Monday, September 30, 2013

Shutdown - Showdown - Shakedown

Before getting on with the latest mess our elected officials have gotten us into ... have a look at the earthquake map ... focus on the north Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Refresh the page several times to see the aftershocks. You might also note activity in the south Mid-Atlantic Ridge.

Now on with other news -- a showdown a shutdown and a shakedown.

What a mess things are today as people prepare for the first government shutdown in 17 years. But this is not the 1990's and we exist in another reality with different rules and repercussions as we scramble to make sense of things and keep our balancing on a sinking ship. Look around. Nothing works in this reality ... and grows worse... first by month, then by week, and now by day. No one can fix any of the programs on any level that you experience ... so we wait and watch.

Can a deal be struck before the deadline at 2pm today? Why is Washington addicted to crisis? It's the program of course. Will things be delayed for a few weeks? Who gets blamed for the shutdown and what would it mean?

Government shutdown: Get up to speed in 20 questions   CNN - September 30, 2013
Let's start with the obvious question: Will the government shut down this week? Most likely. After weeks of congressional back-and-forth, the ball is now in the Senate's court. It meets at 2 p.m. Monday to decide what to do next.

1. Why would the government shut down?
Congress has one key duty laid out in the Constitution -- pass spending bills that fund the government. If it doesn't, most of the functions of the government -- from paying the military, to funding small business loans, to processing Social Security checks -- would grind to a slow-motion halt.

2. Why does it have to pass a spending bill in the middle of the year?
It may be the middle of the calendar year. But the government's fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30.

3. What's the holdup?
House Republicans insist the spending bill include anti-Obamacare amendments. Senate Democrats are just as insistent that it doesn't.

4. How is Obamacare tied to funding the government?
It isn't. But it's being used as a bargaining chip. A group of Republicans, led by freshman Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, despises the president's signature health care plan so much that it's willing to risk government shutdown or default.

5. What are the objections?
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the actual name of the law, requires all Americans to have health insurance. Opponents say it'll hurt employers, and it amounts to overreach by the federal government. Some have also criticized the medical device tax that's part of the law, saying that by imposing such a tax, it's basically sending jobs overseas.

6. What's the Democrats' defense?
Democrats say Obamacare protects those with pre-existing medical conditions from being denied health insurance. They also say it brings costs down because those who have health insurance will no longer have to indirectly pay for those who show up in emergency rooms uninsured.

7. What happened with the spending bill over the weekend?
The Republican-dominated House passed two spending bill amendments Sunday morning -- one that would delay Obamacare for a year, and one that would repeal the Obamacare's medical device tax. The bill now goes back to the Senate, where Democrats who control that chamber have consistently said any changes to Obamacare would be a deal-killer.

8. What happens Monday?
The Senate will meet at 2 p.m. ET -- 10 hours before the deadline. It'll "do exactly what we said we would do and reject these measures," says Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid. "The American people will not be extorted by Tea Party anarchists." In other words, the Senate will send its version of the bill -- one without any changes to Obamacare -- back to the House. Rep. Tim Griffin of Arkansas says the Senate is using that old football strategy: running out the clock. "At some late hour, they'll pass something and then they'll say 'Oh my gosh, we've run out of time.'"

9. So, is there any hope?
You could look at the glass-half-full scenarios. -- Sen. Rand Paul told CBS' "Face the Nation" the two chambers of Congress should go to conference. Such committees are common when both houses pass competing bills and they need to reconcile the differences. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin said he's open to talking with Republicans "but not with a gun to my head." -- If the Senate rejects the bill, the House will get back together "in enough time" and send another provision, House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy told "Fox News Sunday." But he was quick to add, that too will have provisions about Obamacare.

10. If nothing changes, does the government shut down?
Yes, for the first time since late 1995. That one lasted 21 days.

11. How will it happen?
There won't be a thunderclap or clang of bells. First order of business? Draw up a dividing line -- between workers deemed essential or non-essential. Those in the first category will carry on operations. The others will power down until Congress comes to its senses and funds the government. So, for example, park rangers would start locking up national parks. Most furloughed federal workers are supposed to be out of their offices within four hours of the start of business Tuesday.

12. How many government workers could be furloughed?
Most of the 3.3 million government workers are deemed "essential" -- they'll keep working. But more than 783,000 government employees will sit at home, according to a CNN analysis of contingency plans published by the federal government on Friday. Not all government agencies submitted contingency plans.

13. What will this do to the economy?
Depends on how long it lasts. If it's just a few days, the hit might not be major. But three or four weeks? "(That) would do significant economic damage" -- reducing GDP by 1.4 percentage points for the quarter, says Mark Zandi, chief economist and co-founder of Moody's Analytics.

14. How will this affect me?
In ways big and small. The mail will continue to come. The military will continue to fight. And Social Security checks will continue to be paid. But if you need a federal loan to buy a house, you'll have to wait. If you want a gun permit or a passport, that won't happen anytime soon.

15. Will it kill Obamacare?
It probably won't. Most of the money for Obamacare comes from new taxes and fees, as well as from cost cuts to other programs like Medicare and other types of funding that would continue even if the government shuts down.

16. Will the president get paid during a shutdown?
Yes. His salarly -- $400,000 -- is considered mandatory spending. It won't be affected.

