" . . . Hill House, not sane, stood by itself against its hills, holding darkness within; . . . "

" . . . it had stood so for eighty years and might stand for eighty more. Within, walls continued upright, bricks met neatly, floors were firm, and doors were sensibly shut; silence lay steadily against the wood and stone of Hill House, and whatever walked there, walked alone."

Shirley Jackson, The Haunting of Hill House, (1959)

One of the classics of supernatural literature of the 20th century, The Haunting of Hill House, by Shirley Jackson, is a favorite of mine. It was adapted into two movies, 1963 (good) and 1999 (a stinker), as well as a stage play and is often the subject of literary analytical froofrah and empty post-deconstructionist mumbo-jumbo. Read the book, watch the 1963 movie and draw your own conclusions about what Ms. Jackson was trying to convey. Which leads me to another question – Why are haunted houses, in reality or art, never in big cities? The settings are always small towns or isolated countryside locations. You would think that ghosts, phantoms and such would adore large populations amongst which to hide, or to scare, but that seems to be an unwritten law in spookdom, “Do not haunt a densely populated area.” There may be many reasons for that, just as there are certain exceptions: haunted hotel rooms, old apartment buildings, etc. But by and large, metropolii are not the haunt of choice for bound-to-the-earth spirits. Infernal spirits, of course, are quite different: demons inhabit swank apartment buildings and seem to have a particular fetish for suburban homes. All of which only serves to depressingly remind one that perhaps snobbism and hierarchical social ranking exist even in the afterlife of the condemned. Another line from Hill House is among my favorites: “I sleep on my left side because I read somewhere it wears out the heart quicker.” Oddly enough, I do prefer to sleep on my left side.

Scanning from West to East, herewith a sampling of some of the items in world news that have attracted my attention. Recently in Mexico City there was a Latin American clown convention. There are few things more sinister than a clown, and the fact that thousands of them gathered in Mexico City would have been enough to force me to spend a week at my country hacienda. I have always disliked clowns, and the circus, as a kind of warped entertainment for the immensely stupid and easily entertained. As I said, there is something extremely sinister in both examples. Clowns do not entertain, they frighten, and circuses are founded on the premise of “If you are lucky tonight, you may see an actual death.” These are always accompanied by the inevitable “Freak Show” and the gut-wrenching “Midway”, where you are hawked to buy disgusting foods guaranteed to induce vomiting and then to take equilibrium-shattering rides that doubly insure your illness. “Oh my, aren’t we having a good time!” you think, as you wretch out your interior behind the tent of some attraction.


In the United Kingdom, I notice that heroin users are now subsidized by the State, with clean injections and government produced and administered heroin of a purity of which all addicts can only dream. This costs the State approximately $22,000.00 a year per addict, which is glowingly compared to the $66,000.00 per year per person it costs to keep someone in prison. (Why these figures were not given in Pounds Sterling I do not know.) The punch line to this is the televised interview with an addict who states, “Finally, one can take heroin in a rational way and get on with one’s life.” It is hard to believe one’s ears when one hears a statement such as that. Be it noted that I am not in favor of punishing addicts, they do that quite well themselves. However, to note that your taxes are being spent this way is a conundrum, at best.

Here in France, I note that La Tour d’Argent, a very famous Parisian landmark restaurant, is auctioning off 18,000 bottles from its 500,000 bottles cellar. Among those being auctioned are wines and cognacs more than three centuries old, including cognacs from before the French Revolution. Now, if I know my French and my Europeans (and I do), palates are salivating around Europe and indeed around the globe. (Surely some of these fabled bottles will end up in Asia.) La Tour d’Argent conservatively estimates that the auction will net 1 million euros. Oh, please, who are you kidding? Oenophiles worldwide will enter a frenzy to obtain these bottles of spirits, and I believe that 1 million is a risibly small sum compared to what will actually be paid. Combining France and England, I recently went to the neighborhood pharmacy to inquire if I need a prescription for my influenza vaccine. Why, no! I was told, and the pharmacist sold me the vaccine then and there for a mere 5€. It comes pre-loaded in a small syringe, and the pharmacist informed me that should I wish to avoid an unnecessary trip to the doctor, I could simply inject myself at home, which I did. A short jab in the shoulder, press the plunger and voilà! you are done. Devi was a bit distressed watching me do this, and emphatically turned down my offer to do it to her, for which I did not blame her. She receives her vaccine and shot free at the doctor’s office, being old enough to profit from a senior discount. I have not yet reached the golden age, thus my 5€. Elsewhere in Europe, the war crimes trial of Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic has started at the International Tribunal at The Hague. He boycotted the opening of his trial, stating that he needed more time to prepare his defense (he has had ten months). He is representing himself. He was caught somewhere in Eastern Europe practicing “psychic healing.” The trial goes on without him and is expected to last two years. Two years – with any luck, he may contract a psychic disease and die before they can incarcerate him somewhere along the North Sea.

