tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-341634472024-03-08T02:21:39.403+00:00The Shockwave WriterThis is the blog of Shockwave Plasma, a virtual entity who originated in Second Life.
Being a virtual person lets me look out into the real world from a different perspective.Shockwave Plasmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09655169759399534885noreply@blogger.comBlogger292125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34163447.post-34390289424496540042013-10-16T06:26:00.006+01:002013-10-16T06:26:59.298+01:00New Matilda investigates the Catholic Church in Australia <br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Image from <a href="http://secure.flickr.com/photos/etringita/">http://secure.flickr.com/photos/etringita/</a></span></div>
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Adam Brereton from <a href="http://newmatilda.com/" target="_blank">New Matilda</a> is investigating the <a href="https://newmatilda.com/2013/10/16/vaticans-priorities-australia" target="_blank">role of the Catholic Church in Australia</a>.<br />
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The Church seems to be impressively quick to laicise and excommunicate a priest they think has supported women and gays, but child abusers are exempt from such quick action.<br />
<br />The article ends with:-<br />
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<em>How does the Vatican operate in Australia? How does it interact
with the vast "submerged state" of Catholic education and welfare? What
kind of Church will survive the child abuse inquiry? Over the following
months New Matilda will be investigating the application of Catholic
power in Australia, the various mechanisms set up by the Church to
attempt to deal with the scourge of child abuse, and the work of the
Royal Commission.</em><br />
<em>Tips can be sent to adam [dot] brereton [at] newmatilda [dot] com. Confidentiality and sensitivity guaranteed.</em><br />
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I would also ask how does the RCC interact with the two main Australian political parties and what it does with the state of it's uniquely tax free business<em> </em>status.<br />
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Anyone got a tip for adam [dot] brereton [at] newmatilda [dot] com ?<br />
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<i><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"Nothing can be
more contrary to religion and the clergy than reason and
common sense." <br />
Francois Marie Arouet (Voltaire)</span></span></i>Shockwave Plasmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09655169759399534885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34163447.post-43861848591541260982013-07-17T03:44:00.003+01:002013-07-17T10:00:55.895+01:00Book Review Good News Club<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>"The Good News Club: The Christian Right's Stealth Assault on America's Children,"</b></div>
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The was one of the most disturbing books I have read in a while, such as I had to put it down and leave it for a days before I would come back to it.<br />
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I still find it hard to believe in the 21st Century that we still have missionaries, occasionally most people will get the Jehovah's Witness to their door, occasionally seeing the Mormons coming round with their nice white shirts and little name badges. <br />
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But missionaries? Really?<br />
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In Katherine Stewarts book <a href="http://www.thegoodnewsclub.com/" target="_blank">"The Good News Club"</a> she shows exactly how the modern day missionaries have evolved, and are now targeting our children, she also reveals how much money is involved in this endeavour (LOTS!), and it's very very disturbing.<br />
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This is the story of how schools in the USA are slowly being used by Christian evangelical groups for after-school services for the express purpose in gaining child converts. The book details how the <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/alliance-defense-fund" target="_blank">Alliance Defence Fund, </a>the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberty_Counsel" target="_blank">Liberty Council</a>, the <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/american-center-law-justice" target="_blank">American Centre for Law and Justice</a>, and other conservative groups have masterminded an assault on public education, these groups have combined budgets totalling over $US100 million per year. Add the free labour, and items donated by volunteers this produces a Christian outreach powerhouse.<br />
<br />
Many of the people who run theses Clubs represent a very conservative, very fundamentalist, very evangelical type of Christianity. Many of these would even be called Christian Nationalists (or Dominionists if you prefer), for those who don't know the meaning of this term, it's taken from the Biblical phrase "God has given you dominion over all things" so they think Christians should be in charge of everything and everyone. But of course it has to be the "right" sort of Christian. <br />
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How did this start?<br />
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The first chapters of the GNC Katherine discovers the GNC starting up in her childrens school, and their attempts to infiltrate the school itself so to maintain a deception that it's is part of the school curriculum.<br />
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The battle to allow or not allow churches to use Public school rooms <a href="https://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/city-council-vote-letting-religious-groups-meet-schools-article-1.1351156" target="_blank">after hours has been a long one</a>.<br />
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In the following chapters Katherine goes to some of the Child Evangelical Fellowship ( CEF )<br />
meetings and just how they are pushing religion in schools via lawsuits. In general it's now been reduced to a free speech issue. Those who wrote the US Constitution deliberately made religion a special case.<br />
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Chapter 3 has some surprising history of religion and how the public school systems was started , followed in the next chapter by the legal maneuverings that allowed the GNC access to schools<br />
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Chapter 6 goes into the reasons why Christian Fundamentalists are now targeting children. <br />
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I was much surprised to find out that there are actually missionary expos.<br />
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Chapter 8 Examines the failed Abstinence programs, and the history of Sex-Ed or (Lack of).<br />
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Chapter 10 is very familiar if you recall the current Australian problems with Chaplains, and with <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-opinion/let-us-get-god-out-of-the-classroom-20110403-1ct2t.html" target="_blank">Access Ministries</a><br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"<a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/55338278/ACCESS-Ministry-s-head-Evonne-Paddison-s-speech-to-Anglican-Evangelical-Fellowship" target="_blank">In Australia we have a God-given open door to children and young people with the Gospel, our federal and state governments allow us to take the Christian faith into our schools and share it. We need to go and make disciples.</a>"</blockquote>
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Chaplains are not allowed to evangelize in school hours, so will keep in contact via Facebook, and will offer weekend trips away to camps.<br />
Back to Chapter 10.."Child transmitted communicable religion"..my title for the chapter :-)<br />
Using children to spread religion in the playground, on the sports field. Social ostracism is quite the effective weapon on children.<br />
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Chapter 12 examines how the Christian Right at one stage tried to load the P&C with Christian activists then some decided to remove their children from the school system. (Homeschooling has shot up in the last decade), then the strategy seems to be to undermine the school systems and to make it a source of conflict.<br />
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To summarize: Evangelical groups are setting out to destroy public education in the USA. Tax exempt rich evangelicals have launched an all out assault on the minds and lives of children, "to reclaim the nation for God".<br />
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In a time where resources and investment in American schools are declining, and the USA starts slipping down its position in the league tables of education this is a truly dire event.<br />
China is ruled by engineers and producing more and more scientists. Now is the time that western countries who want to keep up can't let their education system slip into turmoil, or spend time on imaginary beings. <br />
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American lawmakers in many states have been attacking evolution and woman rights (such as last week in Texas) which is about as sensible as attacking gravity. I can't ever see these Christian nationalists winning, but theirs is a trail of tornado style destruction, these people who are almost always American Republications are trying to move back into a past that never was, and in doing so, are helping the USA to eventually be bypassed by those countries that are looking to the future.<br />
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Here is Katherine Stewart, Richard Dawkins, <a href="http://www.intrinsicdignity.com/index.htm" target="_blank">Eric Cernyer</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sean_Faircloth" target="_blank">Sean Faircloth</a> at <br />
Colorado College, Colorado Springs, Colorado. February 27, 2013 talking about the Good News Clubs. it's quite long at over 90 minutes, but it's worth listening to the audio, even if you don't watch the video.<br />
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One thing I learned from watching the video was finding out that the first good news club was established in 1926.<br />
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Eric Cernyar is also in the video, he's a former evangelical Christian who has put together a <a href="http://www.intrinsicdignity.com/policy.htm" target="_blank">School facility use policy</a> that may be useful if your local school is targeted by any religious group, not just the GNC.<br />
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Part of it states:-<br />
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Good Behaviour Requirement. No person, group or organisation shall be permitted to use a district facility if they:
<br />
a) engage in physical, emotional, or psychological mistreatment of children;
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b) attempt to make children feel excluded, ashamed or unacceptable
because of the student’s lack of shared racial, ethnic, or national
origin, sexual orientation, or religious identity or commitment;
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c) discourage children from critical and open thinking by employing
shame, conditional affirmation, or fear of natural or supernatural
reprisal; or
<br />
d) stigmatise children on the basis of race, colour, religion, creed,
ancestry, age, sex, sexual orientation, physical handicap or national
origin.
</blockquote>
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Take note of lawmakers trying to implement a school voucher system, this way public money can be diverted to the religious schools.<br />
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This post has taken me a while to write, as I have to go back to the book for references and then I am so sickened by the GNC, I have to put it down again.<br />
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You can buy the book here: <br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Good-News-Club-Christian/dp/1586488430" target="_blank">Amazon, </a><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Good-News-Club-Katherine-Stewart/dp/1586488430" target="_blank">Amazon UK</a><br />
<a href="http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Title/book-blMx6FiMlE2-NCcayJcjtQ/page1.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=google-shopping&utm_campaign=product-listings&kwd=" target="_blank">Kobo books</a><br />
<br />
You also might also be interested in<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/katherine-stewart" target="_blank"> Katherines articles for The Guardian </a><br />
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<a href="http://www.goodnewsclubs.info/" target="_blank">Home page for Katherines book The Good News Club</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.intrinsicdignity.com/" target="_blank">Home page for </a><a href="http://www.intrinsicdignity.com/" target="_blank">Eric </a><a href="http://www.intrinsicdignity.com/" target="_blank">Cernyer for how to fight the GNC</a><br />
<br />
For more on US Christian Nationalism <a href="http://www.kingdomcoming.com/" target="_blank"><span class="serif">Michelle Goldberg</span></a> has an important book on the subject.<br />
<br />
A <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/Family/2013/0616/School-prayer-After-school-Good-News-Club-is-Sunday-school-on-steroids?nav=681377-csm_article-leftColRelated" target="_blank">recent article</a> in the Christian Science Monitor about the GNC.<br />
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Some real good news is that some people are taking notice:-<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>**Edited to improve readability, Thanks Stan** </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>"I do not believe any type of religion should ever be introduced into
the public schools of the United States." - Thomas Alva Edison</i></span>Shockwave Plasmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09655169759399534885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34163447.post-1242752660325133052013-07-14T13:15:00.000+01:002013-07-14T13:15:02.858+01:00"The Freethinkers’ Pictorial Textbook"<br />
The Freethinkers’ Pictorial Textbook by Watson Heston<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyZnjYVLL5aL7Q8Xt9SPG_A824T8QMLuIkFGoB1LLi2AGRe6KJinQMm2Qze6bSRYlh2m1vFnkjYma4soxdHL93TnnR7nURziLrEBBSa9KPIHaP_l_d7hiYLA9SzgJRd__vVg/s1600/2waysl.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="456" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyZnjYVLL5aL7Q8Xt9SPG_A824T8QMLuIkFGoB1LLi2AGRe6KJinQMm2Qze6bSRYlh2m1vFnkjYma4soxdHL93TnnR7nURziLrEBBSa9KPIHaP_l_d7hiYLA9SzgJRd__vVg/s1600/2waysl.gif" width="640" /></a></div>
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I have seen this comic many times, and have often wondered where it came from, and if there has been many more like it, or it was a one-off from the artist. I had always thought it was from a British newspaper in Victorian times.<br />
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It's probably old news to many people, but it came from "The Freethinkers’ Pictorial Textbook" by Watson Heston (d.1905) who lived in the USA state of Missouri for most of his life. so not your typical resident of the time.<br />
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I have a few books on how to draw good comics that tell a story, and even though this style is considered old and "busy" it's still gets the messages across.<br />
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"The Freethinkers’ Pictorial Textbook book is available as a PDF from <a href="http://bankofwisdom.com/">http://bankofwisdom.com</a><br />
in two volumes, along with his other books The Old Testament Comically Illustrated (1890), and The New Testament Comically Illustrated (1898).<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>“To surrender to ignorance and call it God has always been premature, and it remains premature today.”