17. What about House and Senate members?
They'll draw checks too.

18. What does John Q. Public think of all this?
A CNN/ORC International poll that came out Monday found that 46% will blame congressional Republicans if the government closes its doors, with 36% saying the president would be more responsible and 13% pointing fingers at both.

19. Is there any hope if a deal isn't struck by midnight?
If lawmakers reach an agreement by late Monday night, but the funding bill hasn't made it to the president's desk, the government can ignore a short lapse in funding and carry on in good faith knowing that it will. The last time that happened was April 2011.

20. Isn't there another matter -- the debt ceiling?
Ah yes, that's the next battle brewing. Remember that time when you maxed out your credit card? That's what the debt limit is all about. The U.S. is on the verge of maxing out its $16.699 trillion credit card. And the president must ask Congress to raise the country's credit limit. Like the potential shutdown, this is also a Washington-manufactured crisis. And it too is being used for leverage to undermine Obamacare. But the debt ceiling debacle won't come to a head until October 17. So, let's deal with one showdown at a time.




Sunday, September 29, 2013

Sunday

Nigeria attack: Suspected Islamist gunmen target college   BBC - September 29, 2013
A number of students are feared dead after suspected Islamist gunmen struck a college in north-eastern Nigeria. The students were shot dead as they slept in their dormitory at the College of Agriculture in Yobe state.

Kenyan intelligence warned of Al-Shabaab threat before mall attack   CNN - September 29, 2013
A number of Kenya's Cabinet members and defense officials were warned about the possibility that the terror group Al-Shabaab was planning to carry out a Westgate-style attack a year before gunman stormed the Nairobi mall, according to several police and intelligence sources.

Quitting for Obamacare: Trapped workers may seek relief in new health exchanges   NBC - September 29, 2013
Joseph and Claudia Schulz, a husband-and-wife real estate team in Phoenix, wanted to form their own business for years but were daunted by the prospect of giving up employer-provided health insurance. But now they plan to sign up for the new health exchanges offered under the Affordable Care Act and move ahead with their dream.

Defiant House delays Obamacare; government shutdown looms   CNN - September 29, 2013
In a move that makes a government shutdown very likely, House Republicans approved a spending plan early Sunday morning that would delay Obamacare for a year and repeal its tax on medical devices.

  Pakistan explosion: Dozens killed in Peshawar market   BBC - September 29, 2013
An explosion has ripped through a market in the north-western Pakistani city of Peshawar, leaving at least 33 dead and dozens wounded, officials say.

Mumbai building collapse rescue ends with 60 dead   BBC - September 29, 2013
The rescue operation at a four-storey building that collapsed on Friday in the Indian city of Mumbai has been called off, with the final death toll put at 60.

Olympic flame lit ahead of Sochi Winter Games   BBC - September 29, 2013
A torch-lighting ceremony has been held in Greece to mark the official launch of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.

Berlin marathon: Wilson Kipsang sets new world record   BBC - September 29, 2013
Kenyan Wilson Kipsang has broken the marathon world record by 15 seconds as he claimed the Berlin title on Sunday. The 31-year-old clocked a time of two hours three minutes 23 seconds to better the previous mark set by compatriot Patrick Makau two years ago.




Saturday, September 28, 2013

It's not over until
the fat lady sings

Every imaginable kind of music fills the theaters of New York City each night - highlighted this year at Barclays Center in Brooklyn and now the New York City Opera.

Recently, a casting agent told me that generally there are 90,000 talented performers in the city at a given time looking for work - with only 1,800 employed in any of the venues briefly available.

From Broadway to the Opera Houses to off Broadway to off-off Broadway and other theaters and centers across the city - the need to create and perform remains with those willing to give their talent and passions a chance. While waiting for their "Big Chance" - they generally work in the food and beverage industry - waiters and bartenders - and continue to audition.

Performers always have interesting backstories that are inspiring, much like reality TV. When they come here for readings, it's often hard to say that I don't see them at the top, yet alone staying there. In today's world, where no one wants to work unless they are passionate about it, one can only be hopeful as well as have a day job to pay the bills.

Friday, I read a local Puerto Rican man, William, 54, who always wanted to perform. Short, slim, talented and looking like a singer, he met all the right people back in his 20's, but nothing manifested. He went on to join the military for 5 years, returned home to help his family, then 8 years ago got a job at the VA hospital, returning to music recently. I read him about 20 years ago and told him not to give up on his dream.

In 2013, while recording a song he wrote, it was time for another reading, but William couldn't remember my name. This is how we attract stuff ... William spent the summer solstice in Sedona where he met my friend Jane ... and they got to talking about me. "I know Ellie!" Jane said and gave him my phone number. William and I read together in June where I listened to the CD he had recorded. It was amazing. He returned for another reading yesterday as synchronicities have brought professionals in the entertainment field into his life who are helping him and so I see success and will let you know when the CD comes out.


New York is a city of openings and sadly ... closures.

New York City Opera

While the Metropolitan Opera prepares for a new season, it looks like it's curtains for the New York City Opera. Bankruptcy brings the final curtain down on a company that was called "the people's opera" by Mayor Fiorello La Guardia when it was founded 70 years ago, just after I was born.

