It’s all excitement and hysteria at Penwith Radio, and that’s nothing new around here as we’re all generally excited and somewhat hysterical..
BUT as the Olympic Flame arrives in Cornwall with all the pomp and circumstance of a major celebrity Penwith Radio is joining with Redruth Radio, The Source FM and St Austell Bay Radio to follow the flame and report on the event.
We’ll be broadcasting from 10pm tonight on The Source for a live take-over at 6am with Martin Holland and thereafter live phone ins from the route..
Exciting stuff..
AND THIS SHOW..
Well ..
It’s International Museum Day & The Festival of Pan in Greece
On this day ..
1990 – A modified TGV train travels at 515km/h
1980 – Mt St Helens erupted
1974 – India successfully detonates an atomic weapon. Perhaps ironically the project was called Smiling Buddha
1969 – Apollo 10 is launched
1958 – The F-104 Starfighter sets a world speed record of 2,259.82KM/h
1953 – Jackie Cochran becomes the first woman to break the sound barrier
09.01 Marazion – Long Road Road
09.04 Marazion – West End
09.07 Marazion – Kings Road
09.10 Marazion – Beach
09.11 Marazion – West End
09.13 Marazion -Fore Street
09.17 Marazion – Turnpike Hill
09.19 Marazion – Turnpike Road
Torch bearers: Sarah Blight, Andrew Bell, Andrew Marston
12.27 Truro – Falmouth Road
12.35 Truro – Lemon Street
12.37 Truro – Boscawen Street
12.38 Truro – King Street
12.41 Truro – New Bridge Street
12.42 Truro – St Austell St (B3284)
Torch bearers: Rik Bennett, Barry Symons, Lisa Heal, Rhiannon Bryant
The Supporters driving force is visionary Artist, Songwriter & Producer Colin Russell who gave us a World First with the fabulous leftfield ”SIBENSIS” The Truth is Plain 2c, 2006 release, a dual disc release of a CD and DVD containing bespoke videos to every track. Something that remained unrivalled until the Chemical Brothers release of ‘Further’ in 2010 !
This time he’s created a super uplifting, more mainstream song by bringing together another eclectic group of musicians, with WIN ! by The Supporters
Lead Singer on this powerfully energetic song is Lynieve Austin who began with the band “Reach” (WEA) aka “Urban Speech”, and as backing singer she has had stage performances supporting such stars as Curtis Mayfield, The Fatback Band, Alexander O’Neil and ’M’ People.
On Electric Rhythm and Lead Guitar is Ian McKean a virtuoso player who was lead guitarist with signed bands ’Balaam and The Angel’ (virgin) ‘Twenty Flight Rockers’ (Epic) & ‘SIBENSIS’ (Pleasing) and continues to play lead Guitar with popular London Bands ‘The Runner Brothers’ and ‘Bones and The Aft’.
With eclectic festival musician Anthony Hatcher from ’The Original African Indianz’playing Flute and Didgeridoo, and renowned Jazz Characters Alex Bronske on Bass andRobert Ellis Hawke on Saxophone with an additional array of instrumentation and arrangement from Colin Russell, make this a real treat to listen to.
Elements of Arthur Lee’s band ‘LOVE’ are combined effortlessly with London cross culture which see strings, sitar and electro pop converge with standard popular music to bring a unique driving sound.
Colin Russell also has a ROCK OPERA, AUDIO / VISUAL extravaganza with 20 original songs currently in development; This shows why he is one of the most interesting Song writing Artists around today, don’t take our word for it, listen, find out !
NEW SINGLE RELEASE FROM JUNIOR TURNER – “LOVEBLIND” FEAT. JESS WOOD
FROM HUSH HUSH MUSIC GROUP IN ASSOCIATION WITH WOO PRODUCTIONS LTD.
RELEASE DATE - MON 25TH JUNE 2012
AVAILABLE FROM – iTunes & AMAZON TO PURCHASE & DOWNLOAD
In June 2012 Junior Turner will release his debut single “Loveblind” featuring another amazing undiscovered talent Miss Jessica Wood also from the North East of the UK.
1st May: Paul Harborne of Sedgeley, West midlands spent over £50, 000 restoring a car.
The result? A fully functioning Ectomobile, complete with scrolling LED display saying ‘Ghostbusters – we’re back’. Harborne has put a great deal of effort into every detail, hooking up an iPod in order to play the sirens and hoping to include outfits for the experience so that fans can hire the car and go out for their own busting adventures.
The 1959 Cadillac was an abandoned wreck before Harborne got hold of it, ‘It’s extremely rare and very hard to restore… It’s certainly been a challenge – 50-year-old Cadillacs are hard work!’ he said. He’s also hopeful that there will be a third film in which case his car might get its own part, however, given Bill Murray’s rumoured disinterest in any script ideas put forward by Dan Aykroyd, it’s a question of ‘if’ rather than ‘when’ on that one.
International News
30th April: Theerasak Saksritawee was taking a careful snapshot of a jumping spider as it lounged on a leaf at the Baan Suan Rojana resort in the eastern district of Muak Lek, when the unsuspecting spider was photobombed by a praying Mantis.
He stated that “One moment it was all clear – then this thing appears in front of me.”
5th May: ‘Dominic Deville’ of Lucerne, Switzerland, is providing an unusual service for birthday boys and girls, for a fee, he will don his best evil clown outfit and stalk your children until their big day when he will approach them upfront and throw a pie in their faces. The service includes text messages, phone calls and letters warning the child of their impending pie-related doom.
Sound a little much? Dominic ensures worriers that ‘It’s all in fun, and if at any point the kids get scared or their parents are concerned, we stop right there,’ plus most of the children he has stalked ‘absolutely love being scared senseless’ by his appearance.
Deville came up with the service after his favourite horror franchises inspired him and his clown mask could certainly be likened to Stephen King’s ‘It’.
