all my life I was a bride married to amazement

"If the UN calls a world philosophy day and doesn't tell anyone...

... has it still happened? Anyway, the BBC, bless 'em, has had philosopher David Bain pose four philosophical questions to mark the epistemologically problematic day:

1. Should we kill healthy people for their organs?
2. Are you the same person who started reading this article?
3. Is that really a computer screen in front of you?
4. Did you really choose to read this article? "

http://syndicated.livejournal.com/evolvethoughts/198109.html

While I found the portrayal of the humans in this movie an amusing analogy to today's sedentary lifestyle and was rofl'ing quite a bit at the Thus Spake Zarathustra moment, I ultimately found it pretty depressing and the end titles intellectually dishonest as they conveyed the notion that the damage wrought by the last three generations will eventually be totally remedied in less than a millenium. Barring exceptional technological progress and a very sudden turn towards a true civilization (as if), this world will be a barren wasteland in less than a hundred years.
I weep for the generations that will inherit our poisoned legacy, for not only will they be born into a living hell but will also have all the reasons to curse us with eternal damnation.
Worst thing is, barring accidents, murder or suicide, my generation shall stand witness to the downfall or the salvation of the human race.
Either way, it will be glorious.
Anyways, Wall-E. Right.

6/10 points

Its entitled: "The Atrocities of Atheism".

In abstract terms, I know that many view religion in general as being the cause of pain, sufffering, incompetence and 'evil' in the world. I know that many believe we should have an atheist as US president and a congress and senate full of people of atheistic leaning beliefs.

So, what happens when an atheist is in charge of a government?

Watch the video to see one attempt at a historic summarization.

Warning: Graphic content.

Thoughts? Comments?

"The singer, who was raised as a Jehovah's Witness, converted to Islam in a ceremony at a friend's house in Los Angeles."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/celebritynews/3494296/Michael-Jackson-converts-to-Islam-and-changes-name-to-Mikaeel.html

http://marcus-talbain.deviantart.com/art/The-Mask-of-Cyriss-69414385


In case you're still ignorant about Her glory:

"Cyriss, Maiden of Gears

Cyriss, Maiden of Gears, Mistress of Numbers, also known as the Clockwork Goddess, is a fairly recent addition to the land's pantheon. Her worship became known only a few centuries ago, at about the time Men and dwarves began to build sophisticated machines and delve into new kinds of math and philosophy. Cyriss is a true neutral goddess, largely unconcerned with the fate of individuals. Most of her effort is spent writing and overseeing the natural laws that govern the realm of science and engineering, though she will take action directly or through her followers when something threatens the natural order of things. She appears as a humanoid, but she is not a human goddess; her worshippers are largely human but also include a number of dwarves and even some gobbers and members of other races inclined toward engineering.

Understanding the mind of Cyriss and revealing the true nature of the multiverse is a process of divine revelation to her worshippers. For this reason engineers and scholars often pay Cyriss their respects, but true fanatics and clerics are hard to find with the culture of Men and dwarves so dominated by their traditional religions. However, with the spread of science and mechanika across the land, Cyriss may soon begin to increase the size of her flock.

Many of the most devout followers of Cyriss believe that machines are holy, and those who build and tend them are society's superior caste. Some even believe that in mathematics there may be found some superior method for managing the world's affairs – a place for everyone, and everyone in their place, with some kind of divine calculating machine overseeing everything with cold precision. Cyriss' evil worshippers are taking steps to build such a machine, but luckily they are few in number and thought to be far from their goal.
Domains for Cyriss' Clerics

The domains available to her clerics (which are extremely rare) are Knowledge, Protection and Travel.

Cleric Weapon of Choice for Cyriss: Light mechano-flail"

http://www.privateerpress.com/ironkingdoms/?x=about/deities

"HOUSTON (Reuters) – Spiders flying as an educational project aboard the International Space Station seem to have gotten the hang of weightlessness.
Their first orbital webs were messy, disorganized affairs. But a week into their flight, television images beamed back to Earth showed surprising progress.
"We noticed the spider made a symmetrical web," space station commander Mike Fincke told ground controllers on Friday. "We're really amazed that the spider could adapt to space so quickly."
Flight directors replied that the spider video had become the favorite form of entertainment for engineers overseeing the station's science experiments from Earth.
"We used to be your major form of entertainment," Fincke replied. "We've been overtaken by spiders."
The orb-weaving spiders were delivered by the crew of the space shuttle Endeavour, which lifted off from Florida last Friday on a 15-day mission.
The spiders will remain aboard the space station so schoolchildren -- and flight directors -- can watch their progress. Their chamber includes a supply of fruit flies and, of course, a video camera."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081121/sc_nm/us_space_spiders_1