They say "It's not over until the fat lady sings" - and opera certainly has its share of buxom ladies. That expression also takes me to the 1996 film about aliens, Independence Day as spoken by Will Smith when he and Jeff Goldblum flew off to "kick ET's ass" and save the world. There is something about Will and Jeff smoking their cigars and talking about the Fat Lady singing that has always remained in my mind. Closure?

Over the past 70 years, millions of people have visited the New York City Opera House which has hosted the premieres of important works, helped the early careers of major singers, and been affordable enough to introduce several generations of New Yorkers to opera. I've read several singers who performed there back in the day, now retired, but still visit.

I've been to opening nights and closing nights and all I can tell you is that the energies are electric and filled with emotion you take away forever.

New York City Opera sings the blues over finances, faces possible bankruptcy   CNN - September 28, 2013
The New York City Opera needs $7 million in fundraising by Monday or it could be closing its curtains for good.




Friday, September 27, 2013

Searching for Answers


September 27, 1998

Google Inc. Turns 15

Google Inc. is a multinational public cloud computing,
Internet search, and advertising technologies corporation.




Today's Google Doodle




Searching for "Elle Crystal" today

That's a lot of connections ...




The Nature of Reality is to "Search" For Answers

There's nothing like sitting on the edge of your seat - watching the latest dramas play out - to capture the attention of an audience. Today, that translates to - only three days left until the budget shutdown in Washington as things remain up in the air. I still see the shutdown avoided but ... we have to consider that things don't go according to Plan A anymore ... the former predictable patterns of reality having changed. So what is plan B and how viable is it?

The "search" is also on for Obamacare and what it means to each of. The smartest people I know remain unclear and search for answers in a world where most countries offer free medical care while our current system is a joke.




Thursday, September 26, 2013

Nails



Manicuring one's nails has always been in fashion. It makes a statement about the life and times of a person and often their emotional base. Each year makes way for a new set of colors, lengths, shapes, hardeners, designs, polishes that dry fast, and more. From bitten nails, to clipped nails, to acrylic nails and the like - when you really take look at your nails you will gain insights into who you are and how you see yourself. Look down at your nails and analyze your personality based on what you see.




Anatomy

A nail is a horn-like envelope covering the dorsal aspect of the terminal phalanges of fingers and toes in humans, most non-human primates, and a few other mammals. Nails are similar to claws in other animals. Fingernails and toenails are made of a tough protein called keratin, as are animals' hooves and horns. The mammalian nail, claw, and hoof are all examples of unguis.

Healthcare and pre-hospital-care providers (EMTs or paramedics) often use the fingernail beds as a cursory indicator of distal tissue perfusion of individuals that may be dehydrated or in shock. However, this test is not considered reliable in adults. This is known as the CRT or blanch test. The fingernail bed is briefly depressed to turn the nailbed white. When the pressure is released the normal pink color should be restored within a second or two. Delayed return to pink color can be an indicator of certain shock states such as hypovolemia.

Nail growth record can show the history of recent health and physiological imbalances, and has been used as a diagnostic tool since ancient times. Deep transverse grooves known as Beau's lines may form across the nails (not along the nail from cuticle to tip) and are usually a natural consequence of aging, though they may result from disease.

Discoloration, thinning, thickening, brittleness, splitting, grooves, Mees' lines, small white spots, receded lunula, clubbing (convex), flatness, spooning (concave) can indicate illness in other areas of the body, nutrient deficiencies, drug reaction or poisoning, or merely local injury. Nails can also become thickened, loosened, infected with fungus or degenerate; for further information see nail diseases. DNA profiling is a technique employed by forensic scientists on hair, fingernails etc. Read more ...




15 Things You Never Knew About Your Nails   Huffington Post - September 26, 2013

Nails are a window to the entire body.

Fingernails grow an average of 3.5 millimeters per month.

White spots on your nails don't indicate a calcium deficiency.

Nails are made out of the same stuff as hair.

Nails grow faster in the summer than in the winter.

Men's nails grow faster than women's nails.

Nails are what separate the primates from the mammals.

Nail biting is called onychophagia.

About 10 percent of dermatological conditions are nail-related.

Stress can take a toll on your nails.

There's a reason we can't stand nails on a chalkboard having to do with the ear canal.

Cuticles have a purpose.

The hardness of your nails is mostly genetic. Your nails need blood to survive.




Nails also play a role in Palmistry .



The size and shape of the nails reflect things about one's personality and health.




Square nails reveal practicality and common sense.

Conic or oval nails seem to be the most common configuration and reveal artistic creativity but sometimes impractical nature.

Spatulate signal creativity, love of metaphysics and the unique, work-a-holic tendencies, and ironic sense of humor.

Wedge-shaped nails, a variation of spatulate, reveal sensitivity and love of knowledge.

Shell nails are similar to wedge nails, but not as deep set as the wedge. The shell configuration reveals a real go-getter who tends to stress out.



Simchat Torah

September 26, 2013

Simchat Torah

Simchat Torah is a Hebrew term - "rejoicing with or of the Torah".
It is one of the happiest days in the Jewish calendar and is marked
with festivities in synagogue that include singing and dancing.

From an ancient papyrus to a torah of light, it's our stories all rolled up into one.




Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Impressive Earth Changes

Pakistan earthquake creates new island, 'mud volcano' to blame   NBC - September 25, 2013
Mud houses in the mountains crumbled as a 7.7-magnitude earthquake shook western Pakistan early on Tuesday. Meanwhile, on the coast, residents of Gwadar saw a solitary island rise from the sea.