Perhaps to mark 2012’s Star Wars Day, company ‘Wicked Lasers’ have released their ‘LaserSaber’, claiming to be the most realistic Lightsabre replica ever made and which you can purchase for $400. It features the brightest laser that it’s possible to own (Legally!) though sadly this means that it’s technically ‘not a toy’ as a laser this intense must be handled with care as it is quite dangerous. Try telling that to a true Star Wars fan.
Watch the video of the gorgeous bit of tech in action…
8th May: Albuquerque, New Mexico is the proposed site for a ‘scientific ghost town’. It will act as a sort of testing ground for a wide variety of automated technology, but will house no human residents.
It will be modeled after Rock Hill in South Carolina and will go as far as having functioning plumbing and household appliances, despite the fact nobody will be there to use them.
While the project may cost up to a billion pounds, it will also create 350 permanent jobs and 3,500 indirect jobs in the process of its design, development, construction and ongoing operation. The project will mean that researches will be able to test new technology without disturbing everyday life, while ensuring a realistic setting.
10th May: The Mayan Calendar has been ever in the public consciousness this year as some believe it predicts the end of the world, but archaeologists in Guatemala have just reported an amazing discovery that could change that theory.
The discovery consists of a small building adorned with surprisingly well preserved paintings, one of a Mayan king and others of Mayan Calendars which extend far beyond 2012.
The calendar in question precedes the oldest Mayan Calendar so far discovered – being the one in the Dresden Codex – by several hundred years. It consists of a table filled with huge numbers which relate to how long it takes Mars and Venus to cross the sky and return again. This calendar spans 7,000 years. The building itself has been known of since 1915, but it has only now been excavated professionally.
Cimolais, Italy now has a reluctant Mayor. Fabio Borsatti stood in at the last minute because he was concerned that his good friend Gino Bertolo would not get enough votes if he stood unopposed. His entire family voted for Bertolo and he had not imagined that he might win, but he received 58% of the vote and states that “I find myself a mayor who didn’t want to be a mayor.” His ‘rival’ was not remotely bitter about the surprise win, saying “I wasn’t upset… Something apparently unusual happened but it is nothing to joke about.” Borsatti has no plans to resign despite his unwanted election and plans to focus on promoting tourism to the area.
Thanks Catherine…
And from Fee we have …
A Nebraska man has changed his name to Tyrannosaurus Rex Joseph Gold. Why? Because it’s ‘cooler’ than his birth name.
Tyler Gold, 23, of York, Neb., appeared in district court. In his filing, he wrote he wanted the name change because it’s ‘cooler’ and more appealing than his birth name, the York News-Times reported.
“Also, as an entrepreneur, name recognition is important and the new name is more recognizable,” Gold told the Times. Judge Alan Gless asked Gold if he was avoiding debt collectors or law enforcement, but he told the judge no and that his request was innocent, the Christian Science Monitor reported. His request was approved, and Gold is now legally Tyrannosaurus Rex Joseph Gold
10 weird and unusual phobias
A phobia is an intense and irrational fear of a specific situation, object, person or activity. While we are generally familiar with common phobias such as acrophobia (fear of heights) and claustrophobia (fear of small spaces), some phobias are less well known. Here are 10 of the most bizarre phobias.
Optophobia: Fear of opening one’s eyes
If ever an award was given for Most Inconvenient Phobia, it would have to go to optophobia – the fear of opening one’s eyes! Although the act of opening our eyes is something that few of us ever give thought to, for optophobics this simple, daily act can be a nightmare. Luckily, if you are reading this list, you most likely aren’t suffering from this condition!
Chorophobia: Fear of dancing
If nightclubs, weddings and small children in tutus fill you with an overwhelming sense of dread, you could be suffering from chorophobia – the fear of dancing. Regardless of dance ability and whether or not you are required to hit the dancefloor, any situation or event that relates to dancing can be a source of fear for chorophobics.
Geliophobia: Fear of laughter
Many studies suggest that laughter is great for our health; helping to build social bonds, improve mental health and look after the heart. However, for those suffering from geliophobia, the act of laughing, or being around those who laugh, can actually cause overwhelming fear and anxiety. Suggested reasons for geliophobia are anxiety about laughing in inappropriate situations or of being laughed at by others.
Arachibutyrophobia: Fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth
It may not be a debilitating or life-altering condition, yet no list of weird phobias would be complete without the inclusion of arachibutyrephobia – the inexplicable fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth. While peanut butter is clearly not obligatory for a healthy and satisfactory life, arachibutyrophobics could miss out on the speculated health benefits of peanut butter, including its abilities to lower cholesterol and help ward off heart disease.
Heliphobia: Fear of sunlight
A rare but unfortunate condition, heliphobia refers to the fear of sunlight. Not only does going out in the sun instigate severe feelings of anxiety and panic in sufferers, but heliophobics may also experience fear of bright lights. Most often the fear or condition is associated with an anxiety about the perceived dangers of the sun; however, unless you happen to be a vampire, avoiding the sun entirely is likely to be an impossible and unnecessary task. It can also be dangerous for your wellbeing, as sunlight is good for regulating the mood and protecting bone health.
Deipnophobia: Fear of dinner conversations
While many people suffer from a general form of social anxiety, deipnophobia takes a rather more specific twist and is restricted to a fear of carrying on a conversation while eating. Although this can cause discomfort and awkwardness for dinner party guests, it seems that deipnophics could be on to something, as remaining silent while eating can actually help benefit digestion.
Neophobia: Fear of new things
While many people are wary of change, neophobia is a phobia that refers to an intense and irrational fear of all new things and experiences. Neophobia can impact on happiness and wellbeing as sufferers miss out on many life-enhancing experiences. When applied to the diet it can also mean that sufferers miss out on various healthy foods and nutrients. Research has also shown that the stress of neophobia can shorten life expectancy.
Syngenesphobia: Fear of relatives
Many of us experience embarrassment or irritation with our families at times. However, those with syngenesphobia suffer from an excessive fear of their relatives. Unless there is a specific, explicable reason for these fears, it is worth seeking help to alleviate this phobia and help you bond with relatives as research shows that forming strong family ties can help to increase life span.