―
Isaac Asimov</i></span>Shockwave Plasmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09655169759399534885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34163447.post-7998938150376744322013-06-26T05:29:00.003+01:002013-06-26T05:29:59.773+01:00Deviant Art new wave of Commissions for 2013<br />
I can't seem to help myself and here are some more portraits done for 2013. Starting from the top<br />
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This one is by <a href="http://novicebum.deviantart.com/">http://novicebum.deviantart.com/</a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg65w-wYn7Ed_1GceLR-hDnDpkOBftRGwdFIaLngRuK3jivjUjZmHwNe9KRobFSVw4HwDpsJ_KzTOiK4pIGn3eqrR5eMMUCeleQdvLt7wr4PH_unYFZ3H4HKdNE8yFotiGTZA/s1600/novicebumSP.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg65w-wYn7Ed_1GceLR-hDnDpkOBftRGwdFIaLngRuK3jivjUjZmHwNe9KRobFSVw4HwDpsJ_KzTOiK4pIGn3eqrR5eMMUCeleQdvLt7wr4PH_unYFZ3H4HKdNE8yFotiGTZA/s1600/novicebumSP.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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This sketch was done by <a href="http://anako-kitsune.deviantart.com/">http://anako-kitsune.deviantart.com/</a><br />
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This one is a <a href="http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/paper-child" target="_blank">paperchild</a> and done by <a href="http://tavington.deviantart.com/">http://tavington.deviantart.com/</a><br />
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This one I really like, it's done by <a href="http://unityworldti-an.deviantart.com/">http://unityworldti-an.deviantart.com/</a><br />
even though she seems to have used the picture below as a model.<br />
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As done by <a href="http://vicky-pandora.deviantart.com/" target="_blank">http://vicky-pandora.deviantart.com/</a><br />
Oddly enough they never show the entire robot :-) I have a picture that I keep for an <a href="https://secure.flickr.com/photos/shockwaveplasma/6224716168/" target="_blank">artists reference</a> <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoB_3ypTwyW9EpWEbCEjvJoOGzOV1UK45aowKs-eUai8MoXzoVV4Nr30hJPg0Nhigs2k7-c4_v1XtoFaAsl9VrUKektLgmx1tUtAJXbhGHLs3kavbeww2sEJBBgKkuUQsoiQ/s1600/sketch_commission_alien_by_vicky_pandora-d68zydd.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoB_3ypTwyW9EpWEbCEjvJoOGzOV1UK45aowKs-eUai8MoXzoVV4Nr30hJPg0Nhigs2k7-c4_v1XtoFaAsl9VrUKektLgmx1tUtAJXbhGHLs3kavbeww2sEJBBgKkuUQsoiQ/s1600/sketch_commission_alien_by_vicky_pandora-d68zydd.png" width="504" /> </a></div>
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The outfit I am wearing is from <a href="https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/GRAVES-Black-And-White-Zero-leather-latex-suit/591151" target="_blank">Graves</a> </div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>“The reason some portraits don't look true to life is that some people make no effort to resemble their pictures.”
<br /> ―
Salvador Dalí</i></span>Shockwave Plasmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09655169759399534885noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34163447.post-38725429881261702762013-06-24T05:24:00.004+01:002013-06-24T05:24:46.016+01:00Convoy of Cleavage and why we can't have nice things.<br />
<a href="http://au.linkedin.com/pub/dir/Grace/Collier" target="_blank">Grace Collier</a> claimed the Australian Prime minister <a href="http://mobile.news.com.au/national-news/prime-minister-julia-gillard-accused-of-8216showing-cleavage8217-in-parliament/story-fncynjr2-1226664687491#ixzz2WN6KWRAO" target="_blank">has been showing to much boob in Federal Parliament</a>.<br />
Serial protagonist, writer, scholar, Jennifer Wilson <a href="http://noplaceforsheep.com/2013/06/17/the-convoy-of-cleavage-in-which-the-breast-strikes-bac" target="_blank">had an idea</a> over on her blog <a href="http://noplaceforsheep.com/" target="_blank">No place for Sheep :-</a><br />
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Solidarity via cleavage and lots of it, so #convoyofcleavage was born at the instigation of Ms Bailey Woof.<br />
Why should we do this, and what will it achieve we asked Jennifer?<br />
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She advised:- <br />
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Yes, this exercise is entirely frivolous and will achieve nothing. Yes, I
expect we will be gored by Helen Razer (after Baudrillard) for our
mindless capitulation to empty symbolism. Though as that lady recently
posted an image of her own cleavage, struggling to escape an appallingly
tasteless pink brassiere as she held aloft the dripping carcass of a
Peking duck, maybe not. </blockquote>
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The hashtag has made the news in the UK Daily Mail, India, China (Aust users load up burst milk photos)* <span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #222426; border-collapse: separate; color: #dddddd; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 300; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 16px; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"></span> , and was a very non-serious response to a rather stupid comment.<br />
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A montage (below) was created by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/DestroyTheJoint" target="_blank">Distroythejoint</a><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #222426; border-collapse: separate; color: #dddddd; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 300; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 16px; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-qLTtTqEOWj7VPXV-_Es0WKQerHrUKOTjM35jq8HYYJKSrqd6SW0Fv2dsLWYaMATOZvnCiFH-j_0xOGDm0isJLZAbki4_dmccgsZaR4HUWo3aro-saMpEPtbbXQ5Z5h3nJw/s1600/1010663_538747626172986_1068920830_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-qLTtTqEOWj7VPXV-_Es0WKQerHrUKOTjM35jq8HYYJKSrqd6SW0Fv2dsLWYaMATOZvnCiFH-j_0xOGDm0isJLZAbki4_dmccgsZaR4HUWo3aro-saMpEPtbbXQ5Z5h3nJw/s1600/1010663_538747626172986_1068920830_n.jpg" width="640" /> </a></div>
As you can see it's all quite tame (and yes mine are in there)<br />
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<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jun/21/cleavages-feminism-sexism" target="_blank">Now some people didn't really think this was appropriate behavior</a>, and the usual fighting and arguments started of what feminism really means</div>
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<a href="http://somedaywewillsleep.com/" target="_blank">Veronica Foale</a> and <a href="http://frogpondsrock.com/" target="_blank">Kim Foale</a> Thought being told how to be a feminist was all a bit silly, and the <a href="http://somedaywewillsleep.com/iamnotaproperfeminist-because-vaginas-why-we-started-the-hashtag/" target="_blank">feminist police had got their Do Martins in a twist.</a> My words, not theirs :-) </div>
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So they started the <a href="https://twitter.com/search/realtime?q=%23iamnotaproperfeminist&src=hash" target="_blank">#Iamnotaproperfeminist</a> hashtag with some quite funny results. Australian humour, you have to love it. </div>
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Finally, if there is one picture that sums it up, I have to give credit to the brave Jess Ovenden</div>
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<a href="https://twitter.com/jessovenden/status/346605991938371584/photo/1">https://twitter.com/jessovenden/status/346605991938371584/photo/1</a> </div>
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* This seems to have disappeared, a classically fine bit of mistranslation I had thought :-(</div>
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Final Thoughts?..back to Jennifer... <a href="http://noplaceforsheep.com/2013/06/20/so-our-convoy-wasnt-feminist-bite-me-baby/" target="_blank">Bite me Baby</a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">We didn’t do it in a manner that met with your feminist approval? Tough titty. :- Jennifer Wilson</span>Shockwave Plasmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09655169759399534885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34163447.post-28528416054306950162013-06-20T13:52:00.002+01:002013-06-20T13:52:34.183+01:00Prism Break<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghx86dgCiY-ozTJBINH1SD2LtsHytM6nuefIibVdxp6Mi1V2b4APD5Ndt5ik5aOmLUE-DUokcH0BbwUe9XmPKFWw6HDgecIXxa2mP-AUYbo_nTeji9Niyb9UJxyl6t4-toJA/s1600/PRISM_logo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghx86dgCiY-ozTJBINH1SD2LtsHytM6nuefIibVdxp6Mi1V2b4APD5Ndt5ik5aOmLUE-DUokcH0BbwUe9XmPKFWw6HDgecIXxa2mP-AUYbo_nTeji9Niyb9UJxyl6t4-toJA/s1600/PRISM_logo.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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By now I guess almost everyone on the Internet has heard of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PRISM_%28surveillance_program%29" target="_blank">PRISM</a> the alleged system where the NSA taps into the servers of big internet giants like Facebook or Google.<br />
<br />
The <a href="https://www.eff.org/" target="_blank">EFF</a> have produced a website <a href="http://prism-break.org/" target="_blank">Prism Break</a> with links to secure/alternative aplications to some of the more popular offerings provided by the big companies.<br />
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Some idea are obvious, such as using Linux or FreeBSD rather than Windows, Firefox with HTTPS Everywhere installed rather than IE.<br />
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<a href="http://piwk.org/" target="_blank">PiWik</a> is a new one to me, I have looked at the demo it's much nicer than Google Analytics <br />
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The Android Apps section certainly has some good programs as suggestions, I would be using these if I was in Turkey right now.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>The real danger is the gradual erosion of individual liberties
through automation, integration, and interconnection of many small,
separate record-keeping systems, each of which alone may seem innocuous,
even benevolent, and wholly justifiable. -Anon., U. S. Privacy Study Commission, 1977</i></span>Shockwave Plasmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09655169759399534885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34163447.post-15152112221497234082013-03-29T11:57:00.003+00:002013-03-29T11:57:54.537+00:00New Book Unholy Silence by ex-catholic priest <br />
Father Kevin Lee has published a book "Unholy Silence"<br />
<br />
He says this is about his time in the church in Australia and all the coverups and abuse that he has seen, I haven't read it as yet,so I have no idea about the content, but it seems timely. He says he has a few unkind words for Cardinal Pell, and is publishing the book offshore. I image there are quite a few people with unkind words for Pell, but I don't think making the book only available via the web and published outside Australia will be much help<br />
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I am a bit concerned about his claim he forced the creation of a <a href="http://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/" target="_blank">Royal Commission in to the Abuse of Children</a>, because as far as I can tell it was mainly the work recently of <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-11-15/interview-with-detective-chief-inspector-peter-fox/4368082" target="_blank">Detective Peter Fox coming forward to allege his investigations have been stymied by senior police and politicians</a>. <br />
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In one interview a <a href="http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/newshome/16463636/former-priests-explosive-confession-father-kevin-lee/" target="_blank">few days ago</a> he quotes:-<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br />
"Even in the dormitory I lived in, it was
nicknamed 'The AIDS Wing' because there was a belief that a lot of the people
living there were going to get AIDS because they were just so promiscuous," he
said.</span></blockquote>
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The book is available at <a href="http://unholysilence.com/">http://unholysilence.com/</a> and he blogs at <a href="http://fatherkevinlee.blogspot.com.au/">http://fatherkevinlee.blogspot.com.au </a><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>“With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things
and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil
things, that takes religion.”