  Pakistan earthquake: Hundreds dead in Balochistan   BBC - September 25, 2013
A powerful earthquake killed at least 270 people in Pakistan's remote south-west province of Balochistan. The 7.7-magnitude quake struck on Tuesday afternoon at a depth of 20km (13 miles) north-east of Awaran, the US Geological Survey said. Many houses were flattened and thousands of people have spent the night in the open.

Mud Volcanoes




The Kindle Experience

As I start this blog, the word "Kinder" (like kinda) echoes in my mind from my childhood meaning "Children". From Kinder to Kindle ... Ellie checking google ... they sent me to Wiki ... ah .. here it is Kinder means Children in German ... Ellie must have transported to her past life in Germany ... circa early to mid 1900's. Okay .. enough with the meshuga timelines and on with the blog.

As the summer came to an end, and my grandchildren got ready to go back to school, grandma decided it was time to start their year with something special ... the Kindle Fire HD 7 inches. No sooner decided when Amazon ran a special at $159 per Kindle down from $199. With the exception of my grandson Michael, who is a sophomore in High School with a 4.0 average and didn't want the Kindle, the younger kids were thrilled to have their new toy, put to immediate use as a game.

"Okay," said a somewhat disappointed grandma. "But what about books?" My second oldest grandson, Vanni, 13, in AZ. must have telepathically heard me and had started an online library. He's in the 8th grade and loves to read. His birthday was in August so I sent an extra $50 for more books. His sister Joie informed me that she can download music and such from her Apple products to the Kindle. What I also didn't know is that the children are allowed to take the Kindles to school to read. Grandma is so happy - mission accomplished. FYI - all of my grandchildren - including Noah, who turned 8 on Monday - knew how to set up their Kindles. Grandma has to catch up...

Today we find ...

Amazon unveils Kindle Fire HDX with 24/7 live help   PhysOrg - September 25, 2013
Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon.com, poses for a photo Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2013, with the 8.9-inch version of the new Amazon Kindle HDX tablet computer in Seattle. Amazon has refreshed its line-up of tablets with new devices, which are significantly faster and lighter than the previous generation.




Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Tuesday in the Program

Yesterday, I blogged about the new TV season. This morning, I decided to watch the shows rather than wait. By far the best new show was The Blacklist followed by Hostage. As always "Castle" did not disappoint. Tonight, two other favorites return "NCSI Los Angeles" followed by "Person of Interest". Can't wait to see John and Harold in action again. I love the bad ass adventures - but the techie stuff is just as good. Both shows taught me about how technology is used in surveillance and cover affairs. Whenever I read about a shooting - as there are so many these days - I wonder, "What would Harold or Nell and Eric from NCIS Los Angeles do?"

It's another gorgeous day in the city with major grid lock due to meetings at the UN General Assembly. Imagine the stories that go on behind closed doors that we can only speculate on - the deals brokered. You think you know ... but trust me you don't. In a rapidly changing hologram ... on a need to know basis ... who has the answers? ... nobody! The object is to keep the players and audience guessing until the end.




Monday, September 23, 2013

The TV Season

Monday September 23, 2013

There's two new seasons starting, as we watch events unfold across the globe. Yesterday, we celebrated the start of Autumn in the northern hemisphere, and Spring in the south. They are supposed to represent balance to the souls, but it's the dramas and bizarre behavior of humans that perpetuate our experiences here. The change in seasons and celestial motions evokes in us an anticipation of what comes next.

Televisions are not as they once were, when I first discovered them, growing up in Brooklyn in the 1950's. We've come a long way since the old black and white models, to color, 3D, and more. It sort of parallels the evolution of our consciousness from the black and white dream to color to lucid dreaming and beyond. To look back is to understand how television is a stepping stone in society as we come together to raise consciousness until the final moment when the last program airs and all Fades to Black. I wonder what will be happening in this reality on that day?

At home TVs are getting bigger, while on the move one can watch their favorite shows on cell (mobile) phones, tablets, and other such portable devices. With advances in technology - and the advent of tweeting - we can be there at a moment's notice - and never skip a beat. We understand the positive and negative sides of being "watched" when we don't want to be, but it's all part of programming as time marches forward and truth is revealed. Yes ... it's a process but it is really moving fast now.

Today marks the beginning of the fall TV season in the US where shows both returning and debuting make their mark on how many of us will spend our time over the months ahead. (Great Jet game yesterday followed by the Emmy's).

Sunday night, I watched the 65th annual Emmy Awards featuring some great entertainment highlighted by Neil Patrick Harris and Elton John. Many of the shows and performers who received awards can be seen again this week as they return to TV. My daughter, Nikki, loves Breaking Bad, and though the show is in its 5th and final season, she wants to buy me the complete set of DVD's. No time for that and really don't feel connected. Actually, most of my favorite shows were not nominated.

I made a daily list of the shows I want to watch this fall - then programmed them into my DVRs - the total without news and sports coming to 20. If I was retired, I know I would take the time for talk shows like Ellen, Arsenio, and several others that I watch on occasion, but I'm not at that point in my life just yet.

I often wonder if my love of TV comes from being a visual learner or something else. Though sci-fi was my favorite - and I miss adventures through the Stargate - the only show of interest now in that category being Haven.