Moving south, Morocco is on a big tourist campaign push here in Europe. I like Morocco. A land of moderate Islam, fabulous history, good shopping and dreams of ‘1001 Arabian Nights’-like luxury. I inquired at La Mamounia Hotel in Marrakech as to their rates and was informed that a 7-night stay, in a junior suite, would only cost me $10,000.00, exclusive of taxes and personal consumption. If I were to wish a less spacious accommodation, I could book a room for around $7,500 for the stay. Of course La Mamounia is the stuff of legend, and no doubt Devi and I would book an equally luxurious, but smaller and more affordable accommodation in Morocco known as a riad. Such a trip may well be on our agendas, after we have accomplished a voyage dearer to my heart, a stay in Istanbul. An advantage to Morocco is that French is widely spoken there, which would soothe Devi no end. Perhaps we can economize on the flights and simply row across the Mediterranean. Still in Africa, I note that the Nigerian Ministry of Information is on a push to “clarify” that there really is not any corruption in Nigeria, and that the world’s Nth largest oil producing nation does NOT have a problem with electricity, it is simply those scummy poor always complaining about state services. Now when a government has a Ministry of Information, you may safely bet that electricity and corruption are simply two amongst many problems with said government. But you have to love those colorful dashikis, do you not?


Slipping over to the Middle East, I note that Turkey and Armenia are trying to warm up relations which have been frozen for nearly a century. It seems to be a small, niggling problem about a Turkish genocide of Armenians, oh, “sometime way back when.” The treaty to start talks on a treaty that would authorize, perhaps, a treaty, were “kicked off” to a start by a football (soccer) game between the two nations (Turkey won). Concurrent with all of this, Turkey is on a CNN worldwide publicity blitz advertising that you should invest in Turkey, as it has over 450,000 science, technology and business graduates per year, and that Theodora, a 6th century Byzantine empress, was NOT a trained circus performer and whore who rose through the ranks to seduce and marry the emperor, but in fact a devout religious minority member who was slandered by historians. Perhaps. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodora_(6th_century) ). Deeper in the Middle East, a Saudi court sentenced a female journalist on Saturday to 60 lashes for her work on a controversial Arabic-language TV show that aired an episode in which a man bragged about his sex life (see previous blog entry). King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia has pardoned her, and is thus being hailed as a compassionate reformer and advocate of women’s right. Yes, indeed, and perhaps that can be explained to his forty-two wives. Totally unrelated, if you have not seen the YouTube video of "Achmed the Dead Terrorist”, you must watch it. It is very funny. Here is a link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uwOL4rB-go. Another wonderful advertising campaign is by the Abu Dhabi police, who for some bizarre reason are pushing their “there to protect you” message on a worldwide basis. The police? What can possibly be the reason for that? Do they have a bad reputation? Is Abu Dhabi a hotbed of anarchy and crime? It escapes explanation, but there it is. In our “Unfortunate Name of the Week” category, the winner is Mohammed Jamjoom, a CNN reporter. His name sounds like an Islamic kiddie’s treat. The runner-up is Nancy O’Karma (again, CNN), said name bringing improbable speculations about either mixed marriage or someone gone wildly astray in her search for a maharishi. Oddly enough, this does not seem to be an isolated name, there is a gossip columnist named Alexandra O’Karma. This reminds me of the old joke about how to pick your stripper/drag queen name: take the name of your first pet and add the name of your first residential street. That would make my ‘nom de strip’ Sammi Aliso. I wonder if I can pole-dance? Further east, we run into the run-off elections in Pakistan. I can only grimly smile when I think of the American diplomats and advisers who told President Karzai, ‘Listen, Karz, either you accept another election or we hang your ass out to dry.” So he grovels on Pakistani television, saying that “alleged fraud has forced him, in all justice, to hold a run-off election.” You could almost see the puppeteer’s hand up his fundament. The Afghanis are now taking to the streets to protest undue foreign influence (i.e. American) and presence on their soil. ("Vacation in exciting and ever-changing South Waziristan!”) Fine, we have decided to withdraw from your country, leave you to your fate with your own radical insurgents, and when the time comes, as it surely will, turn your nation into a vast sheet of nuclear glass because you wanted foreigners out and your own radicals in power and in control of nuclear weapons. This is