Time To Practice Smiling

Frankly I never thought “Thanksgiving” as we celebrate it was a “good” holiday, considering what we’re reminded to be grateful for: why be grateful for the slaughter of so many hundreds of thousands of people by incoming Europeans who wanted the land and resources for themselves? Not to share but to steal. “Native Americans” are ancestors of those Mongolians, Russians and Chinese peoples who WALKED onto the North American Continent across the Bering Land Bridge (now under water) and honored the land they lived on, they cherished and cared for it. The animals they hunted for food and clothing were never wasted and always given thanks. So on our “thanks-giving” who are WE thanking, and for what? I’m sorry, this may anger some but I feel strongly that it’s morally wrong to celebrate the murderous time when “pilgrims” from Europe came to the newly discovered world (as if it were uninhabited) and forced the tribes further and further into small places, killing them along the way. Many defended themselves, their families, and mostly the land they had cared for so well. When they saw the ruinous way of farming the Europeans had, of re-planting the same crops year after year, these good natives tried to help, to teach, to pass on years of knowledge about the land and her bounty. No one cared, no one listened, no one was interested in anything but what they could get for THEIR families. They didn’t realize you didn’t have to despoil everything to survive. They didn’t follow the fine example of the many tribes already living all over the continent. So what is this holiday for?

A fake smile, a huge table groaning with more food than a community of homeless could eat, a gathering of family who most times haven’t seen each other since the last “holiday”, no doubt there will be alot of unspoken thoughts and resentments, but we smile on like idiots who just want peace. I think that’s what the native tribes wanted too? Just to live in peace and harmony with their surroundings. They were willing to share.

Did you know there is no word in most Native tribal languages for “landowner”? The concept of OWNING the Good Mother earth was completely alien, just inconceivable to them. How they must’ve been shocked and outraged at the European way of wasting everything.

I chose to celebrate nothing, but as on other days we remember fallen innocents, I’ll remember the thousands and thousands of men, women and children who died needlessly so the greed of others could be satisfied. I’ll remember with shame.

But I'll remember.

Why Can't We Find Traces or Fossil Remains of Non-Complex Life Even in Places It Should Be?

Our species has reached far out into the nether-regions of this galaxy and so many others, but to stay in our own backyard for a moment, I have to wonder … we’ve sent satellites with intricate probes to map out tomography of planets and their moons, especially Saturn with my favorite, the Cassini-Huygens probe, which went to Titan – the most early earth-like moon of Saturn.

First look at Mars. by ESA and NASA discovered proof that liquid water once flowed in canali or canals, combined with mineral compounds, carbon-hydrogen gases, and other life-building substances. Yet no fossil remains of bacterial pads or microscopic animals have been found. I expected our Martian probes Spirit and Opportunity to bring back some kind of fossil showing the simple, amoeba or paramecium-like remains in the calcified rock, but there were none.

Back to Titan. This great moon is surrounded by orange-tinted gas clouds, but we’ve discovered through Cassini-Huygens that the carbon-hydrogen gases in the atmosphere combined with the evidence of liquid methane rivers, would lead us to find those fossil remains of the non-complex life that must’ve existed, in micro form. Then again, if the ingredients, the amino acids, the building blocks for life exist somewhere suitable, it appears it’s not wise to make a lateral jump of conclusion that life must’ve evolved there.

This incredible image of Titan shows two new features - linear images where water ice may have exuded to the surface, and you'll notice these dark channels of liquid methane, more like "springs" rather than rain. Titan has drainage channels and rocky boundaries, even a shoreline!

Which is my point. Life seems incredibly rare, we can’t even find evidence of its being in places we should’ve found it. What does this mean, what does this say about life itself? Look how it evolved here – a complete accident of a combination of elements coming together: non-nucleated cells, electricity from continual lightening slamming onto young earth, liquid water brought by both continual rain and bombarding comets, hit at just the “right” angle, and you have a nucleus which replicates over and over becoming the complex life after a few hundred millions years, onto what we now see 4.6 billion years later. We KNOW simple one-celled creatures existed for millions of year before becoming more complex. We see them perfectly intact in the oceans and places they lived, now all rock like the Grand Canyon.

All these ingredients are present on places like Titan, also Enceledus, Europa, moons with the most suitable ground for proto-life to evolve. Yet it hasn’t, or at least, we can’t find evidence of its existence, ever.

Why is life so rare? Whether simple-celled or the complexity of bacteria, or the evolution of marine life to land creatures, follow it all back in time and you find the same situation existing on post proto-earth that now exists on these satellites of other planets.

I have to wonder … really. This is an area I love staying up to date on, and the one thing all our global work has shown us about life is, we can’t find evidence of it anywhere but here. Perhaps technology isn’t evolving fast enough? No, I think it’s something more. ESA and NASA are as thorough as mankind can be – we can certainly find fossils on earth yet we haven’t on Mars, where life is very much thought to have existed on bacterial mattes perhaps anywhere from hundred of thousands to millions of years ago.

Everything in this galaxy is approximately the same age as the sun, 4.6 billion years, having started from its birth. Is earth just so perfectly in place that evolution of life happened here by the vagaries of some fluke? Why here? It’s too neat, too fiercely assured.

Life is rare. That in itself is a serious statement.