Ablutophobia: Fear of washing and bathing
Although many children are resistant to being washed, this condition is much less common in adults. However, for a rare few the thought of stepping under a shower is quite literally terrifying! The good news for ablutophobics is that skipping the occasional shower can help to preserve natural oils and good bacteria that protect your skin and help to prevent disease. However, making it a regular habit is unlikely to benefit either your health or social life.
Geniophobia: Fear of chins
Geniophobia is an overwhelming fear of chins. Yes, that innocuous body part attached to the lower part of your face! Further phobias of seemingly innocent body parts include genuphobia (fear of knees), chirophobia (fear of hands) and ishicascadiggaphobia (fear of elbows). As these phobias can make normal social interaction extremely difficult, treatment through therapy is highly recommended.
The camera just can’t be trusted…
The image above is not real. It’s a computer generated digital sculpture of Korean Actress Song Hye Kyo.
The piece was created by CG artist Max Edwin Wahyudi using Pixelogic Zbrush and Autodesk 3DS Max for animation modeling.
It’s a pretty remarkable piece and extremely life like when compared with other digital photographs of live people.
A man in Hampshire has painted a picture of a Ferrari 250 GTO on the garage door of his home to fool passers-by he owns the classic car.
Chris Smart spent about two weeks transforming his garage in Bishopstoke by painting the cult, red sports car.
Mr Smart, 32, said: “We’ve had a few kids stop and stare as they walk past. Originally one of my neighbours wasn’t too keen, but now she loves it.”
A real version of the car sold for about £20m ($31m) in February.
Nikola Tesla
Nikola Tesla was perhaps one of the greatest inventors in history, largely overlooked and regularly stolen from, namely by Thomas Edison.
He was born on July 10th 1856 and died on January 7th 1943.
He was a genius, capable of speaking eight languages, possessing an eidetic memory and capable of picturing and designing complex devices without ever sketching a blueprint or taking a note. He was also supposedly inspired to study electricity after he received an electric shock from his cat.
He was also notoriously eccentric and plagued by many neuroses, including an intense fear of dirt and germs, any round objects (He was specifically disgusted by pearl earrings) and he later developed an obsession with the number three.
Unfortunately, Obsessive-compulsive disorder was widely misunderstood at the time and he never received any nature of treatment.
He also often suffered from vivid hallucinations and struggled to differentiate between reality and these overwhelming ‘recurrent visual sensations, bright and geometric, which occasionally overwhelmed his sight, actually blotting out scenes in front of him.’
Additionally, towards the end of his life he grow very fond of the pigeons of Manhattan, taking care of sick and injured birds in his hotel room, including a bird he described as pure white with grey tipped wings that he claimed to ‘love as a man loves a woman, and she loved me’.
Well ahead of his time, he is directly responsible for:
First hydroelectric plant
The discovery of the resonant frequency of the earth.
The remote control
Neon Lighting
The electric motor.
Alternating current.
The Tesla Coil.
(Not the invention of, but certainly the research leading up to) X-Rays, he became aware of the damage done by them that was later identified by Rontgen.
The first radio transmitter.
Wardenclyffe Tower or the Tesla Tower, an early wireless telecommunications tower intended for commercial trans-Atlantic wireless telephony, broadcasting, and the demonstration of the transmission of power without interconnecting wires. It was apparently not financially viable however, and later in 1917 it was destroyed by the US government for fear of it being hijacked for use by the Germans.
Wireless energy transfer and the Tesla effect.
Radar.
Bladeless turbines.
Amongst many other significant discoveries. He is best known for Alternating Current, a discovery that was fraught with heated resistance from Thomas Edison who went as far as to steal pet dogs and electrocute them to death to prove AC was unsafe to power cities; despite is obvious advantages over Edison’s favoured Direct Current. He also killed a horse using the same method.
‘Topsy’ a rebellious circus elephant was also electrocuted to death to prove AC was unsafe and filmed using Edison’s motion capture camera.
The video of the act is available to see under the name ‘Edison electrocutes elephant’. It was deemed too cruel to hang her instead.
Subsequently, Edison is responsible for the switch from hanging to electrocution in prisons.
Edison allegedly also prevented the use of radar in the First World War after Tesla pitched the idea to the Navy and Edison said it had ‘no practical application’. Tesla came up with the idea in 1917, long before Robert Watson-Watt.
Marconi was credited with the invention of radio, but Tesla won the legal battle and Marconi’s patents were overturned, unfortunately posthumously for Tesla.
Tesla also allegedly came up with many theoretical inventions that are still debated about to this day, including a type of particle gun that he claimed would be able to shoot planes from the sky which he called a death ray (Although it was initially called a ‘peace ray’ instead), a steam powered, conveniently portable earthquake machine, a force field, a saucer or cigar shaped craft powered run electro mechanically, and many a theory relating to ball lightning.
Tesla’s electro-mechanical oscillator or earthquake machine was invented in 1898 and it was surprisingly small, weighing a couple of pounds and only seven inches in length.
At this time, Tesla’s lab was in Houston Street, New York and the story goes that his device shook the building violently, resulting in the arrival of the police and Tesla resorting to destroying it with a hammer.
It worked by applying five pounds of air pressure against a pneumatic piston of some nature using steam. This would result in very high temperatures and enormous generated pressure.
The reason this story is regarded as something of a myth is that attempts to replicate the ‘earthquake’ have been unsuccessful, vibrations being generated that were felt from a great distance but certainly not an earthquake.
Tesla reputedly creative ‘electric fireballs’ in a laboratory setting, writing of his findings in the 1904 journal Electrical World and Engineer as follows: “I have succeeded in determining the mode of their formation and producing them artificially…
It became apparent that the fireballs resulted from the interaction of two frequencies…. This condition acts as a trigger which may cause the total energy of the powerful longer wave to be discharged in a infinitesimally small interval of time… and is released into surrounding space with inconceivable violence. It is but a step, from the learning how a high frequency current can explosively discharge a lower frequency current, to using the principle to design a system in which these explosions can be produced by intent.”