all eerily similar to Vietnam, and no, I do not think it is winnable. They will never stop breeding their homegrown radicals, they will never see a bigger picture, but we, too, must accept the fact that policing the world is not an option. It is a bitter truth, but you cannot guarantee peace with war. It is as simple as that. Further east, and further . . . . Did you know that 2,000 new cars enter Beijing traffic each day? Go ahead, breathe deep of the intoxicating air of the Celestial Empire! The Mandate of Heaven is in a plastic display case in the Temple of Supreme Harmony museum, open 7 days a week from 13:00 until 13:15, reservations required. And no, do not ask, you may not see where we buried the last emperor of China, but you can see where the first emperor is buried, except it is just a landscaped mountain, because we are too afraid to actually open his legendarily fabulous tomb in case his evil spirit escapes and subjugates China once more. (That is true; they will not excavate his tomb for precisely that reason.) East, further east . . . I was recently made aware of Kpop, the South Korean phenomenon of wildly popular pop music and its reigning prince, Rain. His name is actually Jing Ji Hoon. As a neophyte, I watched his videos and must admit he is very talented, very charismatic and very attractive. Not bad at all. ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5B0XItDpSM ). He is making inroads in both the USA and Europe; we can only hope he reaps his billions before he becomes the sad spectacle that was Michael Jackson (no apologies to any MJ fans out there). I find it improbable, however, that I would ever utter, “Slip it over here, bitch.” It is not me and, secondly, Devi would most likely look at me as if I had become certifiably insane. In one video, “I’m Coming Out”, (no, not gay) he sports a pair of large white angelic wings. Well, yes, imaged enough, but were I to be rich enough to fund genetic research and modification, I would want BIG wings, and not white, but multi-colored like a Brazilian parrot, yet sparkling as if made of crystal. Of course, they would have to be functional. If I am going to fly across the skies of France on my own wings, it had better be stylish. This does not, of course, take into account the plastic surgery needed to slim me down, give me the figure of a god, the face of an angel and the laser light show and LED effects that would have to be implanted everywhere on my body. Plunging south, I found a wonderful story out of Tasmania. It seems that years ago, an elderly woman was robbed and violated by a then unknown. At the scene, police found a leech, apparently detached from the body of the perpetrator after he had swam through a swamp to get to her residence. They kept it. Now, umpteen years later, they have extracted the blood from the leech and identified the criminal. He was arrested and confessed. They are still looking for his partner. There is something quaint about the story – “Crime-fighting leech busts bloke!”, “I got sucked, I got busted!” I may have to put Tasmania on my “must visit” list.

Now, on to better things. As promised, the Grand Hierophant has finally given me the first installments of the doctrine for The Path of Totality (questions to: grandhierophant@hotmail.fr). After his words, I shall conclude with the Chapter for the Going Down to the Tribunal of Osiris from The Book of Going Forth by Day: The Egyptian Book of the Dead. The Grand Hierophant writes this:


“In understanding the complexity of imparting a body of knowledge, I have been forced to abbreviate and simplify the basic points which I wish to impart to the seekers of said knowledge. It is not useful to obfuscate the teaching with unnecessary obscurantism. The great Book is as it has always been, though prostituted by years of deformation and misuse. In order to enter the Path of Totality, I have tried to clear away the cobwebs and give the essential, esoteric meaning to the lames of the Book. Many know it as the Tarot. It is not that which you may imagine. It is not an engine for prognostication. It is a diagram, a map, for progression in this life, from this life to a higher reality. That which is given below is a sketch, if you will, of your path if you wish to follow it. It is not inflexible, it is not tyrannical. You are free to follow the path, or not. No one can force you to Wisdom, no one can force you to evolve. In a series of abbreviated descriptions. I strive to delineate the basics of how the path starts, how it progresses, how it continues. Beware always of false prophets – many promise enlightenment, but it is you who must achieve it. For the sake of clarity, the Book is divided into 5 sections; The Avatars, the Attributes, the Alliances, the Axials and the Apposites. Each will be presented separately. Start at the beginning, take what you can, study it. Come back again and again. Only by absorbing each arcanum can you hope to progress. It is not easy, it is not hard. It is simply what it is. Good journey to you all:

