TO A MOUSE

Robot Anatomy : Mickey Mouse © Yves-José Malgorn 2012

But Mousie, thou art no thy lane,
In proving foresight may be vain:
The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men
Gang aft agley,
An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain,
For promis'd joy!
Still thou are blest, compared wi' me!
The present only toucheth thee:
But och! I backward cast my e'e,
On prospects drear!
An' forward, tho' I canna see,
I guess an' fear!

From TO A MOUSE ON TURNING UP HER NEST WITH THE PLOUGH (1785) by Robert Burns

TRANSHUMAN MASTERS AND SERVANTS
 

‘THE JOURNEY’ A HIGHER GROUND PRODUCTION

Live at the WINTER GARDEN THEATRE

189 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario

Date: June 14th, 2013

‘The Journey` is a unique, multimedia, live theatre experience framed in the dark history of slavery, but ending in the spirit of freedom. The performance provides a peek into the complex history of people of African descent, in an attempt to separate the fact from the fiction. The production is truly a collaborative effort, inspired by the spirit of cooperation exhibited by the unsung heroes of the Underground Railroad revolution.

The score is a mix of horns, strings, West-African drummers, vocalists, and poets. We combine the musical talents of the string section of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra with the eclectic horns of the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble from Chicago. We also feature the talents of local Toronto artists such as Dwayne Morgan and Quisha Wint. Throughout the three-act production, we fully engage the audience with elements of modern dance, poetry, and live music combined with an unforgettable visual presentation.

Tickets available in May

For more information and bookings, please contact:

E. Fitzgerald Rutherford, Founder @ 203-550-0063 or  Jennifer Harvey, Executive Producer @ 416-436-4300

POET MAYA ANGELOU BLASTS GUN AT HOME INTRUDER

Question begins at the 3:00 minute mark

Obama supporter and famous poet Maya Angelou was asked by Time Magazine if she had ever fired a gun in her life.

Her answer was surprising — “Of course!” Angelou then recounted a time in which she fired upon a home intruder.

TRANSCRIPT:

TIME: Your mother — she was your protector. She often carried a gun, she seemed to be very fond of guns. Did you inherit your mother’s fondness for guns?

MAYA ANGELOU: Well, I do like to have guns around, I don’t like to carry them. But I like -- if somebody is going to come into my house and I have not put out the welcome mat, I want to stop them.

TIME: Have you ever fired a weapon?

ANGELOU: Of course!

TIME: At a person?

ANGELOU: I’ve fired it period, not at a person I hope!

I was in my house in North Carolina. It was fall. I heard someone walking on the leaves. And somebody actually turned the knob. So I said, "Stand four feet back because I'm going to shoot now!" Boom! Boom! The police came by and said, "Ms. Angelou, the shots came from inside the house." I said, "Well, I don't know how that happened."

 SOURCE: TIME'S 10 QUESTIONS FOR MAYA ANGELOU

Maya Angelou Fast Facts

By CNN Library

updated 3:10 PM EDT, Thu April 4, 2013

(CNN) -- Here is a look at the life of Grammy-winning author and poet Maya Angelou.

Personal: 
Birth date: April 4, 1928

Birth place: St. Louis, Missouri

Birth name: Marguerite Annie Johnson

Father: Bailey Johnson, a doorman

Mother: Vivian (Baxter) Johnson, a nurse

Marriages: Paul de Feu (1973-1980, divorced); Tosh Angelos (1950-1952, divorced)

Children: Clyde "Guy" Johnson, 1944

Education: Attended California Labor School, 1942

Other Facts: 
Author, poet, actor, singer, songwriter, dancer, playwright, historian, director, civil rights activist and teacher.

Fluent in six languages: English, French, Spanish, Italian, Arabic and West African Fanti.

First African-American female member of the Directors Guild of America.

Studied dance with Pearl Primus in New York.

Won three Grammy awards.

Nominated for a Tony Award.

Timeline: 
1931 - Her parents divorce and Angelou is sent, with her brother Bailey, to live with paternal grandmother, Annie Henderson, in Stamps, Arkansas.

1935 - Angelou and brother Bailey move to St. Louis to live with their mother.

1936 - Is raped by her mother's boyfriend, Mr. Freeman. After Angelou confides about the rape to her brother and testifies at Freeman's trial, Freeman is found beaten to death, apparently at the hands of Angelou's uncles. Stops speaking in public for five years as a result of her guilt and belief that her words had caused Freeman's murder. This is the basis for her first autobiography, "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings."