The fireballs became more commonly known as the ball lightning phenomena, despite the differences between his described creation and the experiences of eyewitnesses to ball lightning.
Evidence of Tesla’s fireballs has never come about either, and attempts to emulate ball lightning have proved unsuccessful as well.
Most experiments succeed only in creating brief ‘fireballs’ inconsistent with the ones Tesla described.
As for ball lightning, it’s still a regularly reported though perhaps not fully understood phenomena.
Wardenclyffe Tower is sometimes quoted as being reputedly responsible for the rather odd Tunguska Event.
The Tunguska event (Or blast or explosion) was a massive explosion that occurred near the Podkamennaya Tunguska River (Now Krasnoyarsk Krai) Russia, at 7:15am on June 30th in 1908.
The blast was believed to be 1000 times more powerful than that of the Hiroshima atomic bomb and it knocked over around 80 million trees covering 2150 square km.
The shock wave from the blast is estimated to have measured at least 5.0 on the Richter scale.
However, the notion of Tesla’s Wardenclyffe Tower having anything to do with the Tunguska Event is widely disregarded as there is very little evidence to support any such activity, plus the Tower was either totally or partially inoperable at the time the blast was said to have taken place.
Furthermore in relation to Tesla’s Death/Peace ray, it is pointed out by Brian Dunning that has little to do with Scalar Field Theory, though it is often quoted as differently.
‘Tesla did also claim to have completed a partial unified field theory that unified gravity with electromagnetism, which is something that scalar field theory also claims. Because of these similarities, Tesla’s name is often wrongly associated with scalar weapons and scalar field theory.’
The ray was also called Teleforce, and consisted of a uniquely designed large Van de Graaff generator another unique type of open-ended vacuum tube. It would accelerate tungsten or mercury particles to about 48 times the speed of sound from the tube by electrostatic repulsion.
Tesla used the term ‘peace ray’ instead of the media proposed ‘death ray’ as he intended it to be used for defense purposes.
The method for producing great electrical force in the range of 60,000,000 volts (To propel the particles) could have been achieved by ‘Wardenclyffe type apparatus’.
After Tesla died, alone and in poverty, his papers were seized by the FBI, J. Edgar Hoover declaring the case ‘Top Secret’ because of ‘the nature of Tesla’s inventions and patents’.
Tesla’s family and the Yugoslav embassy fought with the American authorities to regain the items seized after his death because of the potential significance of some of his research to US defense.
Sava Kosanovi? (Tesla’s nephew) won possession of the materials and they can now be viewed at the Nikola Tesla Museum.
The morning after Teslas’ death, Kosanovic´ states that he by the time he arrived, Tesla’s body had already been removed, and that he suspected somebody had already gone through his uncle’s possessions.
Papers were allegedly missing, including a black notebook Kosanovic was certain Tesla kept. He says that some of the pages of this notebook had been marked ‘Government.’
Despite Kosanovic winning the materials back again, there are still missing papers. Whether or not these have anything to do with the FBI of course remains to be seen.
Good Morning Penwith – and I’m back after last weeks schedule changes and recovering from the Ofcom News – Yippeee..
So David Cameron has told his Facebook friends that the Pink Floyd Album Dark Side of the Moon is his favourite album.
Not sure how much we should read into the fact that Dark Side of the Moon’s lyrical themes include songs about greed, conflict, death and insanity.
Is it bird?
Is it a plane?
No! It’s…
Actually, it is a flock of birds coming together to form one huge, flapping and flying figure.
Snapped in Somerset by amateur photographer Rob Wolstenholme, he reckons that the hundreds of starlings gathered together to ward off danger from a bird of prey.
Happy International Conscientious Objectors Day
On this day…
1618 – Johannes Kepler discovered his harmonics law.
1702 – The War of Spanish Succession began.
1768 – Under the Treaty of Versailles, France purchased Corsica from Genoa.
1795 – Napoleon entered the Lombardian capital of Milan.
1849 – Neapolitan troops entered Palermo, and were in possession of Sicily.
1856 – Lyman Frank Baum, author of “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” was born.
1930 – Ellen Church became the first airline stewardess.
1940 – Nylon stockings went on sale for the first time in the US
1941 – Joe DiMaggio began his historic hitting streak of 56 games.
1957 – Britain dropped its first hydrogen bomb on Christmas Island in the Pacific Ocean.
1958 - Sputnik III, the first space laboratory, was launched in the Soviet Union.
1963 – The last Project Mercury space flight was launched.
Preheat oven to 350ºF and mist two 12-cup muffin tins with cooking spray (or line with paper liners). In a strainer, rinse sauerkraut under cold running water , then wring dry and chop coarsely; set aside. Purée pears with their liquid in a blender or food processor until smooth; set aside.
Combine cake mix, half the puréed pears and the eggs in a large bowl with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds. Increase speed to high and beat for 2 minutes more, or until the batter is thick and smooth; fold in the sauerkraut.
Pour batter into prepared pans and bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out with just a few moist crumbs. Cool cupcakes in pans for 10 minutes, then remove to wire rack to cool completely.
Meanwhile, prepare frosting: Whisk condensed milk, remaining puréed pears, applesauce and cornstarch in a medium saucepan until smooth. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture comes to a boil and thickens.
Remove from heat and stir in butter, vanilla and almond extracts, coconut and pecans; set aside to cool. Spoon cooled frosting onto cupcakes.
Alan’s Astrological Answers
Aries
The day may be full of mystery and secrecy, as the Moon enters intense Scorpio. It’s a great day to reflect about your personal relationships, mainly imbalances or karma. Relax and think about your life.
Taurus
The Moon enters your 7th house (Partnerships), so the important people in your life will come to the foreground. Get ready to stand your ground, if needed, but take time to enjoy honest conversations with your loved ones.