<br /> ―
Steven Weinberg</i></span>Shockwave Plasmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09655169759399534885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34163447.post-75001281995752842902013-02-19T11:10:00.000+00:002013-02-19T11:37:53.920+00:00Creationism in Queensland Schools <br />
Chrys Stevenson is one of those wonderful writers who can write exactly what I want to say. Yes I know, I'm a bit wibbly with my own scribblings, and I have lots of draft posts that I never finish, but what she has written about politicians ignoring creationism in schools is very very good, and more people need to see it.<br />
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Thanks to the wonders of VPNs I actually got to see some of this episode of QandA, but not this actual part that's being refered to. <br />
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Please read:-<br />
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<a href="https://thatsmyphilosophy.wordpress.com/2013/02/19/qa-pliberseck-strangely-unconvinced-about-creationism-in-the-classroom/" target="_blank">Chrys wonders why Tanya Pliberseck who was asked about creationism being taught in the classroom seemed surprised.</a> <br />
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Because we all really know Dinosaurs and humans lived together...right?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZYgfWLg8jFtOMLo5uSHl4nFGbrJrx7sxMfV8uGq4_Qdu4xTjwADx2qO3HT64Y-Ksk28JbDDJ7o2ccmxPeEcRyZkIhKsWJz9oEtYqjooTdx-LXB4_vO59hn7tD5qqwJLOx1A/s1600/dinodancing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="371" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZYgfWLg8jFtOMLo5uSHl4nFGbrJrx7sxMfV8uGq4_Qdu4xTjwADx2qO3HT64Y-Ksk28JbDDJ7o2ccmxPeEcRyZkIhKsWJz9oEtYqjooTdx-LXB4_vO59hn7tD5qqwJLOx1A/s1600/dinodancing.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Thanks to Uli Resident for the picture</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Thus the creationist's favourite question "What is the use of half an
eye?" Actually, this is a lightweight question, a doddle to answer. Half
an eye is just 1 per cent better than 49 per cent of an eye..." - Richard Dawkins</i></span>Shockwave Plasmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09655169759399534885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34163447.post-34230475223413106762013-02-12T11:51:00.001+00:002013-02-12T11:51:18.788+00:00Shockwave for Pope<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I would like to throw my wimple into the ring to be considered for the newly opened role of Pontifex Maximus.<br />
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<img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWFoJpDro3XkMs4BSi_m7_PGPf71SJf5JC79msS6ddmlxH2EflsdhmE-EpJhDKELRATlF-U_SIh5PHbXYxLLcBueCJsI5AZFLKeGam7mhPxeMgoGginXiQLAkbwjUK2COTjA/s1600/Jesusdate.JPG" width="611" /><br />
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My policies for this election are :-<br />
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<ul>
<li>To turn over all paedophile priest and those who covered up oer to the police.</li>
<li>To turn over all of the people in official capacity who helped the cover up to continue</li>
<li>Open up the Vatican Bank to expose all the money laundering</li>
<li>Equality for Gay people, oh, and women as well.</li>
<li>Open up the archives in all countries to track the baby snatching, tax evasions, child abuse</li>
<li>Free Condoms for everyone.</li>
<li>Stop the farce that the Vatican is an independent state.</li>
<li>Retrospectively revoke all indulgences </li>
<li>Release the hidden picture of the 13th Labour of Hercules </li>
<li>Lots of other decent humane stuff... </li>
</ul>
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Sell all the gold, treasures and the billions of dollars worth of goods and invest it in heath, science and research for the benefit of the poor. This would actually be used to help the poor, not to exploit them and keep them in a "mild" form of poverty that the Catholic Church now prefers to produce a constant supply of believers, such as in the Philippines <br />
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Finally...dissolve the Church, and tell everyone it's just a load of rubbish to keep you all in line for the last 2000 years...now..lets build some spaceships.<br />
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While I am not Catholic, I believe this is a "Good Thing", and this can only make it all better, until I dissolve it all..of course.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>It’s an incredible con job when you think about it, to believe something
now in exchange for something after death. Even corporations with their
reward systems don’t try to make it posthumous. — Gloria Steinem </i></span>Shockwave Plasmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09655169759399534885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34163447.post-35428574446192962492013-02-04T11:40:00.001+00:002013-02-04T11:40:15.219+00:00Justice for the Magdalanes on Tuesday ?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOKCXvzM_SFDWc1eT_8XJ0x4biuV8NYzdQBQFCPStZ4d0FsCVMja5iUCmFA7riVPOTAzReC48ZdqwdeJX1w2oAkUvgobDisrMCZ7pgsibhcQMUZ_jlBcWjF35ctfSeeicqLQ/s1600/Magdalen-asylum.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOKCXvzM_SFDWc1eT_8XJ0x4biuV8NYzdQBQFCPStZ4d0FsCVMja5iUCmFA7riVPOTAzReC48ZdqwdeJX1w2oAkUvgobDisrMCZ7pgsibhcQMUZ_jlBcWjF35ctfSeeicqLQ/s1600/Magdalen-asylum.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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It is hopeful the Irish Government will finally publish a report " Inter-Departmental Committee Investigating State Involvement with the Magdalen Laundries" into the Magdalene laundries this Tuesday afternoon, February 5th.<br />
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This is a long delayed report, and I'm sure it won't be nice reading.<br />
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The 10 laundries were operated by the Sisters of Mercy, the Sisters
of Our Lady of Charity, the Sisters of Charity and the Good Shepherd
Sisters.<br />
Those operated by the Sisters of Mercy were at Galway and
Dún Laoghaire; by the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity at Drumcondra and
Seán MacDermott Street in Dublin.<br />
The Sisters of Charity operated
laundries at Donnybrook, Dublin, and Cork. <br />
Good Shepherd Sisters
ran laundries at Limerick, Cork, Waterford and New Ross.<br />
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To read more about those wanting justice for those imprisoned in Irish workhouses your best resource is here <a href="http://www.magdalenelaundries.com/">http://www.magdalenelaundries.com/</a><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>"Many survivors refuse to talk about what they went through, but I've
never been ashamed to have been in one of those places. The shame is not
mine; the church should be ashamed. They say now they're sorry - what
they mean is, sorry they were found out." </i></span>- <span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Mary Norris</i></span><br />
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Shockwave Plasmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09655169759399534885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34163447.post-10680699146492608842013-01-14T22:29:00.002+00:002013-01-14T22:46:08.382+00:00Single Frame Story Challenge 23 Flight<a href="http://singleframestories.wordpress.com/">Single Frame Stories</a>, is telling a story in a single frame.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">Each
Saturday (or Sunday) we’ll offer a new word or phrase for a prompt.
Participants will each create a Single Frame Story based on the prompt
of the week, consisting of a single image with up to 140 optional
characters of text. The image can be a photo, screen shot, drawing or
painting. The text can be integrated into the image or used as a caption
or title.</span><br />
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">This week, the prompt is "Flight" My week by week number is a bit messed up now...so it's now number 23.</span><br />
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">Last week it was "</span><span style="font-weight: normal;">Found", you can see the entries <a href="https://singleframestories.wordpress.com/2013/01/12/challenge-22-gallery-found/" target="_blank">here</a>: </span><br />
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">It's nearly my 6th Rezday, it doesn't seem so long ago I was on Help Island and just a few weeks old.</span><br />
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">People come and go, and I get rather sad that some friends have gone forever.</span><br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">Sometimes we celebrate with the <a href="http://secondlife.wikia.com/wiki/Poppin%27s_Challenge" target="_blank">Poppins Jump</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">In theory you jump off a high place, and the Umbrella should open just before you hit the ground. Doesn't always work, and I rediscovered this about 40 seconds after this picture </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGsQMn7H8B1TuwaVNHEoVB1KqV2JRFHGGKVNbyVCN0f-ccRb4P1OISU_bLMmoS9bPhix_-L0QqjALoqxrhJdCtf6sUKMmNbp4PJvjsVn43iMKC7-QB5Oevfyz92ezmdukFNQ/s1600/week23+flight.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="328" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGsQMn7H8B1TuwaVNHEoVB1KqV2JRFHGGKVNbyVCN0f-ccRb4P1OISU_bLMmoS9bPhix_-L0QqjALoqxrhJdCtf6sUKMmNbp4PJvjsVn43iMKC7-QB5Oevfyz92ezmdukFNQ/s1600/week23+flight.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">You can go see other jump pictures <a href="https://secure.flickr.com/groups/poppinsrezdayjump/" target="_blank">here</a> </span><br />
<br />
I was actually feeling much more inspired this week to do a better picture...but..well..these things happen<br />
<br />
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="huge bqQuoteLink">Women
must pay for everything. They do get more glory than men for comparable
feats, but, they also get more notoriety when they crash.</span>
<span class="bodybold"><span style="font-size: x-small;">- </span>Amelia Earhart</span></span></i>
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<br />Shockwave Plasmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09655169759399534885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34163447.post-54066218504134387732013-01-06T09:18:00.002+00:002013-01-06T09:18:45.661+00:00Single Frame Stories Number 22 Found<a href="http://singleframestories.wordpress.com/">Single Frame Stories</a>, is telling a story in a single frame.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;">Each
Saturday (or Sunday) we’ll offer a new word or phrase for a prompt.