The Avatars

I - The Magician
Will
Letter Athoim (A) - Number 1

A = 1 and expresses, in the Divine World, the Absolute Being, which contains, and from which emanates, the Infinite of possibilities. In the Intellectual World it is Unity, the principle and synthesis of numbers, and Will, the principle of actions. In the Physical World it is Man, the highest of the relative beings, called to elevate himself for perpetual expansion of his faculties to the concentric spheres of the Absolute. The Arcanum I is represented by the Magician, an example of a perfect type of man, that is in full possession of his physical and moral faculties. He has been depicted standing, in an attitude of will ready for action. He is clothed in white, symbol of original and re-attained pureness. A serpent biting its tail serves as his belt: the symbol of eternity. His forehead is bound by a circle of gold: gold signifies light and the circle expresses the universal circumference within which created things gravitate. His right hand holds a golden scepter, implying command, which he raises towards the heavens in a sign of aspiration towards wisdom, science and strength. The index finger of the left hand points towards the ground signifying that the mission of perfect man is to reign over the material world. This double gesture also expresses the fact that human will must reflect down below divine will, in order to produce good and impede evil.
There is a cup, a sword and a shekel, or gold coin, in the middle of which a cross has been engraved, in front of the Magician, on a cubic stone. The cup signifies a mixing of the passions that contribute to happiness or unhappiness, according to whether we are their masters or slaves. The sword signifies work; struggle against obstacles and the trials that pain makes us suffer. The shekel, symbol of determined value, portrays aspirations realized, completed works, the sum of power conquered by will's perseverance and efficiency. The cross, seal of the infinite that marks the shekel, announces the future ascension of this power to the spheres of the Future.
Remember that man must act, like God, without pause. To want nothing or to do nothing is no less grievous than to want or to do evil. If the Magician appears among the prophetic signs, he is announcing that strong will and faith in yourself, guided by reason and love for justice, will lead you to the objective you want to reach, and will preserve you from danger on your way.

II - The High Priestess
Door to the Occult Sanctuary - Science
Letter Beinthin (B) - Number 2

B = 2 and expresses, in the Divine World, knowledge of the Absolute Being, which embraces the three terms for all manifestations: the past, the present and the future. In the Intellectual World it is Binary, reflection of Unity and Science, perception of visible and invisible things. In the Physical World it is the female form of Man, uniting herself to him to complete an equal destiny.
Arcanum II is represented by a woman seated on the threshold of the Temple of Isis, between two columns. The column to her right is red: this color signifies a pure spirit and numinous ascension above matter. The column to her left is black and stands for the night of Chaos and imprisonment of an impure spirit in the bonds of matter.
The woman is crowned with a tiara surmounted by a crescent moon, and a transparent veil falls over her face. A solar cross hangs from her neck and an open book, half covered by her cloak, lies on her knees. This symbolic ensemble personifies Occult Science waiting for the initiate on the threshold of the Sanctuary of Isis in order to tell him the secrets of Universal Nature. The solar cross, like the Indian lingam, signifies fecundity of matter by the spirit; it also expresses, as the seal of the infinite, the science that comes from God and that has no borders, like its source. The veil around the tiara and falling over her face announces that Truth avoids the gaze of profane curiosity. The half-hidden book under her cloak signifies that mysteries are revealed only in solitude to the sage absorbed in silent contemplation in the full quiet of himself.
Remember that the spirit lights up seeking God with the eyes of Will. God has said: "Let there be light!", and light flooded space. Man must say: "Let Will show itself and let Good come to me!" If man possesses a healthy will, he will see Truth shine again and, led by it, will reach the good to which he aspires. Knock resolutely at the door of the Future and it will be opened; but reflect long over the way you are about to walk. Turn your face towards the Sun of Justice, and the Science of Truth will be given unto you. Keep quiet about your plans, so as not to free them for contradiction by men.