Gemini
The Moon and Venus will cast a spell on you today and romance will happen even if you aren’t expecting it. Take someone special to lunch and enjoy this passionate day. Remember to care for your health.
Cancer
What a great day ahead, Cancer! You’ll feel on top of the moon, eager to celebrate life with family and friends. Go out, have loads of fun and enjoy the Moon entering your house of pleasure!
Leo
Do as much as you can to be able to relax at home this evening (ideally, during all day), since the Moon will stop at your 4th house. Put on your favorite show, pour your favorite drink, kick back and enjoy some quiet time.
Virgo
A burst of energy may fill your day, as the Moon enters your 3rd house (Communication). It may seem as though there is more than usual to accomplish today… Don’t rush things and you’ll easily sail through the day.
Libra
The Moon enters Scorpio and your 2nd house, so business will be on your mind. In fact, you may even become obsessed with your material possessions, so try to focus on what’s really important.
Scorpio
Scorpio – Though you can be truly inspired and your personal magnetism takes a step up, the tendency towards unwise and rash decisions is very strong. People will be confused by your actions, but you can work steadily towards your goals.
Sagittarius
It’s a great day for teamwork, Archer, so set your differences aside and build a harmonious working environment. Rely on your positive frame of mind and go ahead. The emphasis is all in relationships.
Capricorn
As far as finances are concerned, this will be a very frustrating day, which will probably drain all your energy. Just keep thinking that tomorrow will be a different (and probably better) day.
Aquarius
It will better for you to keep a low profile. Dark clouds are upon you, as the Scorpio Moon arises in Neptune, the master of deception, in your money house. Your physical efforts may be concealed and furtive.
Pisces
The Scorpio Moon opens up new mystic and mysterious roads and since Venus and Neptune appear to be working harder than usual, your life will be filled with fantasy and dreams. Drop those negative feelings now!
The Press Embargo has been lifted and Penwith Radio received it licence from Ofcom to work towards broadcasting on FM
YIPPEEE….
So on our 3rd birthday (1st May) Ofcom met and gave a thumbs up to our application for an FM licence. The work, of course, starts now as we move from internet only to FM over the next 12 – 18 months.
Big thanks to all those friends who contacted us this morning when Ofcom made their official announcement and Kudos to Stu at Redruth Radio, CHBN (Truro) and Totnes who got good news today also…
So apart from today being FM LICENCE DAY for Penwith Radio what was happening..
WELL it’s International Firefighters Day and Remembrance of Dead Day in The Netherlands….
AND OF COURSE IT’S STAR WARS DAY !!!!!!
May the Forth Be With You !!!!
Also on this day
1979 – Margaret Thatcher became the first female Prime Minister of England
1974 – An all female Japanese team reach the summit of Manaslu becoming the first women to climb an 8,000 meter peak
1932 – Al Capone begins serving an eleven year prison sentence for tax evasion
“Blue Apple Theatre is a highly ambitious theatre company which brings all the benefits of taking part in theatre to adult performers with learning disabilities, and enables them to present high quality productions to the widest possible audiences.
Through the presentation of entertaining, engaging and exciting performances, the company seeks to challenge prejudice and raise the ceiling of expectation for adults with learning disabilities.
At Blue Apple Theatre we are particularly interested in the relationship between arts and health – not just the wonderful direct and indirect benefits to physical and mental health that come from being able to take part on stage, but also the direct way theatre and film can help with messaging.
Blue Apple believes that the sense of self worth, meaning and purpose gained through being directly involved in the arts is incalculable and greatly helps in the building of a more inclusive and equal society.
Blue Apple is a fully inclusive company, where people of all abilities are equally valued.”
The group have got a great tour coming up…. and will be at the Minnack on the 12th May.
BLUE APPLE’S HAMLET TOUR
Please contact each venue to buy tickets.
Running time approx 70 minutes. No interval.
Suitable for all audiences aged 12+
May 2012
Thurs 3rd 8pm West End Arts Centre, Aldershot.
Tel: 01252 330040 westendcentre.co.uk
Tonight we’ll be taking a quick look at UFO’s, SETI and focus on the UK Rosewell – Rendlesham…
Some News
25th April: Ant Hadleigh a kite surfer from Cape York, discovered a golden orb spider battling a brown tree snake near a friend’s home in Freshwater.
What’s more, the spider won!
While the golden orb spider is the largest known web-weaving spider in Australia, the odds would usually still be against it when pitted against a snake. The snake involved was about a metre and a half long and Hadleigh states that every attempt it made to bite back was easily evaded by the spider.
26th April: Many residents of San Diego were saddened to learn that a yarn bombing project whereby the stop signs were transformed into flowers may have to come to an end as there are ‘just too many restrictions to overcome’.
City official Bill Harris contacted the man behind the project, known only as Bryan, and informed him that “Even with the great community spirit this effort has generated… there is just no way to retain the works where they now are.”
Bryan currently has a week or so to remove the ‘flowers’ or they will be removed by city employees. Bryan hopes that if he lives them up there is a chance they will be left alone after all, stating that “In January, 2011, I put up five as a test run and they are still there, so I’m hoping it was just the city doing their due diligence. But I’d like to think that if you were a busy city worker and had a whole day’s work ahead of you, removing this might be too much trouble.”
27th April: Florida resident Blanca Riveron was very worried to hear that she may have lung cancer after an x-ray in December of last year showed a worrying dark spot on her lung.
She’d always been stricken with respiratory problems, suffering through bouts of asthma and pneumonia far more regularly than most. However, upon coming to a halt at a set of traffic lights, she was struck with a coughing fit during which she coughed up a fruit pip she had inhaled by accident 28 years ago!
It is very likely that this was her ‘spot’ and she will be attending a checkup to make sure, but friends and family have remarked how much better she already seems to be getting. “She’s even been able to blow up a balloon for my son. She had never been able to do that,” said her daughter, Dayana Noda.