Participants will each create a Single Frame Story based on the prompt
of the week, consisting of a single image with up to 140 optional
characters of text. The image can be a photo, screen shot, drawing or
painting. The text can be integrated into the image or used as a caption
or title.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;">This week, the prompt is "Found" My week by week number is a bit messed up now...so it's now number 22.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;">Last week it was "</span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Unplugged</span>", you can see the entries <a href="https://singleframestories.wordpress.com/2013/01/05/challenge-21-gallery-unplugged/" target="_blank">here</a>: </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;">This time inspiration was a bit quicker, I had a few idea for Unplugged but they were either not G rated or the SL Marketplace came up empty.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;">I have been after a personal 404 page for some time, because...well..because these were big in the 2000s and I'm just catching up. Actually, Blogger just updated the <a href="http://www.stylifyyourblog.com/2012/03/30-custom-404-pages-for-blogger.html" target="_blank">ability to add a 404 page</a> only a few months ago. </span><br />
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<a href="http://shockwaveplasma.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/single-frame-story-challenge-umber-21.html" target="_blank">Click here to see it in action </a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i> Science Officer Dagger: <span style="font-family: times new roman;"> Computer, what is the nature of the universe?</span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="font-family: times new roman;">Computer: The Universe is a slowly shrinking rectangle <a href="http://gridsurvey.com/" target="_blank">currently </a></span><a href="http://gridsurvey.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: times new roman;">1837.24 km across</span></a></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-family: times new roman;"> </span></i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">- </span>Star Trek: The Virtual Voyages, Episode 34 "What little avatars are made of" </i></span> </span></div>
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Shockwave Plasmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09655169759399534885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34163447.post-23359373128228346082013-01-03T22:53:00.002+00:002013-01-03T22:53:54.453+00:00Single frame Story Challenge Number 21 - Unplugged<a href="http://singleframestories.wordpress.com/">Single Frame Stories</a>, is telling a story in a single frame.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;">Each
Saturday (or Sunday) we’ll offer a new word or phrase for a prompt.
Participants will each create a Single Frame Story based on the prompt
of the week, consisting of a single image with up to 140 optional
characters of text. The image can be a photo, screen shot, drawing or
painting. The text can be integrated into the image or used as a caption
or title.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;">This week, the prompt is "Unplugged" My week by week number is a bit messed up now...so it's now number 21.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;">Last week or two ago it was "</span><span style="font-weight: normal;">Time", you can see the entries <a href="https://singleframestories.wordpress.com/2012/12/29/challenge-20-gallery-time/" target="_blank">here</a>: </span><br />
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<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;"> Something being "Natural" is certainly no guarantee of "better".</span><br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span>
<br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">“Some pirates achieved immortality by great deeds of cruelty or
derring-do. Some achieved immortality by amassing great wealth. But the
captain had long ago decided that he would, on the whole, prefer to
achieve immortality by not dying.”
―
Terry Pratchett,
The Color of Magic
</span></i></span><br />
Shockwave Plasmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09655169759399534885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34163447.post-17974362863108061862012-12-28T23:47:00.002+00:002012-12-28T23:47:37.869+00:00How To Blog Anonymously (and how not to) by Dr Magnanti<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFYgYdxohCdJ_XQ8PAtw6gSzILn9qTCq1fIZxVzF9UXF8l1rQp4djvQlhaNX_eZYfmNRLyqHN7hme24fu-oR2RzZQyDa-B9L-fHBBMquba2KMi4mXuAlKXkgEHWdr0khfUdg/s1600/anonymousblogger.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFYgYdxohCdJ_XQ8PAtw6gSzILn9qTCq1fIZxVzF9UXF8l1rQp4djvQlhaNX_eZYfmNRLyqHN7hme24fu-oR2RzZQyDa-B9L-fHBBMquba2KMi4mXuAlKXkgEHWdr0khfUdg/s1600/anonymousblogger.png" height="363" width="640" /></a></div>
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<div class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name">
I recently finished reading <a href="http://craphound.com/?p=2049" target="_blank">Little Brother</a> from <a href="http://craphound.com/" target="_blank">Cory Doctrow</a>, it was one of those books that you read that mirrors what is happening now and projects a rather worrying trend forward. It shows how much we are slipping towards a surveillance society and, yes, the title is a nod to Big Brother by George Orwell.<br />
<br />
Recent news that the FDA in the US is now licencing drones to fly over the USA is somewhat troublesome. Personally I can't wait until some unknown citizen launches their own counter-drone to bring one down.<br />
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This is the <a href="http://sexonomics-uk.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/how-to-blog-anonymously-and-how-not-to.html" target="_blank">text of a post</a> from <a href="https://twitter.com/bmagnanti" target="_blank">Dr Brooke Magnanti</a> it has some good tips, there are certainly other things that you can do, such as VPNs / proxies / Tor, or as I do, meet up with people in Second Life.</div>
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<br />
<span style="color: #cc0000;">She is also going to be in the BBC Radio to talk about this very topic starting <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01phf7d" target="_blank"><span class="title">13:45 </span></a><span class="date"><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01phf7d" target="_blank">Mon 31 Dec 2012</a> It should be worth a listen! </span></span></div>
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How To Blog Anonymously (and how not to) </h3>
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Further to <a href="http://sexonomics-uk.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/on-anonymity-and-outing.html">yesterday's post</a>, this is a list of thoughts prompted by a request from <a href="http://www.timemachinego.com/linkmachinego/2009/11/16/me-and-belle-de-jour-could-it-be-brooke/">Linkmachinego</a>
on the topic of being an anonymous writer and blogger. Maybe not
exactly a how-to (since the outcome is not guaranteed) as a post on
things I did, things I should have done, and things I learned.<br />
<br />
It's
not up to me to decide if you "deserve" to be anonymous. My feeling is,
if you're starting out as a writer and do not yet feel comfortable
writing under your own name, that is your business and not mine. I also
think sex workers should consider starting from a position of anonymity
and decide later if they want to be out, please don't be naive.
Statistics I made up right now show 99 out of 100 people who claim 'if
you have nothing to hide you have nothing to fear' are talking out of
their arses.<br />
<br />
The items in the list fall into three general
categories: internet-based, legal and real-world tips, and
interpersonal. Many straddle more than one of these categories. All
three are important.<br />
<br />
This is written for a general audience
because most people who blog now do not have extensive technical
knowledge, they just want to write and be read. That's a good thing by
the way. If you already know all of this, then great, but many people
won't. Don't be sneery about their lack of prior knowledge. Bringing
everyone up to speed on the technology is not the goal: clear steps you
can use to help protect your identity from being discovered are.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><u><b>Disclaimer:</b></u>
I'm no longer anonymous so these steps are clearly not airtight. Also
there are other sources of information on the Web, some of which are
more comprehensive and more current than my advice. I accept no
responsibility for any outcome of following this advice. Please don't
use it to do illegal or highly sensitive things. Also please don't use
pseudonyms to be a dick. </span></blockquote>
This is also a work in
progress. As I remember things or particular details, I'll amend this
post. If you have suggestions of things that should be added, <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/bmagnanti">let me know</a>.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><u>1. Don't use Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail et al. for your mail.</u></span><br />
<br />
You
will need an email address to do things like register for blog
accounts, Facebook, Twitter, and more. This email will have to be
something entirely separate from your "real" email addresses. There are a
lot of free options out there, but be aware that sending an email from
many of them also sends information in the headers that could help
identify you.<br />
<br />
When I started blogging, I set up an email address
for the blog with Hotmail. Don't do this. Someone quickly pointed out
the headers revealed where I worked (a very large place with lots of
people and even more computers, but still more information than I was
comfortable with). They suggested I use <a href="https://www.hushmail.com/">Hushmail</a>
instead, which I still use. Hushmail has a free option (though the
inbox allocation is modest), strips out headers, and worked for me.<br />
<br />
A
caveat with this: if you are, say, a sex worker working in a place
where that is not legal and using Hushmail, you could be vulnerable to
them handing over your details to a third party investigating crimes. If
you're handling information some governments might consider
embarrassing or sensitive, same. Google some alternatives: you're
looking for something <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=secure+encrypted+email">secure and encrypted</a>.<br />
<br />
There
are a few common-sense tips you can follow to make it even safer. If
you have to bring people you know in real life in on the secret, don't
use this email address for communicating with them even if only about
matters related to your secret (and don't use your existing addresses
for that either). Example: I have one address for press and general
interactions, one for things related to my accountant and money, and one
for communicating with my agent, publisher, and solicitor. I've also
closed and opened new accounts over the years when it seems "too many"
people are getting hold of a particular address. Use different passwords
for each, don't make these passwords related to your personal
information, and so on.<br />
<br />
I unwisely left the Hotmail address
going, and while I did not use it to send mail, I continued to read
things that arrived there. That led to <a href="http://sexonomics-uk.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/and-now-for-something-completely.html">this failed attempt by the <i>Sunday Times</i> to out me</a>. It was an easily dodged attempt but something I would have preferred to avoid.<br />
<br />
People
can and do register internet domains while staying anonymous but I
never did. Some people registered domains for me (people I didn't know
in person). This led to a couple of instances of them receiving
harassment when the press suspected they were me. In particular <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ian-Shircore/e/B005DL2DME">Ian Shircore</a> got a bit of unwanted attention this way. <br />
<br />
Because
all I was ever doing was a straight-up blog, not having a registered
domain that I had control over was fine. Your needs may be different. I
am not a good source for advice on how to do that. But just in case you
might be thinking "who would bother looking there?" read about <a href="http://exposeabro-alexa.blogspot.co.uk/">how faux escort Alexa DiCarlo</a> was unmasked. This is what happens when you don't cover your tracks.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><u>2. Don't use a home internet connection, work internet connection, etc.</u></span><br />
<br />
Email
won't be the only way you might want to communicate with people. You
may also want to leave comments on other blogs and so forth. Doing this
and other ways of using the Web potentially exposes <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IP_address">your IP address</a>, which could be unique and be used to locate you.<br />
<br />
Even if you don't leave comments just visiting a site can leave traces behind. <a href="http://www.bloggerheads.com/archives/2012/04/dennis-rice-tabloid-troll/">Tim Ireland recently used a simple method</a>
to confirm his suspicion of who the "Tabloid Troll" twitter account
belonged to. By comparing the IP address of someone who clicked on to a
link going to the Bloggerheads site with the IP address of an email
Dennis Rice sent, a link was made. If you go to the trouble of not using
your own connection, also make sure you're not using the same
connection for different identities just minutes apart. Don't mix the
streams.<br />
<br />
The timing of everything as it happened was key to why the papers did not immediately find out who I was. The <a href="http://belledejour-uk.blogspot.co.uk/">old blog</a>
started in 2003, when most press still had to explain to their audience
what a blog actually was. It took a while for people to notice the
writing, so the mistakes I made early on (blogging from home and work,
using Hotmail) had long been corrected by the time the press became
interested.<br />
<br />
Today, no writer who aims to stay anonymous should
ever assume a grace period like that. It also helped that once the press
did become interested, they were so convinced not only that Belle was
not really a hooker but also that she was one of their own - a
previously published author or even journalist - that they never looked
in the right place. If they'd just gone to a London blogmeet and asked a
few questions about who had pissed off a lot of people and was fairly
promiscuous, they'd have had a plausible shortlist in minutes.<br />
<br />
After
I moved from Kilburn to Putney, I was no longer using a home internet
connection - something I should have done right from the beginning. I
started to use internet cafes for posting and other activities as Belle.