III - The Empress
Isis/Urania - Action
Letter Gomor (G) - Number 3

G = 3 and expresses Supreme Power in the Divine World, balanced by eternally active Intelligence and absolute Wisdom. In the Intellectual World it is the universal fecundity of Being. In the Physical World it is Nature at work, the seed of the actions that blossom from Will.
Arcanum III is portrayed by the image of a woman seated in the center of a radiant sun; she is crowned with twelve stars and her feet rest on the Moon. She personifies universal fecundity. The Sun is the emblem of creative power; the starred crown symbolizes, with the number twelve, the Houses or stations that this heavenly body travels from year to year around the zodiacal circle. This woman, Celestial Isis or Nature, holds a scepter surmounted by a globe; this is the sign of her perpetual action on things that have been, or will be, born. In her other hand she holds an eagle, symbol of the heights to which a spirit can rise. The Moon placed under her feet portrays the inferiority of Matter and its domination by the Spirit.
Remember that to affirm what is true and want what is just is already to create; to affirm and want the contrary means to devote oneself to destruction. Hope for success in your undertakings, provided that you know how to unite fecund activity to rectitude of spirit that makes works flourish.

IV - The Emperor
The Cubic Stone - Realization
Letter Dinain (D) - Number 4

D = 4 and expresses the perpetual and hierarchical realization of the virtualities contained in the Absolute Being in the Divine World. In the Intellectual World it is the realization of the ideas of the contingent Being thanks to the four-fold work of the spirit: Affirmation, Negation, Discussion and Solution. In the Physical World it is the realization of the acts directed by the Science of Truth, Love for Justice, Strength of will and Work of the organs.
Arcanum IV is represented by a man wearing a helmet with a crown. He is seated on a cubic stone. His right hand holds a scepter aloft and his bent right leg rests on the other in the form of a cross. The cubic Stone, the figure of a perfect solid, signifies the completed human work. The crowned helmet is the emblem of strength that has vanquished power. This dominator is in possession of the scepter of Isis, and the stone that serves him as throne signifies matter dominated. The cross traced out by the position of his legs symbolizes the four elements and the expansion of human power in all its senses.
Remember that nothing resists steadfast will that has the science of truth and justice as a lever. To fight to ensure realization of them is more than a right: it is a duty. The man who triumphs in this struggle is only carrying out his terrestrial mission; he who succumbs, dedicating himself to it, acquires immortality. The realization of your hopes depends on a more powerful Being than yourself; try to get to know it and you will obtain its support.

V - The Hierophant
Lord of the Arcana - Inspiration
Letter Eni (E) - Number 5

E = 5 and expresses Universal Law, ruler of the infinite manifestations of the Being in the unity of substance, in the Divine World. In the Intellectual World it is Religion, the relationship of the absolute Being with the relative Being; from the infinite to the finite. In the Physical World it is aspiration communicated by the vibrations of heavenly fluids; it is the proof of man in front of Liberty of action, in the unbreakable circle of Universal Law.
Arcanum V is depicted as the Hierophant, master of sacred mysteries. This prince of occult doctrine is seated between two columns of the Sanctuary. He is leaning on a three-barred cross and is tracing the sign of silence on his breast with the index finger of the other hand. Two prostrate men lie at his feet, one dressed in red, and the other in black. The hierophant, supreme organ of sacred science, represents the genius of good inspirations of the spirit and the conscience; his gesture invites one to concentrate in order to hear the voice of the heavens in the silence of the passion and instinct of the flesh.
The right column symbolizes Divine Law; the left one, the freedom to obey and disobey. The three-barred cross is the emblem of God penetrating into three worlds, in order to make all the manifestations of Universal Life flower. The two prostrate men represent the Genius of Light and the Genius of the Dark, both of whom obey the Master of the Arcana.
Remember, before saying whether a man is happy or unhappy it is necessary to know what use he has made of his will, since every man creates his life in the image of his works. The Genius of Good is to your right and that of Evil to your left; their voice only extends to your conscience: absorb it and it will reply."