What's cool about watching programs on DVR is that I get to fast forward through commercials and scenes that might be violent or chase scenes (used to fill in time) and "cut to the chase."

Does anyone know if Ancient Aliens is returning? Like everything else, the show had its day, made its statement, gave us food for thought, lost a main character when Philip Coppens died last year, and it would seem there is nowhere else to go in proving that ancient visitors came to Earth and created the human race as part of a biological experiment. Was that premise myth or the growing revelation of humanity's origins, and what comes next?

So what am I recording as the week begins? Bones, Castle (I didn't now Nathan Fillion could sing until last night), and Sleepy Hollow (surprisingly I liked the show as it opened with time travel). I'm also trying Hostage (Dylan McDermott is hot) and The Blacklist starring the original Stargate Daniel Jackson, actor James Spader.

Revolution returns Wednesday. The premise of the show is a global blackout. It made me wonder if I could exist in a world without electricity and the things I have become dependent on. I doubt it. I'm just too old. As season 2 begins ... the power is turned back on but creates a new experience for the world. Maybe I should consider this part of my sci-fi experience this season.

Okay ... let the week begin and hopefully it will be better than last week's insane Full Moon events. Client themes continue with the element of surprise in their lives, and choices they never anticipated would face them. From a 45 year old unwed woman who never wanted children and now finds herself pregnant to a man who wants to make a difference but running for office ... yes, indeed ... things are getting more unpredictable every day.

I just read that Oprah almost had a nervous breakdown this year. Why does nothing surprise me anymore. It's all Breaking Bad. At the Emmy's - to quote CNN - "It was a night of surprises Sunday at the 65th Primetime Emmys with the joke being that no one won their office pool - except maybe in terms of "Breaking Bad."




Sunday, September 22, 2013

Happy Fall

September 22, 2013


Autumn Equinox

The autumn equinox occurs today at 4:44 p.m. EDT.

Sun is 00° Libra, Various Celebrations, Video, Gorgeous Photos

Happy birthday to the readers born in Libra.




Earthquakes

Last Sunday a small earthquake jolted Yellowstone National Park near Old Faithful geyser.

Yesterday -- 4.9 magnitude earthquake jolts much of western Wyoming; no damage reported

Yesterday -- 4.0 quake in Utah

In case you missed this story last week -- Largest Earthquake Recorded in Russia on May 24


Earthquakes in 2013
  Wikipedia

Also ...

Powerful Typhoon Usagi heads to Hong Kong   BBC - September 22, 2013

Hong Kong is bracing itself for the arrival of typhoon Usagi, which is expected to be the strongest storm to hit the city in more than 30 years.




Saturday, September 21, 2013

PEACE

September 21, 2013

International Day of Peace

UN International Day of Peace Vigil

The International Day of Peace, sometimes unofficially known as World Peace Day, is observed annually on 21 September. It is dedicated to world peace, and specifically the absence of war and violence, such as might be occasioned by a temporary ceasefire in a combat zone for humanitarian aid access. In 2013, for the first time, the Day was dedicated by the Secretary-General of the United Nations to peace education, the key preventive means to reduce war sustainably.




Friday, September 20, 2013

New iPhone !

iPhone 5 Frenzy: Customers lined up outside the Apple store on 5th Avenue - many coming from as far away - such as South America and Turkey - camping out in gorgeous autumn weather. The new iphones - 5S and a 5C.

About a government shutdown - don't see it.

Flooding stories out of Mexico and Colorado spell crime and disasters that could spread.




Chicago

Thursday, I talked to my fiend Ger,i who lived most of her life in Chicago until moving to Idaho. The topic was Crime in Chicago today. Geri recalled the city being safer when she lived there but the world has gone mad so things are out of control. This reminds me of the old time gangster days you see in movies. I sent Geri this video.

  3-year-old boy among 13 injured in shooting at Chicago park   CNN - September 20, 2013
A mass shooting at a Chicago park left a 3-year-old boy in critical condition and returned the spotlight to gun violence in the city with the nation's highest number of homicides. The child was among 13 people shot in Cornell Square Park on the city's South Side late Thursday night. None of the other victims were listed in critical condition early Friday.

  Chicago Was Nation's Murder Capital in 2012: FBI   NBC - September 19, 2013
Chicago was the nation's murder capital in 2012, statistics released this week by the FBI confirm. The city recorded more than 500 homicides in 2012, exceeding New York City, which recorded 419, and Los Angeles, which recorded 299, according to FBI data. The populations of both NYC and LA are greater than Chicago.


Geri's Idaho home faces Snake River.

Today I got this email and photo from my cousin Richard.

"Sue and I took a raft ride down the Snake River today. It's a beautiful part of the country."




UFO's Over Bay Ridge

Telepathically calling ET's - then feeling guided to watch for UFO's in a specific area - has been part of the UFO phenomenon for decades - perhaps centuries. If you have night vision glasses you might see ships in space, but most people want to see them up close and personal.

My friend - and long time UFO researcher and experiencer - Harold Egeln from Bay Ridge - posted the following today. He mentions the 69th street pier the location of a July 2013 set of blogs about temporal distortions. I still maintain that without direct ET contact, the rest could be anything. As things collide and collapse, the answers may come ... along with the aliens ... or not. Having seen a triangular ship pass just in front of my windows 10 years ago, I would tend to go with government ships not aliens. Was that really 10 years ago? Seems like yesterday.