This offers some security... but be wary of using these places too
often if there is a reason to think someone is actively looking for you.
It's not perfect.<br />
<br />
Also be wary if you are using a laptop or
other machine provided by your workplace, or use your own laptop to log
in to work servers ("work remotely"). I've not been in that situation
and am not in any way an expert on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_private_network">VPNs</a>, but you may want to <a href="http://ask.metafilter.com/103175/VPN-and-Privacy-Help-me-understand">start reading about it here</a> and <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=vpn+privacy">do some googling</a>
for starters. As a general principle, it's probably wise not to do
anything on a work laptop that could get you fired, and don't do
anything that could get you fired while also connected to work remotely
on your own machine.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><u>3. There is software available that can mask your IP address. There are helpful add-ons that can block tracking software.</u></span><br />
<br />
I didn't use this when I was anonymous, but if I was starting as an anonymous blogger now, I would <a href="https://www.torproject.org/">download Tor</a> and browse the Web and check email through their tools.<br />
<br />
If
you do use Tor or other software to mask your IP address, don't then go
on tweeting about where your IP address is coming from today! I've seen
people do this. Discretion fail.<br />
<br />
I also <a href="http://www.ghostery.com/">use Ghostery</a> now to block certain tracking scripts from web pages. You will want to look into something similar. Also useful are <a href="https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/adblock-plus/">Adblocker</a>,
pop-up blockers, things like that. They are simple to download and use
and you might like to use them anyway even if you're not an anonymous
blogger. A lot of sites track your movements and you clearly don't want
that.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><u>4. Take the usual at-home precautions.</u></span><br />
<br />
Is
your computer password-protected with a password only you know? Do you
clear your browser history regularly? Use different passwords for
different accounts? Threats to anonymity can come from people close to
you. Log out of your blog and email accounts when you're finished using
them, every time. Have a secure and remote backup of your writing. Buy a
shredder and use it. Standard stuff.<br />
<br />
Another thing I would do is install a<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keystroke_logging"> keystroke logger</a>
on your own machine. By doing this I found out in 2004 that someone
close to me was spying on me when they were left alone with my computer.
In retrospect what I did about it was not the right approach. See also
item 7.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><u>5. Be careful what you post. </u></span><br />
<br />
Are you posting photos? <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exif">Exif data</a>
can tell people, among other things, where and when a picture was
taken, what it was taken with, and more. I never had call to use it
because I never posted photos or sound, but am told there are loads of
tools that can wipe this Exif data from your pictures (<a href="http://www.sno.phy.queensu.ca/%7Ephil/exiftool/">here's one</a>).<br />
<br />
The
content of what you post can be a giveaway as well. Are you linking to
people you know in real life? Are you making in-jokes or references to
things only a small group of people will know about? Don't do that.<br />
<br />
If
possible, cover your tracks. Do you have a previous blog under a known
name? Are you a contributor to forums where your preferred content and
writing style are well-known? Can you edit or delete these things? Good,
do that.<br />
<br />
Personally, I did not delete everything. Partly this
was because the world of British weblogging was so small at the time - a
few hundred popular users, maybe a couple thousand people blogging
tops? - that I thought the sudden disappearance of my old blog
coinciding with the appearance of an unrelated new one might be too much
of a coincidence. But I did let the old site go quiet for a bit before
deleting it, and edited archived entries.<br />
<br />
Keep in mind however that <a href="http://archive.org/web/web.php">The Wayback Machine</a>
means everything you have written on the web that has been indexed
still exists. And it's searchable. Someone who already has half an idea
where to start looking for you won't have too much trouble finding your
writing history. (<u>UPDATE</u>: someone alerted me that it's possible to <a href="http://faq.web.archive.org/how-can-i-have-my-site-removed-from-the-wayback-machine/">get your own sites off Wayback by altering the robots.txt file</a> - and even prevent them appearing there in the first place - and to <a href="http://www2.sims.berkeley.edu/research/conferences/aps/removal-policy.html">make a formal request for removal using reasons listed here</a>.
This does not seem to apply to sites you personally have no control
over unless copyright issues are involved.) If you can put one more step
between them and you... do it.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><u>6. Resist temptation to let too many people in.</u></span><br />
<br />
If
your writing goes well, people may want to meet you. They could want to
buy you drinks, give you free tickets to an opening. Don't say yes.
While most people are honest in their intentions, some are not. And even
the ones who are may not have taken the security you have to keep your
details safe. Remember, no one is as interested in protecting your
anonymity as you will be.<br />
<br />
Friends and family were almost all
unaware of my secret - both the sex work and the writing. Even my best
friend (A4 from the books) didn't know. <br />
<br />
I met very few people
"as" Belle. There were some who had to meet me: agent, accountant,
editor. I never went to the Orion offices until after my identity became
known. I met Billie Piper, Lucy Prebble, and a couple of writers during
the pre-production of <i>Secret Diary</i> at someone's house, but met almost no one else involved with the show. <a href="http://www.screenworks.ie/">Paul Duane</a> and <a href="http://www.womensirishnetwork.com/about-us/founder-members/avril-mcrory/">Avril MacRory</a>
met me and were absolutely discreet. I went to the agent's office a few
times but never made an appointment as Belle or in my real name. Most
of the staff there had no idea who I was. Of these people who did meet
me almost none knew my real name, where I lived, where I was from, my
occupation. Only one (the accountant) knew all of that - explained below
under point 9. And if I could have gotten away with him never seeing a
copy of my passport, I damn well would have done.<br />
<br />
The idea was
that if people don't know anything they can't inadvertently give it
away. I know that all of the people listed above were absolutely
trustworthy. I still didn't tell them anything a journalist would have
considered useful.<br />
<br />
When I started blogging someone once commented
that my blog was a "missed opportunity" because it didn't link to an
agency website or any way of booking my services. Well, duh. I didn't
want clients to meet me through the blog! If you are a sex worker who
wants to preserve a level of pseudonymity <u>and</u> link your public profile to your work, <a href="http://www.theinternetescortshandbook.com/">Amanda Brooks</a> has the advice you need. Not me.<br />
<br />
Other sources like <a href="http://blog.invisible-privacy.com/">JJ Luna</a> write about how to do things like get and use credit cards not tied to your name and address. I've heard <a href="https://www.entropay.com/">Entropay</a>
offer 'virtual' credit cards that are not tied to your credit history,
although they can't be used with any system that requires address
verification. This could be useful even for people who are not involved
in sex work.<br />
<br />
Resisting temptation sometimes means turning down
something you'd really like to do. The short-term gain of giving up
details for a writing prize or some immediate work may not be worth the
long-term loss of privacy. I heard about one formerly anonymous blogger
who was outed after giving their full name and address to a journalist
who asked for it when they entered a competition. File under: how not to
stay anonymous.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><u>7. Trust your intuition.</u></span><br />
<br />
I
have to be careful what I say here. In short, my identity became known
to a tabloid paper and someone whom I had good reason not to trust (see
item 4) gave them a lot of information about me. <br />
<br />
When your
intuition tells you not to trust someone, LISTEN TO IT. The best
security in the world fails if someone props open a door, leaves a
letter on the table, or mentally overrides the concern that someone who
betrayed you before could do so again. People you don't trust should be
ejected from your life firmly and without compromise. A "let them down
easy" approach only prolongs any revenge they might carry out and
probably makes it worse. The irony is that as a call girl I relied on
intuition and having strong personal boundaries all the time... but
failed to carry that ability over into my private life. If there is one
thing in my life I regret, the failure to act on my intuition is it. <br />
<br />
As an aside if you have not read <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Gift-Fear-Survival-Violence/dp/0747538352/">The Gift of Fear</a> already, get it and read it.<br />
<br />
See
also point 9: if and when you need people to help you keep the secret
don't make it people already involved in your private life.
Relationships can cloud good judgement in business decisions.<br />
<br />
There
is a very droll saying "Two people can keep a secret if one of them is
dead." It's not wrong. I know, I know. Paranoid. Hard not to be when
journos a few years later are digging through the rubbish of folks who
met you exactly once when you were sixteen. Them's the breaks.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><u>8. Consider the consequences of success.</u></span><br />
<br />
If
you find yourself being offered book deals or similar, think it
through. Simply by publishing anonymously you will become a target. Some
people assume all anonymous writers "want" to be found, and the media
in particular will jump through some very interesting hurdles to "prove"
anything they write about you is in the public interest.<br />
<br />
In
particular, if you are a sex worker, and especially if you are a sex
worker who is visible/bookable through your site, please give careful
consideration to moving out of that sphere. Even where sex for money is
legal it is still a very stigmatised activity. There are a number of
people who do not seem to have realised this, and the loss of a career
when they left the "sex-pos" bubble was probably something of a shock.
