Ad Placement

The Secrets In Plain Sight!: October 4, 2008: Confronting Your Priesthood!

Unquiet Desperation: Don’t Vote

From the Edge of the Circle: Episode 2008-19 -- Tweener Show -- Walking and Religulous

Unquiet Desperation: You’re kidding, right? Right?

Unquiet Desperation: Making Terminal Less Terminal

Unquiet Desperation: She was the last of the Kr’yylia, and did not know her power…

Unquiet Desperation: And then the fight started…

From the Edge of the Circle: Episode 2008-18 -- Poli (meaning "many") Tics (meaning "blood-sucking insects")

Unquiet Desperation: Saturday, Sunday, Monday

The Secrets In Plain Sight!: September 27, 2008: Confronting Tradition!

Unquiet Desperation: Definition of Irony

Unquiet Desperation: Beware the Magic Pony

Unquiet Desperation: American 419

Unquiet Desperation: Sarah Palin and the Spirit of Witchcraft

Unquiet Desperation: Rushing Amazon is *so* Early-2008

Unquiet Desperation: Mahalo is Hiring!

Unquiet Desperation: HBase Backup/Export/Import Tool

Unquiet Desperation: One more to 50K for Podiobooks.com

The Secrets In Plain Sight!: September 20, 2008: Let's Celebrate Mabon!

Unquiet Desperation: I can haz sign?

Unquiet Desperation: Announcing the Los Angeles Hadoop Meetup

Unquiet Desperation: Episode Feeds Available on Podiobooks.com

From the Edge of the Circle: Episode 2008-17 -- Tweener Show: Palin, the Third Wave and Your Vote

The Secrets In Plain Sight!: September 13, 2008: How To Make A Miracle!

Unquiet Desperation: Fantasy Flight Games Price Increase

The Crooked Path: The Crooked Path - Episode 105

Unquiet Desperation: Does this look familiar to you?

Unquiet Desperation: Best Quote I’ve Read Today

From the Edge of the Circle: Episode 2008-16 -- Initiations, Again....

The Secrets In Plain Sight!: September 6, 2008: What About Charity?

Unquiet Desperation: Settling In: End of the Move and the First Week

The Secrets In Plain Sight!: August 30, 2008: Labor Day!

Unquiet Desperation: Moving to L.A: Quick Update

The Secrets In Plain Sight!: August 23, 2008: The Threefold Law, The Cop, And You

The Crooked Path: The Crooked Path - Episode 104

Unquiet Desperation: Moving to L.A: Day Six on the Road

Unquiet Desperation: Moving to L.A: Days 3-5 in Bartlesville OK

Unquiet Desperation: Moving to L.A: Day One on the Road

Unquiet Desperation: Moving to L.A: Day Two on the Road

Unquiet Desperation: Microsoft HPC

The Secrets In Plain Sight!: August 16, 2008: An Eye-Opener!

Unquiet Desperation: Inner Peace

Unquiet Desperation: Speaking of Hadoop

Unquiet Desperation: Mahalo Olympics Coverage

Unquiet Desperation: Moving to L.A.: Three Days Out

Unquiet Desperation: If Only…

Unquiet Desperation: Rushing Amazon is so Early-2008