And now for the excerpt from the Egyptian Book of the Dead:

Chapter 124
Chapter for going down to the Tribunal of Osiris

My soul has built an enclosed place in Busiris, and I am flourishing in Pe; I plow my fields in my own shape, and my dom-palm is that upon which Min is.
What I doubly detest, I will not eat; my detestation is feces, and I will not eat it. I will not consume excrement, I will not approach it with my hands, I will not tread on it with my sandals, because my bread is of white emmer and my beer is of red barley. It is the Night-bark and the Day-bark which bring it to me, and I will eat beneath the branches, for I know the bearers of what is good. Then I will recite glorifications of the White Crown, and I will be raised aloft by the uraei. O you door-keepers of Him who pacified the Two Lands, bring me those who prepare offerings and let the branches be raised for me; may the sunshine open its arms to me, may the Ennead be silent when the sun-folk speak to me. May I guide the hearts of the gods, and may they protect me, may I be mighty among those who suspend themselves on high. As for any god or any goddess who shall oppose themselves to me, they shall be handed over to those who are in charge of the year, who live on hearts, while the preparation of Senu-bread is before me; may Osiris eat it when going forth from the East, may it be allotted to those who are in the presence of Re, may it be allotted to those who are in the presence of the Sunshine-god who covers the sky among the great ones who belong to it.
Place bread in my mouth; I will go to the Moon-god, so that he may speak to me, that the followers of the gods may speak to me, that the sun may speak to me, and that the sun-folk may speak to me. The dread of me is in the twilight and in the Celestial Waters which are his on his forehead; I am there with Osiris, and my mat is his mat among the Elders. I have told him the words of men, and I have repeated to him the words of the gods. My spirit comes equipped, for I am an equipped spirit and I have equipped all the spirits.

Please do not forget to take the poll at the bottom of the blog. (Just hit “end” and you will be taken there.) Until the next,
Leducdor

". . . Can make a heav'n of hell, a hell of heav'n."

John Milton Paradise Lost (1667)



Well, well, well. Once again we have arrived at the month of October, my favorite month for a variety of reasons, not least of which being that it heralds the real arrival of autumn, the change of colors, the melancoly yet deeply satisfying turning inwards of both the northern hemisphere and the thought processes of people in that hemisphere. On top of which, October culminates in one of my favorite holiday festivals of the year, Halloween. In order to commence the month in appropriate tenor, I assembled all the available gargoyle films I could find, five in number, and watched them one after another. They ranged from the 1972 camp Gargoyles to a recent Sci-Fi channel effort, Reign of the Gargoyles. The premises of all the films are silly in the extreme, but if one is a fan of the genre it is a delightful way to usher in the month and its rather lugubrious undertones. I was amused to note that in one Romanian effort, there was a credit in the technical team for Zoltan Dracul, and one can only hope that is his real name and that he glories in it. On Halloween weekend itself, Devi and I shall be in Paris visiting some dear friends whom we plan to take to dinner on that night. I jokingly requested that my friend find a restaurant that will be serving "werewolf soup, vampire steaks, fresh hot witchbread, iced gargoyle delight & pitchers of ghost wine." He replied that he knows the perfect place, which throws an unexpected new light on his character. No matter the result, we will be delighted to visit them at the end of the month, they are cherished friends and as well we will have the opportunity to congratulate them in person on the news which they announced only last night that they have decided to marry, an unexpected but delightful surprise. Devi is overjoyed as she is a friend of long date with the husband-to-be, who recently brought his companion down to Montpellier to introduce her to us and we both found her delightful and charming with a great deal of interpersonal warmth.