I'm not saying don't do it - but please think long and hard about the
potential this has to change your life and whether you are fully
prepared to be identified this way forever. For every <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diablo_Cody">Diablo Cody</a> there are probably dozens of <a href="http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2011/02/melissa_petro_g.php">Melissa Petros</a>.
For every Melissa Petro there are probably hundreds more people with a
sex industry past who get quietly fired and we don't ever hear from
them.<br />
<br />
If I knew going in to the first book deal what would
happen, I probably would have said no. I'm glad I didn't by the way -
but realistically, my life was stressful enough at that point and I did
not fully understand what publishing would add to that. Not many
bloggers had mainstream books at that point (arguably none in the UK) so
I didn't have anyone else's experience to rely on. I really had no idea
about what was going to happen. The things people wrote about me then
were mainly untrue and usually horrendous. Not a lot has changed even
now. I'd be lying if I said that didn't have an emotional effect.<br />
<br />
Writing
anonymously and being outed has happened often enough that people going
into it should consider the consequences. I'm not saying don't do it if
you risk something, but be honest with yourself about the worst
possible outcome and whether you would be okay with that.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><u>9. Enlist professional help to get paid and sign contracts.</u></span><br />
<br />
Having
decided to write a book, I needed an agent. The irony of being
anonymous was that while I let as few people in on it as possible, at
some point I was going to have to take a leap of faith and let in more. <a href="http://www.mil-millington.com/">Mil Millington</a> emailed me to recommend <a href="http://www.convilleandwalsh.com/">Patrick Walsh</a>, saying he was one of the few people in London who can be trusted. Mil was right.<br />
<br />
Patrick put me on to <a href="http://www.brebners.com/staff-directory/michael-burton">my accountant</a>
(who had experience of clients with, shall we say, unusual sources of
income). From there we cooked up a plan so that contracts could be
signed without my name ever gracing a piece of paper. Asking someone to
keep a secret when there's a paper trail sounds like it should be
possible but rarely is. Don't kid yourself, there is no such thing as a
unbreakable confidentiality agreement. Asking journalists and reviewers
to sign one about your book is like waving a red rag to a bull. What we
needed was a few buffers between me and the press.<br />
<br />
With Patrick
and Michael acting as directors, a company was set up - Bizrealm. I was
not on the paperwork as a director so my name never went on file with
Companies House. Rather, with the others acting as directors, signing
necessary paperwork, etc., Patrick held a share in trust for me off of
which dividends were drawn and this is how I got paid. I may have got
some of these details wrong, by the way - keep in mind, I don't deal
with Bizrealm's day-to-day at all.<br />
<br />
There are drawbacks to doing
things this way: you pay for someone's time, in this case the
accountant, to create and administer the company. You can not avoid tax
and lots of it. (Granted, drawing dividends is more tax-efficient, but
still.) <u>You have to trust a couple of people ABSOLUTELY.</u> I'd
underline this a thousand times if I could. Michael for instance is the
one person who always knew, and continues to know, everything about my
financial and personal affairs. Even Patrick doesn't know everything.<br />
<br />
There
are benefits though, as well. Because the money stays mainly in the
company and is not paid to me, it gets eked out over time, making tax
bills manageable, investment more constant, and keeping me from the
temptation to go mad and spend it.<br />
<br />
I can't stress enough that you
might trust your friends and family to the ends of the earth, but they
should not be the people who do this for you. Firstly, because they can
be traced to you (they know you in a non-professional way). Secondly,
because this is a very stressful setup and you need the people handling
it to be on the ball. As great as friends and family are that is
probably not the kind of stress you want to add to your relationship. I
have heard far too many stories of sex workers and others being betrayed
by ex-partners who knew the details of their business dealings to ever
think that's a good idea.<br />
<br />
So how do you know you can trust these
people? We've all heard stories of musicians and other artists getting
ripped off by management, right? All I can say is instinct. It would not
have been in Patrick's interest to grass me, since as my agent he took a
portion of my earnings anyway, and therefore had financial as well as
personal interest in protecting that. If he betrayed me he would also
have suffered a loss of reputation that potentially outweighed any gain.
Also, as most people who know him will agree, he's a really nice and
sane human being. Same with Michael.<br />
<br />
If this setup sounds weirdly
paranoid, let me assure you that journalists absolutely did go to
Michael's office and ask to see the Bizrealm paperwork, and Patrick
absolutely did have people going through his bins, trying to infiltrate
his office as interns, and so on. Without the protection of being a
silent partner in the company those attempts to uncover me might have
worked.<br />
<br />
I communicate with some writers and would-be writers who
do not seem to have agents. If you are serious about writing, and if you
are serious about staying anonymous, get an agent. Shop around, follow
your instinct, and make sure it's someone you can trust. Don't be afraid
to dump an agent, lawyer, or anyone else if you don't trust them
utterly. They're professionals and shouldn't take it personally.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><u>10. Don't break the (tax) law.</u></span><br />
<br />
Journalists
being interested in your identity is one thing. What you really don't
want is the police or worse, the tax man, after you. Pay your taxes and
try not to break the law if it can be helped. If you're a sex worker
blogging about it, get an accountant who has worked with sex workers
before - this is applicable even if you live somewhere sex work is not
strictly legal. Remember, Al Capone went down for tax evasion. Don't be
like Al. If you are a non-sex-work blogger who is earning money from
clickthroughs and affiliates on your site, declare this income.<br />
<br />
In
summer 2010 the HMRC started a serious fraud investigation of me. It
has been almost two years and is only just wrapping up, with the Revenue
finally satisfied that not only did I declare (and possibly
overdeclare) my income as a call girl, but that there were no other
sources of income hidden from them. They have turned my life and
financial history upside down to discover next to nothing new about me.
This has been an expensive and tedious process. I can't even imagine
what it would have been like had I not filed the relevant forms, paid
the appropriate taxes, and most of all had an accountant to deal with
them!<br />
<br />
Bottom line, you may be smart - I'm pretty good with
numbers myself - but people whose job it is to know about tax law,
negotiating contracts, and so on will be better at that than you are.
Let them do it. They are worth every penny.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><u>11. Do interviews with care.</u></span><br />
<br />
Early interviews were all conducted one of two ways: over email (encrypted) or over an IRC chatroom from an anonymising server (<a href="http://webchat.xs4all.nl/">I used xs4all</a>).
This was not ideal from their point of view, and I had to coach a lot
of people in IRC which most of them had never heard of. But again, it's
worth it, since no one in the press will be as interested in protecting
your identity as you are. I hope it goes without saying, don't give out
your phone number.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><u>12. Know when <i><span class="st">les jeux <i>sont faits</i></span></i>.</u></span><br />
<br />
In November 2009 - 6 years after I first started blogging anonymously - my identity was revealed. <br />
<br />
As has been documented elsewhere, I had <a href="http://www.timemachinego.com/linkmachinego/2009/11/16/me-and-belle-de-jour-could-it-be-brooke/">a few heads-ups that something was coming</a>,
that it was not going to be nice, and that it was not going to go away.
We did what we could to put off the inevitable but it became clear I
only had one of two choices: let the <i>Mail on Sunday</i> have first crack at running their sordid little tales, or pre-empt them. <br />
<br />
While going to the <i>Sunday Times</i> - the same paper that had forcibly outed <a href="http://www.zoemargolis.co.uk/">Zoe Margolis</a>
a few years earlier, tried to get my details through that old Hotmail
address, and incorrectly fingered Sarah Champion as me - was perhaps not
the most sensitive choice, it was for me the right move. Patrick
recommended that we contact an interviewer who had not been a
Belle-believer: if things were going to be hard, best get that out of
the way up front.<br />
So that is that. It's a bit odd how quickly things have changed. When I
started blogging I little imagined I would be writing books, much less
something like this. Being a kind of elder statesman of blogging (or
cantankerous old grump if you prefer) is not an entirely comfortable
position and one that is still new to me. But it is also interesting to
note how little has changed: things that worked in the early 2000s have
value today. The field expanded rapidly but the technology has not yet
changed all that much.<br />
<br />
As before, these ideas do not constitute a
foolproof way to protect your identity. All writers - whether writing
under their own names or not - should be aware of the risks they may
incur by hitting 'publish'. I hope this post at least goes some way to
making people think about how they might be identified, and starts them
on a path of taking necessary (and in many cases straightforward)
precautions, should they choose to be anonymous.<br />
<br />
___________________________________________________________________________________<br />
<br />
Thanks Dr Magnanti.<br />
<br />
Here are some hints from the EFA on <a href="https://ssd.eff.org/tech" target="_blank">defensive technology</a> <br />
<br />
You might also like this from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anonymous_blogging" target="_blank">Wikipedia</a> about anonymous blogging<br />
<br />
And how some bloggers <a href="http://www.net-security.org/secworld.php?id=12008" target="_blank">have been caught</a> <br />
<br />
If you have the attention of a reasonably competent state agency, then it will probably only be a short time before you are found out.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>“If you wish another to keep your secret, first keep it to
yourself.”--Seneca </i></span>Shockwave Plasmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09655169759399534885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34163447.post-76321964424727846232012-12-26T08:57:00.001+00:002012-12-26T09:00:28.369+00:00Mensink inspired Comic (NSFW)<br />
One of my favorite artists is <a href="http://fransmensinkartist.deviantart.com/" target="_blank">Franz Mensink</a>, he does that erotic artwork that just looks so amazingly real. <br />
<br />
<br />
It was this image that gave me the inspiration for the following comic:- <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDegfwq6qnvqDi_IuKQkzn6fC0zTS_Qab2WCoUO4mIo6FAYxKnlHimQnv1DFAhglG_5RtYRFFLSxduYfu4C0AJSCKClrqsMqTagh9l-y6PIjmGNswCEu1Ctbl2MWgvQ0jTDw/s1600/model_session_by_fransmensinkartist-d4b01ej.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDegfwq6qnvqDi_IuKQkzn6fC0zTS_Qab2WCoUO4mIo6FAYxKnlHimQnv1DFAhglG_5RtYRFFLSxduYfu4C0AJSCKClrqsMqTagh9l-y6PIjmGNswCEu1Ctbl2MWgvQ0jTDw/s1600/model_session_by_fransmensinkartist-d4b01ej.jpg" height="248" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Some of the commissions I have had from Deviant Art, have been absolutely fantastic, and some..well...not exactly what I had expected...<br />
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">"Art can never exist without naked beauty displayed." William Blake </span></i>Shockwave Plasmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09655169759399534885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34163447.post-53305216080656647542012-12-25T13:05:00.000+00:002012-12-25T13:05:21.324+00:00Single Frame Stories week 21 (no week 20) "Time"<br />
<a href="http://singleframestories.wordpress.com/">Single Frame Stories</a>, is telling a story in a single frame.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;">Each Saturday (or Sunday) we’ll offer a new word or phrase for a prompt. Participants will each create a Single Frame Story based on the prompt of the week, consisting of a single image with up to 140 optional characters of text. The image can be a photo, screen shot, drawing or painting. The text can be integrated into the image or used as a caption or title.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;">This week, the prompt is "Time" </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;">Last week or two ago it was "</span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Black and White</span>", you can see the entries <a href="https://singleframestories.wordpress.com/2012/12/15/challenge-19-gallery-black-and-white/" target="_blank">here</a>: </span><br />
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<br />
Ok, so this week I have used a big frame, and I'm cheating a bit. I was motivated by the death of a dear friend, someone who will be severely missed by those who knew him.<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>“Time is what we want most,but what we use worst.”