    If UFO experiencers call them - aliens may just show up. During a Close Encounter of the Fifth Kind attempt (a deliberate method to attract UFOs) in southwest Brooklyn, three multi-witnessed UFO sightings over Bay Ridge were made on the night of August 25, 2013, roughly between 8 and 11 p.m.. The sightings occurred over the public American Veterans Memorial 69th Street Pier jetting into the Narrows by Upper New York Harbor during the starless evening.

    Of the teams' first intentional attempt at UFO contact, a witness, who is an experiencer as was another, reported: "I saw three crafts! Astounding. Stunning. I honestly did not expect it. The main UFO was an equilateral triangular craft. Nobody else noted it, because the triangle was only visible with binoculars, which only two of us had. It was huge and stayed with us for nearly three hours."

    When first spotted, the triangular UFO moved from the northeast towards them in a southwesterly direction, moving very slowly, and then hovered for over two hours above the pier, the CE-5 report stated. Through her binoculars, the report's author, a clinician since the 1970s, wrote, that at first glance the object looked "like a huge firefly, zipping around in one place in this wild, staccato manner."

    She wondered if it was her binoculars shaking, but then, she wrote: "It stopped fluttering about and stood still." During that sighting, two more UFOs appeared, one "trapezoidal-ish shaped" with one bright lead point light and four dimmer lights, her report explained. The third UFO was then spotted. "This other craft, which was more like a rod, had a brighter light at one end and a dimmer light at the other end." These two UFOs remained steady over the pier for about two hours, hovering with the triangular UFO. "They moved as a unit," noted the report's author, who received her psychological training at a time when the influences of Carl Rogers and Carl Jung were still big in education. "I was taught (back then) that just because I can't see the 'pink elephant,' it doesn't mean it wasn't there," she wrote. "I don't claim to understand this 'pink elephant' (the UFO sightings), but this time I most definitely saw it. It was real. The UFOs were real."

    The last such triangular UFO sighting report to S.P.A.C.E. was in mid-June when a late night witness, unable to sleep and stepping outside at 3 a.m., unexpectedly spotted a triangle structured skycraft with white lights at its three corners moving slowly and silently above her building in Westchester County. It was a few days before the seventh annual S.P.A.C.E. picnic at a nearby park on the Hudson River shore.

    The UFO sightings report of August 25 in Bay Ridge is very intriguing and curious. If this was what it seems, it suggests that their CE-5 episode was a willful communication from the UFO occupants and a meaningful response for the experiencers. Thus, this incident adds to our knowledge of how UFO occupants appear to acknowledge our intentions.

    Prime witnesses of the August 25, 2013 Bay Ridge UFO sightings - also had additional sightings on the way to and around upstate Hunter Mountain on Sept. 6, 7 and 8. Coincidently that was the weekend of the Experiencers Speak Alien Abduction Conference in Maine. Photos were taken and illustrations drawn of the mysterious activity that including rotating color lights around a sphere, streaks of light beams and late night electrical anomalies felt and witnessed. More details to follow.

    Other Brooklyn UFO Sightings

    There have been several reported UFO sightings over Bay Ridge and the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge over the years that I am aware, and probably a lot more that went unreported.

    In the late 1990s, I witnessed a fast-moving lighted "cloud" moving north against the wind over the Narrows during daylight.

    In September 1995, witnesses outside a Third Avenue beauty salon in Bay Ridge at 4 p.m. saw two sets of bright white lights in triangular formations over Coney Island. It was in Coney Island in 1950 that folksinger Woody Guthrie, at his Mermaid Avenue home, composed the song "My Flying Saucer", as noted in a NY Times article over a dozen years ago. He sang lyrics asking when his saucer would come, in a way the first proactive CE-5 music 63 years ago.

I lived on Surf Avenue which runs parallel to Mermaid Avenue and is off the boardwalk.

Billy Bragg - "My Flying Saucer"




Thursday, September 19, 2013

MONEY

Winning and Losing Moments

In the energies of the full moon, one lucky person in South Carolina won the lottery. Do you play? Do you ever fantasize about what you would do with the money if you won? At my age, I would give most of it to my children, among other fun things. It never hurts to dream ...

$400 million Powerball lottery ticket sold in Lexington, South Carolina   CNN - September 19, 2013
Millions played, hoping against hope, defying the odds, dreaming the dream of winning the $400 million estimated jackpot.


While talking about money ... does this really change anything?
  Global markets rise on surprise Fed decision   BBC - September 19, 2013
European stock markets have followed Asia's by rising after the US central bank unexpectedly said it would not begin scaling back its massive economic stimulus programme.




FULL MOON TODAY

September 19, 2013 - Full Moon 26° Pisces

September 19-25, 2013

Sukkot, Feast of Booths and Tabernacles




September 19, 2013

Chinese Mid-Autumn Moon Festival

  Chinese Mid-Autumn Moon Festival   Google Videos




September 19, 1952, 1961, 1976

Three Famous Multiple Witnessed UFO Cases




September 19, 1991

Otzi the Iceman is discovered.