28th April: Since 2004, Seattle attorney Andrew Basiago has been claiming to have been part of ‘Project Pegasus’ between the age of 7 and 12. Project Pegasus, he claims, was a US government program that worked on teleportation and time travel under the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), apparently to test the effects of such travel on the bodies of children as well as adults, who also took part.
He says that children adapted better to the strains of time travel. Most of the methods of time travel he speaks of he put down to Nikola Tesla, as papers discussing his theories on the subject were allegedly found in his New York apartment subsequent to his death in 1943. “The machine consisted of two gray elliptical booms about eight feet tall, separated by about 10 feet, between which a shimmering curtain of what Tesla called ‘radiant energy’ was broadcast,” Basiago said. “Radiant energy is a form of energy that Tesla discovered that is latent and pervasive in the universe and has among its properties the capacity to bend time-space.”
He even says that he has photographic evidence of his travels, pointing out that he can be seen in a photograph of Abraham Lincoln at Gettysburg in 1863, “I left the area around the dais and walked about 100 paces over to where I was photographed in the Josephine Cogg image of Lincoln at Gettysburg,” he explains. Perhaps not surprisingly, many are skeptical of his claims.
24th April: Ginger Morneau happened to have her camera handy in order to document a rather unusual showdown while walking along the Ogden Point Breakwater in Victoria, BC. A Glaucous gull whose eyes were probably bigger than its stomach when it spotted a potential meal, was spotted struggling with a Giant Pacific Octopus in the shallow water of the Point.
Morneau snapped several pictures of the somewhat dramatic event, describing it all as ‘primal’ and speaking of how she had rather wanted to rescue the bird, which was definitely losing the fight. It had at first appeared to have been feeding on something just under the surface, but on closer inspection it was unable to lift its head from the water despite flapping its wings to try and free itself.
The gull was soon pulled completely under the water and the octopus slunk off to enjoy its enormous catch. Gulls are capable of eating an octopus, but there have been odd reports throughout history of the opposite happening too as in this instance. This is the first time anybody has ever been able to capture it though.
UFO’s
Yes the exist!
Strictly speaking ANY flying object which cannot be identified is a UFO – an Unidentified Flying Object
However when the term UFO is used many will immediately think of aliens – extraterrestrials.
Now this is a HUGE topic so we’re going to focus upon one key story and look at what ‘evidence’ there is and what we can deduce from that evidence…
The report that we are referring to in the show is can be found here and was compiled by Catherine : Rendlesham : Notes
The Drake Equation
While working at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Green Bank, West Virginia, Dr. Frank Drake conceived a means to mathematically estimate the number of worlds that might harbor beings with technology sufficient to communicate across the vast gulfs of interstellar space. The Drake Equation, as it came to be known, was formulated in 1961 and is generally accepted by the scientific community.
N = R* fp ne fl fi fc L
where,
N = The number of communicative civilizations
R* = The rate of formation of suitable stars (stars such as our Sun)
fp = The fraction of those stars with planets. (Current evidence indicates that planetary systems may be common for stars like the Sun.)
ne = The number of Earth-like worlds per planetary system
fl= The fraction of those Earth-like planets where life actually develops
fi = The fraction of life sites where intelligence develops
fc = The fraction of communicative planets (those on which electromagnetic communications technology develops)
L = The “lifetime” of communicating civilizations
Frank Drake’s own current solution to the Drake Equation estimates 10,000 communicative civilizations in the Milky Way. Dr. Drake, who serves on the SETI League’s advisory board, has personally endorsed SETI’s planned all-sky survey.
Yes today is our BIRTHDAY – we’re 3 years old – our live broadcasts started on the 1st May 2009. Of course Penwith Radio as an organisation existed before that date and we built up to our launch. So we’ve got to say a BIG HELLO to the Penwith 50+ Forum and founder members like Chris Goninan, Pat Quayle, Malcolm Lawrence, Jane Howells – and so many more – not forgetting our first station manager and studio wizard Julian Horner who actually got the bits and pieces to work ….
So what else was happening..
It’s MAY DAY – Beltaine
1989 – Disney-MGM Studios opens at Walt Disney World in Florida
1960 – The U2, Gary Powers, incident in which a US spy plane was shot down over Russia
1956 – The polio vaccine was developed by Jonas Salk
1930 – The dwarf planet Pluto is officially named
1840 – The first official adhesive postage stamp was issued in Britain – the Penny Black
1834 – The British Colonies abolish slavery
1776 – The establishment of the (Bavarian) Illuminati
AND BIRTHDAYS …
1967 – Tim McGraw
1954 – Ray Parker Jnr
1951 – Anthony Worrall Thompson
1946 – John Woo
1945 – Rita Coolidge
1939 – Judy Collins
1937 – Una Stubbs
1929 – Sonny James
1925 – Scott Carpenter
1916 – Glenn Ford
1910 – Dr J Allen Hynek (Astro-physicist and UFO Investigator)
BELTAINE
Bealtaine was historically a festival celebrated in Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man.
Bealtaine and Samhain were the leading terminal dates of the civil year in medieval Ireland, though the latter festival was the more important.
In modern pagan ‘tradition’, Bealtaine is considered as a cross-quarter day, marking the midpoint in the Sun’s progress between the spring equinox and summer solstice. The astronomical date for this midpoint is closer to 5 May or 7 May, but this can vary from year to year.
Alan’s Appetite Appreciation Association
Here’s a recipe I was directed to which looks interesting…
It sure doesn’t strike me as an average sweet-sour recipe. However I suppose it makes some sense because sweet pickles are obviously sweet and sour from the sugar and vinegar they are made with. If you get past the idea of sweet-sour in terms of a Asian dish, this might be good. However if you told people you were serving chicken with a barbecue and pickle sauce I am sure they would think it was weird.