―
William Penn</i></span>Shockwave Plasmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09655169759399534885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34163447.post-49973816239608432482012-12-21T04:00:00.000+00:002012-12-21T17:35:12.861+00:00Are we still here? Did the doomsayers get it right?<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Are we still here?</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Just to b<span style="font-size: small;">e sure I wore the Red <strike>Shirt</strike><span style="font-size: small;"> Dress</span>, just as Gene <span style="font-size: small;">Roddenberry would have</span> want<span style="font-size: small;">ed. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>“We must question the story logic of having an all-knowing, all-powerful God, who creates faulty humans, and then blames them for his own mistakes.” ― Gene Roddenberry</i></span> </span></span></span></div>
Shockwave Plasmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09655169759399534885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34163447.post-80440441747875561422012-12-18T00:01:00.004+00:002012-12-18T00:01:56.477+00:00Happy Newtonmas 2013Merry Christmas or Solstice, Newtonmas or whatever. <br />
<br />
December 25th in the old Calender was the date of birth on Issac Newton, seems as good as anything to celebrate on the Winter Solstice. <br />
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I'm sure Spitfire will be fine...that apple was a bit mushy<br />
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All the best of luck for 2013, I think we are going to need all the luck we can get from now on. <br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span class="huge bqQuoteLink">"To me there has never been a higher source of earthly honor or distinction than that connected with advances in science."</span>
<span class="bodybold">- Isaac Newton</span></i></span>
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Shockwave Plasmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09655169759399534885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34163447.post-56978407452393951902012-12-13T00:06:00.001+00:002012-12-13T00:06:21.086+00:00Single Frame Stories Week 19 "Black and White"<a href="http://singleframestories.wordpress.com/">Single Frame Stories</a>, is telling a story in a single frame.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">Each Saturday (or Sunday) we’ll offer a new word or phrase for a prompt.
Participants will each create a Single Frame Story based on the prompt
of the week, consisting of a single image with up to 140 optional
characters of text. The image can be a photo, screen shot, drawing or
painting. The text can be integrated into the image or used as a caption
or title.</span><br />
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">This week, the prompt is "Black and White" </span><br />
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">Last week it was "Secret", you can see the entries <a href="https://singleframestories.wordpress.com/2012/12/08/challenge-18-gallery-secret/" target="_blank">here</a>: </span><br />
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">This was taken in the 1920s Berlin sim, back in a time when photography was only black and white. So I'm wearing a typical "Flapper" outfit typical of the times. </span><br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">I have the first of the <a href="http://www.phrynefisher.com/" target="_blank">Phryne Fisher</a> books <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cocaine-Blues-Phryne-Mystery-Mysteries/dp/159058385X/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1355356992&sr=1-3" target="_blank">Cocaine Blues</a> by Kerry Greenwood on my table to read, I suspect that was some sort of subconscious influence on my choice of picture this week. </span><br />
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">I'm all covered up for a change, much to Whiskey Days surprise I'm sure.</span><br />
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>"Wir wollen, dass Berlin reicher wird und sexy bleibt." (“We want Berlin to become richer and stay sexy.”) - </i></span></span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><small>Klaus Wowereit, </small></i></span> </span>Shockwave Plasmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09655169759399534885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34163447.post-60960024273968896332012-12-11T08:14:00.001+00:002012-12-11T08:14:23.808+00:00Comic Mayan Apocalypse 2012<br />
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I think this is about the 14th end of the world I have been through, but
then again I knew some weird people when I was young, and every one or two years there would be some warning of world wide disaster, or the end of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apocalypticism" target="_blank">world was nigh</a>. <br />
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Usually it was foretold by astrological means, or some channeller, or even via Nostradamus. The year 2000 was a good one for when Jesus was supposed to return (he didn't), when the planets lined up (they weren't), or some other made up new age rubbish. Most people would never have heard of these events as they usually circulated in various new age writings only.<br />
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Here we go again. Now it's the completion of the Mayan long count 13th b'ak'tun. <br />
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Earth is 4.5 billion years old, and yes there have been a few extinctions caused by meteor strikes, volcanism and the odd Ice Age. Millennial cults abound, and silly apocalypse theology is everywhere. I used to think this was the Bible's fault via Revelation, but recently I have been suspecting it's just a reflection of a deeper issue in the human mind. This sometimes manifests in the recent extreme cases like <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heaven%27s_Gate_%28religious_group%29" target="_blank">Heaven Gate</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_the_Solar_Temple" target="_blank">Order of the Solar Temple</a> .<br />
In the recent past the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millerites" target="_blank">Millerites</a> were founded in the belief the end of the world was coming (still didn't happen), this was called the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Disappointment" target="_blank">Great Disappointment. </a><br />
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<picture></picture>Is it likely that the world will end on the 21 of December 22? Seeing
that the Earth has been here for nearly 4.5Billion years old. No, but then you have to remember the logic behind most of these disasters theories is they are supernatural events, so there is way they can be disproved.<br />
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But!! I have found notes from my dear cousin, the famous explorer Dr Victoria Smith. I have edited them to reproduce a slightly more accurate series of events to her notes, on how she lost the second Mayan calender tablet to looters on site.<br />
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I have put her notes under her pictures. (with some comments from me) <br />
(She really should get a better lock on her door, filing cabinet, and secure box)<br />
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Its little known that Dr Victoria Smith discovered the original Mayan
calendar after she spent much time searching for it in the jungles of
South America.<br />
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She writes:-<br />
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1) I arrived in good time, and I decided to travel light, as I wanted to move fast. I had my target, and the only beings to see me, were the monkeys.<br />
2)The jungle is wonderful place once you get to know it, the deep green foliage, and the way the sun peeks through the canopy. The canoe was able to take me to almost the exact spot I wanted to go. After 4 days travel I was almost there.<br />
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1) I left my canoe after some days of paddling down the river. A days walk and a small hill climb and I should be there.<br />
2) There are good reasons to come in by boat, airplanes quite often don't fair very well. Landings can be a little rough, they never found the crew and passengers. The fog and the cloud..very deceptive and sudden. <br />
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1) Still, there are the odd animal trails, and water run offs that make it easier to walk though the jungle.<br />
2)Hopefully no flash floods will come though, hopefully I am alone here.<br />
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1) Climbing above the tree line I was able to see the water falls and the extent of the foliage, while wondering what else there was to be discovered under the greenery.<br />
2) Just about had enough of this climbing..how long until I get to the top?<br />
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1) Why are there always rope bridges? WHY? WHY? WHY?<br />
2) Don't ever look down!<br />
3) Just pretend your walking on the cracks in the footpath, make it no big deal, then it will be just like walking across the street.<br />
<i>*Editors Notes* Looks like Victoria meant walking home from the Pub </i><br />
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1) always carry extra knickers in the Jungle..always helpful, I did mention it was a long way down, didn't I?<br />
2) Phewww Glad that's over<br />
3) Damn, Looters are here!<br />
<i>Ed Notes ( Looters = People with out a Ph.d taking things)</i><br />
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1) Don't see them anywhere, maybe they drunk to much and fell off the edge.<br />
<i>Ed notes (I hope you left those bottles alone Victoria)</i><br />
2) Searching for an entrance to the internal structures, They're certainly built well.<br />
3) Not keen on going back with a great big stone tablet across that bridge<br />
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1) See me? See how big the Mayans could build, amazing.<br />
<i>Ed notes I bet the planning permission to get an extension was a nightmare</i> <br />
2) I had pretty much given up, when I noticed a great big hole in the roof of one of the sub temples (Note to self) Get new glasses<br />
3)Now to carefully climb down.<br />
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1) When <strike>I regained consciousness</strike> <strike>after I fell</strike> my eyes adjusted to the dark I could see I hit the jackpot!<br />
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<i>Ed Notes The plaque is of K'inich Janaab' Pakal (March 603 – August 683) believed by some to have been the ruler at the time the carving of the calender that is the cause of the current apocalyptic idiocy. If you have ever read any Von Dankin, then you would have seen the lid of his coffin as being so called proof of ancient astronauts.</i><br />
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%27inich_Janaab%27_Pakal#cite_note-1"></a> <br />
2) Now to get this damn thing out of here<br />
3) Carefully wrapping it for transport with the rope from my bag.<br />
<i>Ed Notes I sometime get the feeling Victoria didn't pay much attention in Archeology class on caring for your finds</i><br />
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<i>Ed Notes We seem to be missing the pictures on how she smashed her way into the stormwater run off tunnels </i></div>
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1) Getting sick dragging the damn thing thought the storm water drains under the temples, in's it carefully packaged state. Tunnels are full of dirt, rats and snakes. At least there are no spiders!<br />
2) I could just roll the thing, what could go wrong? <i>Ed Notes I suspect lots of things</i><br />
3) Oh dear, it's rolling quite fast! hey! Damn...<br />
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1) SHIT!! Spiders!! Get it off! aarggghhhh!!!! YUK.....webs everywhere.. <i>Ed Notes OMG!</i><br />
2) Glad I'm out of there finally..bugger where has it gone? <br />
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1) Where has it gone? Where? Where did it go? <br />
2) OH GOD! Nooooooooo Umm Damn Looters! Yeah, the looters stole it from me! Bastards! <br />
<br />
<br />
<i>Ed Notes So, it looks like the calendar was smashed to bits after falling from a height of 12 or so stories. Good one Vic, no wonder you had your notes locked away! </i><br />
<i> </i><br />
Don't Panic then everyone, the calendar just rolls over, nothing to see here.<i> </i><br />
<br />
Tateru Nino wrote on the 11/1/2012 how often the End of The World has occurred for her<i>. </i><a href="http://dwellonit.taterunino.net/2012/01/11/the-end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it/" target="_blank">Still relevant and better written than me</a><i>.</i><br />
<br />
<br />
For the run down on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_phenomenon" target="_blank">2012 wackiness </a><br />
<br />
General info on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apocalypticism" target="_blank">Apocalypticism</a><br />
<br />
Check how much time is left until the Mayan Apocalypse? check here <a href="http://www.worldend.org/index.html" target="_blank">here</a><br />
<br />
Religious prophecies failed again? <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unfulfilled_religious_prophecies" target="_blank">Don't they all ?</a><br />
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<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i> "I say we all wear red shirts on December 21, 2012. So at least if we die, we die as Mr. Gene Roddenberry intended." - Via Twitter</i></span>Shockwave Plasmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09655169759399534885noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34163447.post-3465173063863134802012-12-03T23:08:00.000+00:002012-12-03T23:08:01.203+00:00Single Frame Stories Week 18 "Secret"<a href="http://singleframestories.wordpress.com/">Single Frame Stories</a>, is telling a story in a single frame.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;">Each Saturday (or Sunday) we’ll offer a new word or phrase for a prompt.