1942 - While a high school student, studies drama and dance on scholarship at the California Labor School, a college for adults. Drops out to become San Francisco's first female African-American cable car conductor.

1950s - Nightclub performer at the Purple Onion in San Francisco, Mr. Kelly's in Chicago, and Blue Angel and Village Vanguard in New York.

1954-1955 - Tours Europe and Africa as Ruby in a State Department-sponsored production of "Porgy and Bess." Also, teaches modern dance in Italy and Israel.

1957 - Her only recorded album, "Miss Calypso," is released.

1960 - Writes, produces, directs and performs in a musical revue, "Cabaret for Freedom," to raise money for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). Succeeds Bayard Rustin as the northern coordinator for the SCLC.

1961-1962 - Moves to Cairo, Egypt, and becomes associate editor of the Arab Observer.

1963-1966 - Moves to Ghana as an assistant administrator for the School of Music & Drama at the University of Ghana and also works as feature editor for the African Review.

1970 - "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" is published. It is later broadcast on national television in 1979, with a script and musical score written by Angelou.

1972 - Nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for "Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water 'fore I Diiie."

1972 - Becomes the first African-American woman to have an original screenplay produced as a movie for "Georgia, Georgia."

1975 - Appointed to the Bicentennial Commission by President Gerald Ford.

1975-1976 - Member of National Commission on the Observance of International Women's Year.

1977 - Appears in the television mini-series "Roots."

1981 - Appointed lifetime chair as Reynolds Professor of American Studies at Wake Forest University.

January 20, 1993 - Recites her poem "On the Pulse of Morning" at the inauguration of Bill Clinton, becoming the second poet to participate in a president's inauguration after Robert Frost read at President John F. Kennedy's 1961 ceremony.

February 1993 - Wins Grammy for Best Spoken Word or Non-Musical Album for "On The Pulse Of Morning."

March 1995 - Wins Grammy for Best Spoken Word or Non-Musical Album for "Phenomenal Woman."

October 16, 1995 - Recites poem "From a Black Woman to a Black Man" at the Million Man March in Washington.

1998 - Film directorial debut for "Down in the Delta."

2000 - Receives the National Medal of Arts.

February 2002 - Wins Grammy for Best Spoken Word Album for "A Song Flung Up To Heaven."

2006-2010 - Hosts a weekly show for Oprah Radio on Sirius XM Radio, formerly XM radio's "Oprah and Friends."

January 21, 2008 - Is the keynote speaker for the Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration at Virginia Tech.

February 15, 2011 - Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama.

August 30, 2011 - Angelou is critical of the new Martin Luther King Jr. memorial on the Mall in Washington, DC. She says the paraphrased quote about King being a drum major for peace, justice and righteousness makes him sound like an "arrogant twit." Federal officials later announce that the controversial inscription will be removed. 

INTRODUCING THE NEW "APPLE I PERSON TOUCH"

TOUCHSCREEN

 by Marshall "Soulful" Jones

Introducing the new Apple I person complete with multitouch
doesn’t it feel good to touch?
doesn’t it feel good to touch?

compatible with your iPod and your iPad
doesn’t it feel good to touch?
doesn’t it feel good to touch?
your life is an app
your strife is an app
your wife is an app
doesn’t it feel good to touch?
doesn’t it feel good to touch?

my world has become so digital
I have forgotten what that feels like it was difficult to connect when friends formed clicks
now it’s even more difficult to connect
now that cliques form friends
But who am I to judge
I face Facebook
more than books face me
hoping to
book face-to-faces
update my status
420 spaces
to prove I’m still breathing
failure to do this daily
means my whole web wide world would forget that I exist
but with 3000 friends online
only five I can count in real life
why wouldn’t I spend more time in a world where there are more people that ‘like’ me
Wouldn’t you?
Here, it doesn’t matter
if I’m an amateur person
as long as I have a ‘pro’ file
my smile is 50% genuine
50% genuine HD
You would need Blu-rays to read what is really me
but I’m not that focused
10 tabs open
hopin’
my problems are resolved with a 1500 by 1600 resolution
provin’ there is an error in this evolution
doubled over we used to sit in treetops
till we swung down to stand upright
then someone slipped a disc
now we’re doubled over at desktops from the garden of Eden
to the branches of Macintosh
apple picking has always come at a great cost
iPod iMac iPhone iChat
I can do all of these things without making eye contact
We used to sprint to pick and store blackberries
now we run to the sprint store to pick Blackberries
it’s scary
can’t hear the sound of mother nature speaking over all this tweeting
and our ability to feel along with it is fleeting
You’d think these headphone jacks inject into flesh
the way we connect to disconnect
power on
till we are powerless
they have us love drugged
Like e-pills
so we E*TRADE
email
e-motion
like e-commerce
because now money can buy love
for 995 a month
click
to proceed to checkout
click
to x out where our hearts once where
click
I’ve uploaded this hug I hope she gets it
click
I’m spending time with my wife I hope she’s logged in
click
I’m holding my daughter over a Skype conference call while she’s crying in the crib in the next room
click
so when my phone goes off of my hip iTouch iTouch iTouch and iTouch because in a world
Where laughter is never heard
And voices are only read
we’re so desperate to feel
that we hope our Technologic can reverse the universe
until the screens touch us back
and maybe one day they will
when our technology is advanced enough …
to make us human again