  Otzi the Iceman Google Videos

Otzi was found in the Schnalstal glacier in the Otztal Alpson the border between Austria and Italy. He is Europe's oldest natural human mummy, and has offered an unprecedented view of Chalcolithic (Copper Age) Europeans. Influenced by the "Curse of the Pharaohs" and the media theme of cursed mummies, claims have been made that Otzi is cursed.




Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Foucault


September 18, 1819 - February 11, 1868

Leon Foucault

  Foucault's Pendulum Google Videos


Leon Foucault celebrated in Google doodle   The Guardian - September 18, 2013


Leon Foucault was a French physicist best known for the invention of the Foucault pendulum, a device demonstrating the effect of the Earth's rotation. He also made an early measurement of the speed of light, discovered eddy currents, and although he didn't invent it, is credited with naming the gyroscope. The Foucault crater on the Moon is named after him.


The phenomenon develops calmly, but it is invisible, unstoppable. One feels, one sees it
born and grow steadily; and it is not in one's power to either hasten or slow it down.


Leon Foucault - Foucault Pendulum


Crystalinks: Pendulums




Bashar


An inspiring, thought provoking channeled message. Listen with your heart.


Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Broken


Well, where we go again ... another blog about the insanity in the world. People have always been unstable in one form or another - subject to emotional flares triggered by brain chemistry and their programming. It's not just human insanity that seems to be at play now, but from what I observe from day to day, things in this reality simple don't work and malfunction in the most bizarre ways. These events are getting predictable, as the glitches in the grids are getting worse and more apparent in everyone's life.

Here's an email from a friend in the city, sent last night.

    Hi Ellie,

    This day had been so frickn' bizarre. First UPS decided to deliver a package @7:55 (ugh). Then FedEx shows up @8:45 ... But as I buzz them in, the electric door buzzer downstairs sticks & continuously buzzes.

    I go back to bed ..... I go downstairs @10 & find our front door lock is broken. My landlord won't call a locksmith & my neighbor fixes the door.

    At 9pm, I start my microwave & all the power in my apt goes out. Everyone else in my building is fine. The circuit breakers are fine - they didn't go off. I switch them back & forth & nothing happens.

    I call ConEd to report the problem. They say its likely the wiring in my apt. I call landlord. He will have his 'handyman' look at it ... I ask him to send an electrician. Ugh

    THEN ... At 12:30 am ... ConEd rings my buzzer & wants to come in (!!!). I tell him I'll deal with my landlord in the morning ..... Ugh again !

    Maybe it's time to move ... Now that I've been left in the dark ! Haha

Here's my experience beginning last Friday.

    I had an appointment with Time Warner to fix 3 things - a broken remote that needed to be replaced, Channel TNT which doesn't work on one of my cable boxes, and a new high speed modem. My appointment was between 2-4pm.

    At 3:30, I felt that something was wrong so I called and a voice recording told me someone would be there soon.

    At 5pm, I called again and spoke to a woman who said I was on the schedule and she would investigate and call me back. Nothing.

    I called again at 5:45 and got another nice woman filled with apologizes who also said she would find out what was going on. Never heard from her.

    6pm the phone rang ... TW confirming that someone would be there in 5 minutes.

    7pm the TW guy showed up. He changed remotes, was unable to fix TNT as he is not a technician and brought the wrong modem as he was not the guy who was originally scheduled to come out but as he was in my area so they asked him make the service call after working a 10 hour day. He went to his truck and returned with the right high speed modem and set things up.

    About TNT - he gave me a paper with a phone number to call the next day between 8am-10pm to resolve the issue. The paper included Saturday so I called Saturday morning. A voice mail said the office was closed until Monday.

    Monday, I finally got someone to help me - the problem to be resolved later this week - and they are not charging me for the service call. The woman I spoke to this time, lives in Queens not far from where Aaron Alexis was born and remembers the family as she is his age.

    Yup! Things just don't work but are still tied together in the most bizarre ways.




Washington Navy Yard Shooting


  Navy Yard shooting: What we know and don't know   CNN - September 17, 2013
The one question we all desperately want answered may have gone to the grave with Aaron Alexis: Why? Why did he park at the Washington Navy Yard on Monday, walk into Building 197, perch himself on an overlook above the atrium and open fire? The bullets that rained down killed 12 people and wounded eight others.


You will read a lot about the life and times of Washington Navy Yard Shooter Aaron Alexis, 34, who grew up Bushwick, on the other side of Brooklyn. I read that he was at 9/11 and suffered from PTSD as well as other psychiatric problems. For now police are developing a profile as they piece together the events that lead up to the Washington Navy Yard Shooting. How many people out there do you suppose are like him - unable to cope with life in 2013? Once again we find a mentally ill man totally overcome with rage, frustration, and emotionally deteriorating. That describes many people in today's world so be careful if you have to deal with them.




Monday, September 16, 2013

Flood Stories


In the age of flood stories, information coming in from the flooding and devastation in Colorado is staggering, almost reminiscent of Hurricane Katrina 8 years ago. Floods bring mudslides, huge sinkholes anymore. We follow this story as the rain slows to scattered showers before it all stops. A storm of this magnitude happens once every 1,000 years and is considered a storm of epic proportions.