In keeping with the October theme, I also watched an American television miniseries playing on French television, Fallen, concerning the Nephilim. While the series itself was rather nebulous, fluffy and commercially driven, the ideas it presented were interesting. For those who do not know, the Nephilim are/were the offspring of fallen angels and human women. I have run into this idea previously but never in depth, so the series served to drive me to the Internet and do some research on the topic. It is quite fascinating. The whole subject ranges from the biblical idea that the Nephilim were giants, such as Goliath, to the modern idea that the Nephilim still exist among us and serve a definite purpose in the divine plan for humanity. What that purpose may be is still clouded and unsure, but the whole theory that angels can couple with humans runs into a small snag; angels are supposedly non-sexed, a difficulty which is sidestepped by stating that that requirement applies only to angels still in Heaven, that the fallen can indeed take corporeal form and couple sexually. Also inherent in the theories is that not all the fallen went to Hell with Lucifer, that a great number decided to remain in corporeal form on the Earth and lead their immortal lives amongst us for a variety of reasons, not least of which is their fascination with the fact that human beings have souls while they do not. The price of immortality I suppose. The series turned around the point that one day a Nephilim will be born as "the Redeemer", the one who has the power to redeem the fallen and send them back to Heaven despite whatever crimes or sins they may have committed. From a rather promising idea evolved a great deal of foolishness, including a teenage romance and a Nephilim son of Lucifer the Lightbringer. Azazel had a thick Cockney accent and the angels were a politically correct mélange of races, colors and political beliefs. Oh well, American television will always put its own idiotic spin on big ideas.

As I sit here writing this it has just been announced that President Barack Obama has been awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace for 2009. Of course the whining, naysaying and random sniping started immediately, mostly of the tone of "yeah, but what has he actually accomplished?" Well, yes, there is that, but I believe people are missing what he has done in fact; he has single-handedly changed the American image abroad and at home, has re-opened diplomatic dialogue instead of resorting to Texan six-shooter "diplomacy," and is fighting an uphill battle on the fronts of health care reform, climate change, nuclear disarmament and poverty while coping with the Great Recession. Give the man a break. Despite any opinion to the contrary, the Nobel committee does not make these decisions in an atmosphere of "oh, what the hell. . . ." I personally am deeply happy for him even though surprised by the award, as he is only the third sitting US president ever awarded the honor, the last going back to Woodrow Wilson in 1919. My grandmother was only seven years old and her concern at the time was whether she would receive the doll she wanted for Christmas from the Sears mail order catalogue. And thus the beatification of President Obama continues, but there is a down side to that as well. In any process of beatification, there must be proof of miracles and "hope" does not fall into that category. As well, this award will add to the tremendous burden already riding on his shoulders. Very rarely have so many hoped for so much from a single man, much less a politician. He may be humbled by the award but I would wager a nickel to a dollar that the implications of the award do not escape him and that somewhere in his being there is a small, reverberating groan. After his failure in Copenhagen to win the 2016 Olympics for Chicago and media reflections on his uxoriousness with Michelle, however, perhaps it is a sweet moment for him after all; it will certainly be tougher for the GOP to continue to demonize him (unless they can prove he is Nephilim). In speaking of the 2016 Olympics, I was amazed to see the president of Brazil burst into tears when Rio de Janeiro was announced as the winner. Oh, those emotional Portuguese. It may be hard, however, to keep the athletes focused on the games when surrounded by naked Rio samba dancers and their enticing 20 foot feather headdresses. Of course, 90% of Rio de Janeiro will be off limits as the crime rate is astronomical, but what the hell, live a little, compete a lot, just stay away from the crack (in every sense).

Nasa has "bombed" the Moon at almost the same moment as the Nobel announcement. Bomb is not the correct term, of course; they have sent an unarmed rocket crashing into a south polar lunar crater in order to cause a plume of debris which will be analyzed for the presence of ice (water) on the Moon in order to justify further lunar expeditions and the possibilty of human bases there. I hope no one is surprised when the Lunarians "bomb" the Earth, searching for signs of intelligence beneath the surface since there is obviously none ON the surface. Meanwhile the Giant Space Crabs (see previous blog entry # 29 ) are fine tuning the hexnut on Saturn, advising the homeworld of this disquieting development and requesting advice on the feasability of launching the "Humans with Butter & Lemon Sauce" operation sooner than foreseen.