Participants will each create a Single Frame Story based on the prompt
of the week, consisting of a single image with up to 140 optional
characters of text. The image can be a photo, screen shot, drawing or
painting. The text can be integrated into the image or used as a caption
or title.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;">This week, the prompt is "Secret"</span><br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi70jK89LIr89PNJC7nhAndK5nKa52H3EoW02psBBtmvrvLF3xddtunK7ghQ4O2WQXf9Jn6TJVnxByH0-i-O42jQwtKQs19rC9NDmdq4riumNKWhZRaHNb0r7khyjvhrlgJOA/s1600/week18+secrets.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi70jK89LIr89PNJC7nhAndK5nKa52H3EoW02psBBtmvrvLF3xddtunK7ghQ4O2WQXf9Jn6TJVnxByH0-i-O42jQwtKQs19rC9NDmdq4riumNKWhZRaHNb0r7khyjvhrlgJOA/s1600/week18+secrets.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Thanks to <span style="color: black;"><a href="http://fictionalinsanity.wordpress.com/author/shyntae/">Shyntae Demonista </a>for the inspiration for this week SFS. I mean with this absolutely gorgeous <a href="https://fictionalinsanity.wordpress.com/2012/11/21/uprising/" target="_blank">picture here</a> Also please don't infer anything about her sex life in regard to supernatural beings.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">“Some secrets are better left at that -as secrets.”
―
Candace Bushnell</span></i>Shockwave Plasmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09655169759399534885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34163447.post-39771812345410664502012-11-30T03:27:00.000+00:002012-11-30T03:36:17.730+00:00Single Frame Stories Week 17 "Easy"<a href="http://singleframestories.wordpress.com/">Single Frame Stories</a>, is telling a story in a single frame.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;">Each Saturday (or Sunday) we’ll offer a new word or phrase for a prompt.
Participants will each create a Single Frame Story based on the prompt
of the week, consisting of a single image with up to 140 optional
characters of text. The image can be a photo, screen shot, drawing or
painting. The text can be integrated into the image or used as a caption
or title.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;">This week, the prompt is "Easy"</span><br />
<br />
<br />
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">I get a letter:-</span><br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">Dear Shockwave, </span><br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;">Please take this ring to Mordor, as I've twisted my ankle. </span><br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;">It should be easy.</span><br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;">PS It's perfectly safe</span><br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;">PPS Take a sword.</span></blockquote>
<br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>“There are some things that it is better to begin than to refuse, even though the end may be dark.”
―
J.R.R. Tolkien</i></span><br />
<br />
<br />Shockwave Plasmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09655169759399534885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34163447.post-52961812345277150832012-11-24T02:25:00.001+00:002012-11-24T02:25:05.880+00:00Holy Redundant Rebooted<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbXlut62OJJ9U5YgaloS2J8gV5bCKgHuPA9q5iqQ-nfWlD84wTQLQrGihC-yxuDBsJBUjsOLJw2AHmuQF8ula2XSJmL1neT17EVbMfTMFUCDEbbFo1idmn0B_PJyK95F6JIQ/s1600/hrb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbXlut62OJJ9U5YgaloS2J8gV5bCKgHuPA9q5iqQ-nfWlD84wTQLQrGihC-yxuDBsJBUjsOLJw2AHmuQF8ula2XSJmL1neT17EVbMfTMFUCDEbbFo1idmn0B_PJyK95F6JIQ/s1600/hrb.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
The <a href="http://holyredundant.org.uk/" target="_blank">Holy Redundant</a> Campaign has kicked off again due to the recent vote by the Church of England over the ordination of woman bishops.eg In case you hadn't heard they said "No Thanks".<br />
<br />
This of course was big news, it also highlighted that the Church has reserved seats in the House of Lords, and these seats an now confirmed as men only.<br />
<br />
Could this happen in any other first world country? Don't think so. Past time for the Lords Spiritual to go.<br />
<br />
There is a new<a href="http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/42117" target="_blank"> petition to remove the Bishops from the Lords</a><br />
<br />
You can also email your local MP from the <a href="http://holyredundant.org.uk/how-you-can-help/" target="_blank">Holy Redundant</a> website. Personally I think it's better to not to send an email from a website, but to use the same arguments and sent it personally. <br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span class="huge bqQuoteLink">My
Lords temporal, today is the day to rise up against the regiment of
Lords spiritual and proclaim the values of enlightenment, compassion and
common sense.</span>
<span class="bodybold">Polly Toynbee
</span></i></span>
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Shockwave Plasmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09655169759399534885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34163447.post-23449427609581744072012-11-17T18:53:00.002+00:002012-11-20T10:36:06.481+00:00Single Frame Stories Week 16 "Humility"<a href="http://singleframestories.wordpress.com/">Single Frame Stories</a>, is telling a story in a single frame.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;">Each Saturday we’ll offer a new word or phrase for a prompt.
Participants will each create a Single Frame Story based on the prompt
of the week, consisting of a single image with up to 140 optional
characters of text. The image can be a photo, screen shot, drawing or
painting. The text can be integrated into the image or used as a caption
or title.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;">This week, the prompt is "Humility"</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
I'm a small speck of dust, in the infinity of the Universe. </div>
<br />
<br />
This is a part of the Hubble Space Telescopes "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubble_Deep_Field" target="_blank">Deep Field</a>". The entire picture shows over 3000 Galaxies, do you think that's a lot? It isn't, not even close.. <br />
<br />
<br />
I'm an atheist, quite often we (as a group) are called arrogant, usually by those who believe they have a personal relationship with the Creator of the Universe. We usually say prove it. That's it..you have a GOD....The Creator of the Entire Universe on your side, your best friend forever, and we just ask for proof<br />
<br />
The universe is 13 billion years old, 83 Billion light years across, it contains at least 2000 galaxies for each human being alive right now. Each galaxy containing billion and billions of stars, and this was created just for Christians to look at.<br />
<br />
Think about it....your god..created all this just for YOU! <br />
<br />
I think that's just silly, especially for a god who is only capable of appearing in a piece toast on occasion .<br />
<br />
We are born, we live, and we die, game over, sorry.<br />
<br />
I used to believe in reincarnation, karma, spirit guides, and the collective unconscious, but I never found any good evidence for it. The more I learn, the more I see how good humans are at fooling themselves.<br />
<br />
Indeed, this is what our conscious mind does best, the best book I read on this is from <a href="http://www.bristol.ac.uk/expsych/people/bruce-m-hood/index.html" target="_blank">Prof Bruce Hood</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Self-Illusion-There-Inside/dp/1780330073/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1353406518&sr=8-2" target="_blank">the Self Illusion</a> . Our sense of our self, is just part of the processing of our minds, strange how it works, but the delusion is so complete, most people will do anything to avoid this realization, indeed I suspect we are built this way. <br />
<br />
So we are over intelligent risen apes, that know to much, die far to young, and we should be using our time to build a better world for ourselves and our descendants. Too many people on this planet are obsessed with the immortality fable, and this may be the reason we will go extinct.<br />
<br />
(I also can't believe I hit the publish button 3 days early :-( )<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span class="quotation">“No one should be ashamed to admit they are
wrong, which is but saying, in other words, that they are wiser today
than they were yesterday. ”</span><span class="quotation_author" id="quotation_author_4484"> - Alexander Pope</span></i></span>Shockwave Plasmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09655169759399534885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34163447.post-2611663396537021932012-11-14T19:41:00.000+00:002012-11-14T19:45:18.549+00:00Single Frame Stories Week 15 "Critique"<a href="http://singleframestories.wordpress.com/">Single Frame Stories</a>, is telling a story in a single frame.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;">Each Saturday we’ll offer a new word or phrase for a prompt.
Participants will each create a Single Frame Story based on the prompt
of the week, consisting of a single image with up to 140 optional
characters of text. The image can be a photo, screen shot, drawing or
painting. The text can be integrated into the image or used as a caption
or title.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;">This week, the prompt is "Critique"</span><br />
<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7ksjpdY3A0e0vzq3aowgGyX-OVyr_a6yJF9-D1ExBCervnK4iBpTSgY0Ops8_e3wOIYI49wCF5gad7yRlNwGKpcuZlflauoW0JzltZnWXHjzsga51VsboAux8WQ0wu5lsCQ/s1600/critical.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="406" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7ksjpdY3A0e0vzq3aowgGyX-OVyr_a6yJF9-D1ExBCervnK4iBpTSgY0Ops8_e3wOIYI49wCF5gad7yRlNwGKpcuZlflauoW0JzltZnWXHjzsga51VsboAux8WQ0wu5lsCQ/s1600/critical.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
At the Gallery I asked "What do you think of my artwork?" and "What future do you think I have in art?" They were quite a tough crowd.<br />
<br />
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<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>“To avoid criticism say nothing, do nothing, be nothing.”
―
Aristotle</i></span><br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span>
Shockwave Plasmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09655169759399534885noreply@blogger.com0