Pakistan Is An American Target

Disagree if you wish. You'll want to know more details about the Pakistani and American relationship.

The strategy towards Pakistan has changed, especially since the recent assassination of Usama bin Laden - this was also a true propaganda ploy aimed at targeting Pakistan, I believe. As for bin Laden, he's left to the criminal history he created.

To understand why American looks to this land, just examine the growing military and strategic ties between Pakistan and China - our primary global rival. It makes sense to me. We've written this land down for destabilization. It is likely to continue until full collapse.What is not mentioned in any discussion on this topic is the role of of the military and intelligence communities in making it all a reality. We'll see increasing military excursions into Pakistan and very direct action to fulfill our own future goals.

This is a Muslim nation. When will we keep out of sovereign countries who only want to work out their differences without "help" from two-faced Western alliances?

We don't belong there.

RETURN MY HUMANS!!

OKAY who likes unexplained, unexpected, annoyingly unreasonable surprises? ME NEITHER! Yet I see the pictures of my "Very Special Humans" have all disappeared. Poof! Just....gone. Aliens? Devils? Perplexing indeed. Have a look, do you see even one?



Discounting that everyone didn't simply click off the page, I must assume blogspot is angry at me for my lengthy absence I've been favoring the ever-handy FACEBOOK. Yes, I have the bug....RETURN MY HUMANS o spot of blog! I'll give you until the world ends (again) on 12-21-12.

Actually, it may not matter will it LOL ... Many wacky folks were embarrassed and shocked this 5/22 when the world stayed put. Yet if they're right about 2012 we may not have an earth, no blogs, NO Book of Faces. Scary, eh?
Note to self.........I'm bouncing for joy..... THEM not you.....

September Brings A Sparkling Comet

This tiny dot is Comet Elenin, on its way to earth's orbit and the sun. You may've heard that it's due to pass earth by September, making its way at supersonic speeds through space, and easy-to-spot-with binocs then later with naked eyes. It'll have an especially glowing tail - even though it's just dirty ice and gas emissions. If it sounds special, t'is. It has to do with the sun-comet-earth alignment.

It's only a blob right now, BELOW IS THE LATEST SHOT. Click on this LINK to see Elenin in its various stages, (and other beautiful comets) just scroll down almost to the bottom of the list and look for "C2010X1 (Elenin)" Look at them full-size! Great pictures of it changing. It's still more than 300 million miles from the sun, headed inbound - early in the game - the calculated orbit is certain to change in coming months but right now it appears that its perihelion (time closest to the sun) will happen well inside earth's orbit around September 5th.

You'll see it with the naked eye as its orbit changes while in our vicinity. However the best thing about Elenin is its gases and melting speckled ice (tail) because Sol, Elenin and Earth will be in alignment. We can expect a pretty decent show. Patience .....

Many More Earths To Visit

So is this not wonderful news? A NEW STAR - KEPPLER!! In a galaxy very close to ours.

Yet that's not the best, we've discovered 1200 NEW PLANETS and 6 of them are IN ORBIT around Keppler. Meaning they are perhaps, earth-like.

Any star that "blinks" like Sol (ours) and Keppler, is doing that because "something" is circling it, in orbit around it, that's how they determine which planets are worth a closer look. Hope they keep looking! Imagine what kind of life might be hanging out on one of those six planets. Non-complex, like algae? Or....
Perhaps something more advanced.........

Conversation

Between me (Cathy) and my brother (Chris)

First posted April 26, 2007 - some of you will remember this - just for laughs.

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Chris looked at me. "I just had a cup of that new de-caffinated stuff." he said.

"No", I retorted, "that's the condition of a cow who just gave birth. De-CALF-inated. See?"

Silence.

"What...?" Chris said. "And I suppose Russians get their milk from MosCOWS?! Cathy, you're nuts."

"Yeah", I concurred.

Chris started walking away.

"Awwww, don't be so cow-towed, Chris!" I yelled. He walked faster.

"So where ya going, huh? The mooo-vies?"

Now he kicked into a full run, stiffling giggles. I couldn't resist.

"Gee Chris, you're so mooo-dy." I shouted. "Come on, wait up! I can't mooo-ve as fast as you!"

Distinct sounds of laughter coming from Chris now. He started to slow down, finally stopping with his hands on his knees, head bent down, trying to catch his breath.

"You're an idiot, Cath," he managed.

"Yeah, I know."

Chris looked pensive. "Hey, write those down, and any more you can think of, I have a friend who loves stuff like that."

I thought about it. "Is he a COWboy?" I asked

Moans from Chris. "No, he's a park supervisor."

"Does he look for moose? You know, MOO-se?" I asked with the devil's own smirk.

Chris turned from me, cupping his mouth.

"You think your COWboy friend herds MOO-se? What do they call guys like that, Mooseboys?" Chris's eyes were starting to water.

"Why would anyone need to herd Moose anyway? Why not owls? Say! If an owl got hit with an awl, would it hurt more?" I pondered. "What about a trowel?" I mused. "Why do owls hoot and wolves howl, do you think?" I looked straight at Chris.

He couldn't speak, his speech center was choked off by laughter.

"Howling owls, imagine ...." I said slowly, rubbing my chin.

Last I saw Chris, he was sitting at the table, writing something down.