While carefully examining every little tremor the myriad strands of this lightning web convey to me and serving you the finest morsels on a silver plate may indeed have its little pleasures, investing time, energy and, yes, even a bit of heartblood on an almost daily basis without asking for anything in return does sap the few reservoirs of will left in me.
Since the 18th of December is the day I hatched into this vale of tears and in order to refuel those desperately needed resources required to keep going for yet another year of hardship, sweat and toil, it is time to give something back in

The Dwaleberry Appreciation Day Art Challenge



That's right: This journal is awesome, we all know it and on December 18th you can show how much you appreciate this darkly glowing yet strangely addicting corner of the internets by humbly bringing forth an offering that will please my ego and sate my hunger for all things awesome at the same time.
As the name implies, merely pointing to something found on the net will not be enough. Instead and as a hommage not only to myself but also the gods of creativity, poetry and creation, you will have to create something yourselves!
Now, this time, we'll broaden the spectrum a bit to allow even those without any expertise in the visual arts to participate (even though I know quite a few people on my friendslist are quite the artists), so that you may not only draw a picture, but also put together a collage, write a poem/hymn, come up with a short story, tinker up a little figure or something else entirely. Even a haiku or dirty limerick might be okay!
The main thing is to go out there and create something, so that on December 18th, in a post that will be impossible to overlook, you may present to yours truly the wonders you have brought forth.
"But what", I hear you say, "would be most pleasing to thine taste, my Khan?"
Ah, 'tis quite easy. Here are the categories that will be to my liking, in a somewhat descending order:

1. Annabelle de la Croix: My latest roleplaying character, Mademoiselle de la Croix was originally planned as an Ananasi computer expert, but turned out to be, concept-wise, adaptable to pretty much any RPG system. A brilliant chess player/strategist, mathematician, mentalist and overall reality hacker, she is a mixture of Susan Sto Helit, Nico Robin, American McGee's Alice and Sherlock Holmes with a heavy dose of eight-legged goodness thrown in, using her extraordinary abilities to investigate, analyze and remedy the broken symmetry of the Great Web as required. Impeccably polite yet always somewhat distant and even a bit unsettling, she prefers to watch and wait patiently until the right moment to act has come, steering the unfolding events in the right direction by a soft touch here and a slight tug there, enjoying a hot cup of tea with a faint smile after all is said and done.
While the first attempt at visualisation turned out be quite unsatisfactory, this rough sketch I did yesterday might be a bit more suitable at giving you a proper idea of how she looks like. This picture, taken from the D20 Modern rulebook, is also pretty accurate, apart from the haircut, that is. Also, this picture is a good example of her haircut (only a bit shorter) while this one perfectly portrays her body proportions (less boobage, however). So yeah, overall, she looks...spidery. Spidery and Victorian.

2. Dwaleberry: Ah, the viciously violent, unendingly horny and overall uncouth ninja badger we've all grown to love. Hailing from the fabled undergrowth of Foresia, a Jump 'n Run world threatened by the murky hordes of the Fish King, Dwaleberry discovered an ancient system of root canals (I just came up with that pun, LOL) connecting his world to a hundred other ones. First rampaging and humping his way across the Forgotten Realms, he then emerged in a dark Mutants&Masterminds version of New York, in which he used his Ninja skills of illusion and trickery to become The Justifier, an infamous superhero who, disguised as a young blonde gal, old grandma or little girl, shredded his way through dozen of thugs, gang members and criminals in the most brutal ways imaginable once they attacked him.
In case you need to freshen up your memory, this picture here is a sum up of the essential elements concerning his appearance, this the picture I drew myself for my last birthday and this the only picture I got at all on my birthday (shame on you other guys :( ), which turned out all the more awesome, though.

3. In case all else fails, you may also check out the interests listed in my info page and pick one or more to create something awesome, which shouldn't be too hard since my interests are awesome from the start anyways. What would be very cool indeed would be a collage of some or hopefully all of these things that I can then put up on my info page so people get a first gist of what this LJ is all about.
A poem about one or more interests of mine, singularity for example, would be fine too, though.

So yeah, get out there, people, and get creative! Judging from last year's almost near disaster, the urge to slack off and sit on your bums all day not doing anything is pretty strong indeed, so to give you a bit of an incentive, I might even throw in a small package of German chocolate for the winner of this little competition. Shipping cost is a bitch, but should my mind be sufficiently blown away, it would be worth it.


P.S.: Here's the picture I did for my birthday like three years ago:



LOL. I'm sure you can do better.

_julie_ saves the day!


narniarose's application: http://i34.tinypic.com/2jesric.png