Marshall Davis Jones

FROM THE FIFTH SPHERE

FROM THE FIFTH SPHERE

by BURDMMXII - 77 words

Hexed oceans, crimson red, swell with blood, sweat and tears. Waves of pain and sorrow quench the thirst of the Lion-headed Serpent. Samael laughs, reaps the souls of the cultivated beast, sensible yet senseless. In oblivion, war's minions, silver legacy, gold spawn and patriarch negrido, battle. In raging blazes of dominion, sea, land and wind consumed. Cults of Luna, Sol and Saturn captivated by Mars. Venus, the Morning Star, gifted endless tributes of burning love.

PEACE & QUIET

NERO'S CROSS by COMINGXCURSE

PEACE & QUIET

by BURDMMXII · 52 words

Freedom's grant, democracy's mob rule.
Hangs on Nero's broken cross of fools.
Death runes, (ahem), divine right's death tools.
Inverted eyes blind as red blood pools.

Lifeless body's soul be damned to hell.
Man is living, festing and now's well.
Reason's thoughts of treason never tell.
Silenced tales are heard by Samael.

The Peace Sign and Satanism

The signal "actually began as a symbol of Satanic benediction during the rituals.'' This sign has been used by Yasser Arafat, Richard Nixon, Winston Churchill, and Stewart Meacham, Co-Chairman of Reds' New Mobilisation Committee." Churchill said that the sign stood for victory but remember that Churchill was one of the insider "elite" and a Mason. He most likely knew the evil significance of this symbol but tried to give it a facelift.

The "v sign" has a colourful history. "V" is the Roman sign for the number five and Adam Weishaupt used it in the Illuminati to symbolise the "Law of Fives,'' but there's more. In the Cabala:

"the meaning for the Hebrew letter for V (Van) is 'Nail.' Now, 'The Nail' is one of the secret titles of Satan within the Brotherhood of Satanism. Satan is letting us know that this is one of his favourite signs. Why else does he like the PENTA-gram (Penta = five!) and the FIVE-fold salute used in Masonry and Witchcraft?''

Furthermore:

"The Leftists, radicals, and Satanists who have popularised that sign...know its ancient significance very well. In fact, that 'V' sign is now used extensively by such Communist organisations as the Young Socialist Alliance, Vets for Peace in Vietnam, and the Students for a Democratic Society."

Although not a hand sign, the peace symbol itself needs to be examined.

"Known as the 'peace sign' throughout the 1960's and into the present day, this symbol is the Teutonic rune of death. 1950's peace advocate Gerald Holtom may have been commissioned by communist sympathiser Bertrand Russell to design a symbol to unite leftist peace marchers in 1958. It is clear that either Holtom or Russell deemed the Teutonic (Neronic) cross as the appropriate symbol for their cause.

"Throughout the last 2,000 years this symbol has designated hatred of Christians. Nero, who despised Christians, crucified the Apostle Peter on a cross head downward. This hideous event resembled the Teutonic cross and became a popular pagan insignia of the day. Thereafter, this sign became known as the 'Neronic cross.'

"The symbol's origin in history proves it to be the visual mystic character for 'Aum' (the split 'Y'). This is the sacred word to the Hindu. Chanting 'Aum' is supposed to help awaken 'the serpent power of Brahma' at the base of the human spine. Occultist Albert Pike also identifies this symbol as mystical in his book on Freemasonry Morals and Dogma.

The peace symbol (also called the "broken cross," "crow's foot," "witch's foot," "Nero Cross," "sign of the 'broken Jew,'" and the "symbol of the 'anti-Christ''') is actually a cross with the arms broken. It also signifies the "gesture of despair," and the "death of man.''