Let us mosey around the world a bit, shall we? The "Hail, Prince(ss) of the Obvious!" award for this entry goes to Manisha Tank, a Hong Kong based CNN anchor who stated, on presenting video showing a protester throwing his shoes at the chairman of the IMF in Istanbul (a deep insult in the Middle East), "Well, there must be some discontent there." Hail, Manisha! The Swedish firm IKEA® will not being doing much business in Israel for awhile due to Israel's discontent with a Swedish media story of Israeli soldiers harvesting Palestinian organs from their victims for use back in Israel. In Saudi Arabia, a man convicted of bragging about his sex life has received a sentence of five years in jail and 1000 lashes. Presumably he will not receive the lashes all at the same time as I understand that you die well before 100. A small useless fact is that 25% of the world is Muslim and that percentage is growing - Pope Benedict XVI, on your toes and take that Popemobile on a tour! Drifting over to Southeast Asia, one can only marvel at the massive amount of bad karma that seems to be falling from the sky. Successive earthquakes in Samoa and Indonesia, a linked chain of typhoons sweeping the Philippines, many hundreds dead, many hundreds of thousands displaced and homeless, being born in Southeast Asia seems to be a definitive judgement by Fate that you need to atone for something, even if you do not know what that may be. The Sri Lankan general Udaya Nanayakkara explains to the international media that there were and are no war crimes committed against the Tamil Tiger rebels, despite claims to the contrary, yet he will allow absolutely no reportage from within the "former" war zone, keeping it utterly isolated. China, in a wistful recall of the imperial days of the Mandate of Heaven, celebrated the 60th anniversary of Communism with a gigantic celebration in Tienanmen Square, complete with dancing dragons, fireworks and a military parade the likes of which has not been seen since the glory days of the USSR. Upon watching bits of the proceedings, I began to wonder, "If China can do that for its 60th anniversary, why can't I?" I can imagine it now - a nominal rent for the Square, dancing dragons, a commission for the largest fireworks display ever seen, a banquet for ten thousand of my closet friends, thousands of tightly choreographed dancers as entertainment during the banquet, all to celebrate my 60th birthday in just a few years. Why not? I will have to see if Devi and I can squeeze the necessary funds out of our retirement accounts. Japan continues its cinematic fascination with the erotic, the psychotic and the homicidal as attested by a spate of recent films combining all three elements, most of which show up on the French arts channel, a kind of francophone PBS. A recent piece on fad mad Japan informed me of the newest trend there, IV cafes. You enter one of the countless Tokyo highrises and proceed to the offices of your favorite IV cafe, where you choose from among ten packages of various vitamin supplements suspended in saline solution. There is one for clearer skin, one for rejuvenation and muscular suppleness, one for this and one for that, etc. You relax in a recliner while the nurse administers your vitamin boost intravenously, at the price of around $30.00 USD, and walk out feeling as if you have done something to better your health. All of this only served to remind me of my small regret that I have never tried smoking opium and probably never will. Perhaps they can administer it intravenously if I go to Tokyo . . . .

On the random side of things . . . watching an Italian film recently, I was amused to note among the technical credits the name of Fabiomassimo Dell'Orco, a name which I find highly wonderful. A friend of Italian extraction in Seattle states that either he had "a grand drunken time thinking up his stage name or his parents had delusions of grandeur." I opt for the latter, as normally a technical person does not need a stage name. In an Austrian fim, under tech credits, came the name Helga Ungarat. Again, I enjoyed it. The name itself conjures up an image of Helga, a mix of Prussian and Romanian influences, perhaps a childhood spent in Bucharest, longing for the freedom of East Germany (sic). Quincy Jones, in a CNN segment entitled "My City, My Life" bills Seattle as a city of mystery and intrigue. Really? I have visited Seattle and it did not strike me as the Prague of the American West Coast. Lately it seems that my eyes have become more focused on spotting really beautiful women, the stunningly beautiful kind, and I find it wonderful to look and appreciate while at the same time my mind repeats constantly that you cannot trust an improbably beautiful woman any further than you can toss the Great Pyramid. In line with the old adage, "Never marry a very beautiful woman, you will never be sure." My acquisition of the complete 24 volumes of the Encyclopaedia Universalis is now complete and I am content that we now have in the house a decent reference source for history, art, literature, science, religion, economy, society, philosophy and geography, at least until next year when new discoveries or political changes will render it all absolutely out of date.

I shall finish at this point, as I need to contemplate whether I shall take an Halloween costume to Paris or not. I had planned, when the idea was to stay in Montpellier, on dressing as a Roswell grey alien carrying a Doc Johnson® anal probe, but that is now out of the question as the Parisians might just take me at face value if I were to wear said disguise. Please do not forget to take the latest poll at the end of the blog (just hit "End" and you will be whisked to the appropriate line). Until the next,

Leducdor