Big storms hit Mexico on opposite coasts; 21 dead   Yahoo - September 16, 2013
The remnants of Tropical Storm Manuel continued to deluge Mexico's southwestern Pacific shoulder with dangerous rains while Hurricane Ingrid weakened to a tropical storm after making a Monday landfall on the country's opposite coast in an unusual double onslaught that federal authorities said had caused at least 21 deaths.

  Mexico hit by Hurricane Ingrid and Tropical Storm Manuel   BBC - September 16, 2013
At least 23 people have been killed in Mexico, which is being battered by two powerful storms simultaneously, one on its east and another on its west coast.




Wall Street in Virgo


September 11, 2001


Seven years later ...


September 16, 2008

Lehman Brothers collapses

  Lehman Brothers collapses Google Videos

On September 15, 2008, the firm filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection following the massive exodus of most of its employees and clients, drastic losses in its stock, and devaluation of its assets by credit rating agencies. The filing marked the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history.


Four years later ...


September 17, 2011

Occupy Wall Street began n NYC


Today


US stocks seen sharply higher on Summers withdrawal   CNBC - September 16, 2013
U.S. stock index futures signaled a sharply higher open on Monday, as global stocks and bonds reacted positively to the news that Larry Summers had pulled out of the race to be the next head of the Federal Reserve.




Ethiopian Welo Opals - New gem found looks like the ocean in rock.

More photos can be found here and here.



Sunday, September 15, 2013

Lehman Anniversary


September 15, 2008

Lehman Brothers collapses

  Lehman Brothers collapses Google Videos

On September 15, 2008, the firm filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection following the massive exodus of most of its employees and clients, drastic losses in its stock, and devaluation of its assets by credit rating agencies. The filing marked the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history.

And so it all began ....

Economic Collapse Seen Through Aerial Photos of Abandoned Mansions   Wired - September 14, 2013
In his series on Black Mountain, Nevada, Light's photos put viewers in the plane with him as he glides over 640 acres of dynamite-flattened hilltops, carved through with pristine roads and cul de sacs linking graded house foundations. But there are no houses. No lawns, no pools, no sidewalks. No guard-staffed gates. This is the site of the Ascaya luxury housing development, which has lain dormant since the economic crash of 2008.




Saturday, September 14, 2013

Why We Choose The Homes We Do


September 2013

We chose our homes for different reasons, which vary in our lifetime. Often it appears that our homes chose us, as we are guided to them. We walk in, look around, and say, "I'm home!" as the energies feel right or there is a feeling of deja vu. Your soul knows where Home is. It is where much of your karma is played out in a lifetime. We play out our lives with passion and emotions ... such is the way we create our homes.

Some people have only one home during their lifetime, while others move many times. People often return to their family home to act as caretaker for elder relatives, due to financial loss, or emotional burnout. The number of homeless people has increased since the recession began in September 2008.

    Economic Collapse Seen Through Aerial Photos of Abandoned Mansions   Wired - September 14, 2013
    In his series on Black Mountain, Nevada, Light's photos put viewers in the plane with him as he glides over 640 acres of dynamite-flattened hilltops, carved through with pristine roads and cul de sacs linking graded house foundations. But there are no houses. No lawns, no pools, no sidewalks. No guard-staffed gates. This is the site of the Ascaya luxury housing development, which has lain dormant since the economic crash of 2008.

Home decor in the 21st century has become eco-friendly - green, energy saving, with preparation for the natural disasters and environmental changes that now affect the planet. The home construction and design business has increased even during the economic decline. The Internet and reality shows also help people design a comfortable home with less effort than in the past due to advanced technologies and stores like Home Depot.

Everything in your home affects you - size, shape, colors, the layout of the rooms in relationship to each other (feng shui), the ambiance set by the design, room temperature, ventilation, windows and skylights, lighting, flooring, among other factors. Most homes are designed so people sleep with their heads facing magnetic north.

Often we buy or rent a home based on immediate needs. In all ... one's home should be in balance for their needs.




Metaphysical Influences

Your choice of home is influenced by your astrological chart, specific numbers including the address, access to bodies of water or nature, and many other factors that we learn about in metaphysics.

Spirits: Some people experience the energies of the spirits in their homes who may be aware of their presence or not. Spirits are in fact projected illusion in the hologram of our reality.

Portals: Some people believe there is a portal in their home through which entities come and go.

Emotions: If you are lucky enough to live in your home of choice, it reflects your spiritual journey and your emotional needs. Clutter and hoarding are topics we look at today as they are indicative of one's state of mind. The nature of metaphysics is to create balance in your outer environment to have balance within, as one reflects the other. One might create a "Sacred Space" within their home to that end.




Creative Architecture


A home can be created from just about anything.


Restored Church




Recycled Aircraft




Shipping Containers




House made of beer cans




Converted Barn Home




Geodesic Dome




Netherlands Cube House




Tree House




Apartments - Flats




Underground Bunkers




House Boats - Floating Architecture




Storage Unit




Water Tower




I live here ... on the other side of the bridge.




Weird Houses Around the World




Exercises


Write the things you love about your home.

Now write the things you'd like to change.




Next get something to design on.



Begin to draw the home in which your
soul would be most comfortable.



What is the home made of?



Where is this home?



How many rooms?



How many levels?



Which is your favorite room?



Who lives with you?



Are there pets?



Is there a fence around your home?



When you are finished

Look at your drawing.

Evaluate your design.




Homes in Ancient Civilizations