"The Germanic tribes who used it attributed strange and mystical properties to the sign. Such a 'rune' is said to have been used by 'black magicians' in pagan incantations and condemnations....To this very day the inverted broken cross--identical to the socialists' 'peace' symbol--is known in Germany as a 'todersrune,' or death rune. Not only was it ordered by Hitler's National Socialists that it must appear on German death notices, but it was part of the official inscription prescribed for the gravestones of Nazi officers of the dread SS. The symbol suited Nazi emphasis on pagan mysticism.''

With the arms of the cross raised in an upright position, it is "a Pythagorean emblem of the course of life, in the form of a rising path with fork roads to Good and Evil.'' It also signifies fertility, but with the arms pointing downward, it denotes evil and death.

"In fact, the inverted 'Man-rune'--the figure encircled in the common sign which the Communists tell us means 'peace'--has for centuries been a favourite sign of Satanists.''

Anton LaVey, the founder of the Church of Satan, used the peace symbol as the backdrop for his altar.

One former witch makes the following comment about the peace symbol:

"It is an ancient and powerful symbol of Antichrist. During the dark ages it was used in Druid Witchcraft and by Satanists of all sorts during the initiation of a new member to their order. They would draw the magic circle and give the initiate a cross. The initiate would then lift the cross and turn it upside down. He would then renounce Christianity in all three dimensions (sic) of time (past, present and future) and break the horizontal pieces downward forming the design of the 'Raven's Foot.' This ugly symbol is nothing short of blasphemy against the Holy Ghost. For one to wear or display this symbol is to announce either knowingly or unknowingly that you have rejected Christ. Remember, symbolism is a picture language, and a picture is worth a thousand words.''

Below are a few examples of how the peace symbol is being used.

Another hand signal is the Vulcan peace sign. It is supposed to mean "Live Long and Prosper," and can be seen in Star Trek.

Vulcan was a sun deity who was associated with fire, thunderbolts, and light. The festival in honour of him was called the Vulcania in which human sacrifices were offered. "According to Diel, he bears a family relationship to the Christian devil.' It is fascinating to know that he married Venus, another name for Lucifer or the devil. What is even more interesting is that Vulcan is adored in Masonry under the name of Tubal Cain. In the Masonic Quiz Book the question is asked: "Who was Tubal Cain?" The answer is: "He is the Vulcan of the pagans.'' 

In Masonry, Tubal Cain is the name of the password for the Master Mason (or third) degree.

Listen to what occultist and Mason, Manly Palmer Hall, has to say:

"When the Mason learns that the key to the warrior on the block is the proper application of the dynamo of living power, he has learned the mastery of his craft. The seething energies of Lucifer are in his hands and before he may step onward and upward, he must prove his ability to properly apply energy. He must follow in the footsteps of his forefather, Tubal-Cain, who with the mighty strength of the war god hammered his sword into a ploughshare.''

There is also a sexual connotation associated with Vulcan and Tubal Cain. Former Mason, Bill Schnoebelen, explains:

"For Masons who wish to conceal their membership from non-Masons, but still advertise it to their Lodge brothers, there is a special pin (or tie tack) they can wear. It looks like an upside down golf club with two balls near the top....Many people assume the person is a golfing enthusiast, but it is actually a visual Masonic pun.

"This is called the 'Two Ball Cane,' and is a pun on the secret password of a Master Mason, 'Tubalcain (sic).'...It is also an all-too-obvious pun on the 'god' of Masonry, the male reproductive organ. Nice, eh?...especially when many men wear these wretched things to church on Sunday!"

-- Masonic and Occult Symbols Illustrated, pp. 233-238.

SOURCE

THE NEW AGE OF ISHTAR

A statue of Columbia, an eagle and a snake.

Truth by eye of Horus told.
Serpents rise on steel and gold.
Jakin falls, Boaz crumbles.
The dove's still, gagged she mumbles.
Suspect all, let eagles hack.
Corpus lies in death's black sack.

THREE SCORE AND TWELVE

If one terrestrial passing of the seasons gave us licence to speak a name of g-d, she could say all but one. Perhaps, as water ultimately met earth taking fire and air from life's blood, she heard the name crescendo. 

Beginning as a whisper by her nontemporal perfected self eternally singing YHWH.

This story is dedicated to Ester Webster.

A Heavenly Seventy-Two...

REVERSING OUROBOROS: TIME IN CUPLETS

Fed dragon's tail expelled from the cyhper.

Shadows uncast off forms that are hyper.

Existence implodes, a countdown to one.

Thirteen breadless reverse about the sun.

Visions of Set, he may now seamen warn.

Travel dark paths from the east in the morn.

Familiar journeys beforehand taken.

Moon over that already forsaken.