Sweet-Sour Baked Chicken
1 Chicken (2 1/2 to 3 lb.), cut in serving pieces
1/2 cup unsifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/3 cup salad oil Sauce
1/2 cup cider vinegar
3 tablespoons light-brown sugar
1/3 cup chopped sweet gherkins
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon catsup
1. Wipe chicken well with damp paper towels.
2. In clean paper bag, combine four, salt, and pepper. Shake chicken pieces in bag until well coated.
3. Heat oil slowly in large skillet. Brown chicken, a few pieces at a time, turning often. Place, skin up, in 13x9x2-inch baking dish.
4. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Make Sauce: In small bowl, combine vinegar and sugar, stirring to dissolve sugar. Blend in remaining ingredients.
5. Brush chicken pieces carefully with sauce. Pour rest over chicken.
6. Bake, covered, 30 minutes.
7. Baste with sauce; bake, uncovered, 15 minutes.
8. Serve with sauce spooned over
With your thoughts turning to romance and matters of the heart its a bit difficult for you to concentrate on more mundane matters. You will be feeling a lot more positive than in recent weeks so try not to miss those opportunities which will come your way.
Taurus
Try not to let your feelings get in the way of dealing effectively with something you’ve been putting of for the last few weeks. There are brighter times around the corner, you just need to remove some of your current clutter.
Gemini
You may not like it, but you’re going to find yourself needing to be provocative this week. Shake some of those trees which you’ve been dancing around. Change sometimes needs to eased with challenging words and deeds – others need to be convinced to see the light.
Cancer
Try not to scuttle back into your shell when someone misinterprets your actions. You know the purity of your intentions and the wisdom at your disposal. So try not to be defensive, act with heart and positivity – stand your ground.
Leo
So here’s a familiar bit of rhetoric – if you keep on doing what you’ve been doing, you’ll get what you’ve always got. In this bit of wisdom is a truth. It’s time to stop doing things harder by doing things different!
Virgo
If you’re involved in some sort of committee or in public affairs you might find yourself becoming somewhat of a celebrity this week – and more, your rise to ‘the top’ will mean that your past efforts are being well rewarded.
Libra
Tread carefully as someone or something may not be exactly what they (it) seems. You may have missed the fact that another’s intentions are not as simple or even as positive as you first may have thought. Go with your ‘gut’ and trust your heart.
Scorpio
Standing up for what is important to you and defending the values you subscribe to is the order of action this week. You may be involved with something that runs contrary to your desires, values and attitudes – keep a cool head and a balanced perspective in all your dealings.
Sagittarius
Celebrate – it’s time for all your efforts to be rewarded and the recognition you deserve to be given. Enjoy the warm feelings of success or the promise of certain success in the near future.
Capricorn
Take Care ! You may be a little accident prone this week. It’s all down to you wanting to get things done quickly. Slow down a little you’ll get things completing tasks more effectively.
Aquarius
Enjoy your friends and family this week, you may have been ignoring them recently. Someone close may need your help and support but unless you stop long enough to notice that support will never come.
Pisces
Good things are just around the corner so prepare for something ‘magical’ to happen. Treat this week as your rehearsal for success …. and enjoy yourself!
Got a short show today – sixty minutes – so Lewis will be coming in at 5pm to take over.
Why am I running away – well, I got a gig tonight and so got to be there and set up by 6.30 – so busy busy busy …
So today is WORLD GRAPHIC DESIGN DAY…
which I get makes me a Badly Drawn Boy …
it’s also South Africa Freedom Day – celebrating the first post-apartheid elections in 1994 and bizarrely it’s also Un-Freedom Day which is set to remind us that the poor of South Africa are still not free…
Elsewhere on this day ..
2006 – construction stated on Freedom Tower for the new World Trade Centre in New York
2002 – the last successful telemetry received from NASA’s Pioneer 10
1992 – Betty Boothroyd becomes first female speaker of the House of Commons
1981 – Xerox PARC introduces the computer mouse
1950 – Apartheid – in South Africa the Group Areas Act is passed formally segregating races
There we go…
Well next week, May 1st is our THIRD BIRTHDAY and we’re still waiting to hear from OfCom re our FM licence application…. still no news is good news.
So today I hear about the Worlds Smallest Car
With a top speed of just 30mph the electric car is not designed to fly down motorways but can instead squeeze into the smallest of gaps – including office elevators.
It means the commute to work can continue up to the office where the car can be charged at your DESK.
Standing at just 1.5m tall, the Volpe is the brainchild of Italian Romano Artioli, former owner of the famous Bugatti and Lotus brands.
The mini-motor, which can also squeeze in spaces left between two parked cars on a regular street, has been launched in a bid to ease traffic congestion.
Styled by Zagato, the coachbuilder responsible for limited edition versions of iconic Aston Martin cars, it is around half the width of the average car and just 2 metres long.
The Best and Worst Joke – It’s Official – at Last Years Edinburgh Festival
The top 10 festival funnies were judged to be:
1) Nick Helm: “I needed a password eight characters long so I picked Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.”
2) Tim Vine: “Crime in multi-storey car parks. That is wrong on so many different levels.”
3) Hannibal Buress: ”People say ‘I’m taking it one day at a time’. You know what? So is everybody. That’s how time works.”
4) Tim Key: “Drive-Thru McDonalds was more expensive than I thought… once you’ve hired the car…”
5) Matt Kirshen: “I was playing chess with my friend and he said, ‘Let’s make this interesting’. So we stopped playing chess.”
6) Sarah Millican: ”My mother told me, you don’t have to put anything in your mouth you don’t want to. Then she made me eat broccoli, which felt like double standards.”
7) Alan Sharp: “I was in a band which we called The Prevention, because we hoped people would say we were better than The Cure.”
Mark Watson: ”Someone asked me recently – what would I rather give up, food or sex. Neither! I’m not falling for that one again, wife.”
9) Andrew Lawrence: “I admire these phone hackers. I think they have a lot of patience. I can’t even be bothered to check my OWN voicemails.”
10) DeAnne Smith: “My friend died doing what he loved … Heroin.”
AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST…..
Veteran entertainer Paul Daniels won the wooden spoon for the worst joke of the festival.
He won the dubious honour for his gag: “I said to a fella ‘Is there a B&Q in Henley?’ He said ‘No, there’s an H, an E, an N an L and a Y’.”
Good Evening, and tonight’s show will be Chaos – well what’s the difference I hear you say?
Well – as well as being Chaotic in terms of production and chat-room management, we’ll be talking about CHAOS and CHAOS Magic!
But first some news …
UK
April 21st: A sonar picture of an object following a boat 23 metres below the surface has reignited Loch Ness Monster theories everywhere after it was taken by Loch Ness boat skipper Marcus Atkinson.
Atkinson took the picture of the sonar anomaly using his mobile phone and consequently won first place in the ‘Best Nessie Sighting of the Year’ Awards by William Hill Bookmakers.
Loch Ness Monster fans have scrutinized the sonar image and believe it is not a case of misidentified fish, seals or debris.
Atkinson explains that, “The device takes a reading of the depth and what is below the boat every quarter of a second and gradually builds up a picture, so it covered a time of about five minutes.
The object got bigger and bigger and I thought “bloody hell” and took a picture with my mobile phone. There is nothing that big in the Loch. I was in shock as it looked like a big serpent, it’s amazing. You can’t fake a sonar image. I have never seen anything returned like this on the fish finder.”
However, Dr Simon Boxall from the National Oceanography Centre in Southampton points out that it may have a mundane explanation after all. “The image shows a bloom of algae and zooplankton that would exist on what would be a thermocline.
Zooplankton live off this algae and reflect sound signals from echo sounders and fish finders very well. They will appear as a linear “blob” on the screen, just like this.”
But while Boxall seems to have potentially solved the mystery,
Atkinson has shown the image to other experienced skippers who haven’t seen anything like it before and, of course, Nessie hunters remain hopeful that this is finally the real deal.
April 23rd: A recent story of a monster rat found in a basement in the US has been trumped by another enormous discovery on UK shores.
Brian Watson, a grandfather from Consett, County Durham discovered the giant rat near his home after the boyfriend of his granddaughter spotted it. Unfortunately, Watson proceeded to beat it to death with a plank of wood, which he then attempted to use to lift the body from the garden, only to result in the plank breaking under the weight of the mammoth rodent.
Watson believes the rat might’ve been about to have a litter of babies and that this may be why it was so large and slow. Some have suggested that the animal was actually a coypu and not a rat.
Watson has also been heavily criticized for killing the creature in the manner that he did, as many feel his reaction was excessively cruel and that it could’ve been rescued or simply moved from the area.
International
April 13th: Dawa’a, an 18-year-old-girl from Cairo, Egypt, claims to have been touched by a tribe of a thousand Jinn after she wept tears of blood. Appearing on Al Nahar Television to tell her story, she describes how Amr Al-Laithi, a Muslim scholar, recited verses from Qur’an as she fell unconscious and how when she woke up after 20 minutes of the ritual she could not remember anything of the preceding events and had an intense headache.
Amr Al-Laithi describes the jinn as having only an external influence on Dawa’a, and that she had not been possessed. Some have expressed concern for the girl’s health, as crying blood could also be the symptom of infection or even cancer.
April 16th: Jose Chinchilla and his fiancée Michele Callan of Toms River, New Jersey, claim that they plan to sue the landlord $2,250 (The total of their security deposit) after paranormal activity forced them out of the newly rented property only a week after moving in.
The couple says that they ‘hear eerie noises, that lights flicker, doors slam and a spectral presence tugs on their bed sheets.’ They decided to call Shore Paranormal Research Society to investigate their strange goings on.
The Team from the Society came to the conclusion that while they believe there is something paranormal going on, they do not believe it indicated a full-blown haunting. The landlord has reacted by filing a counter suit; of the opinion that the couple was actually unhappy with the $1,500 a month rental fee and that they invented the ghost to escape their lease.
The case will go to court by the end of this month.
Earlier in the year, we reported the announcement made by Telecommunications giant Qualcomm in reference to the ‘Tricorder X-Prize Contest’ in which the company would offer a $US10 million prize to anyone able to make a functioning medical ‘tricorder’ similar to those used in all generations of Star Trek.
Dr. Peter Jansen, a PhD graduate of the Cognitive Science Laboratory at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, says that he has been working on such a device since 2007.
Though his prototypes are designed more for scientific research than medical alone, Jansen said it can so far measure ambient temperature, pressure or humidity, take electromagnetic measurements to test magnetic fields, and it make spatial measurements of distance, location, or motion.
Jansen states that the idea of making a tricorder has been with him since he was a child and that Star Trek was what inspired him to become a scientist in the first place. His favourite version of the fictional device appears in Voyager, though his favourite series in all is the Next Generation. Jansen has posted schematics and designs of his first and second prototypes, (Mark 1 and Mark 2) for anyone to see and build in the hope that others will try to create something similar.
He expects to have his latest version (Mark 4) produced for about $200. Think you’d like to try? Visit www.tricorderproject.org for all the details.
April 17th: UFOScandinavia have helpfully released a compilation video of all the recent youtube footage of UFO’s in St Petersburg. Any theories?
Danu Fox – Earth-Singing
Danu was a guest on our show a couple weeks ago when she told us of the forthcoming event.
On Sat 5 May at 3pm groups of singers and dowsers are gathering all along the lines to perform and measure the effects of a short ceremony with the intention of singing thank you and giving love and appreciation for our lands.
Inspired by the Songlines tradition of Australia, Danu Fox, singer, musician and founder of Earth Singers, a pioneering programme for stewarding land, has instigated this event and it is the first time anything like this has been done on a national scale across the UK.
If you’d like to join in please go to the Earth Singers Facebook page or email Danu: info@songbearmusic.co.uk. Enjoy!
Chaos & Chaos Magic
Chaos Magic – A Primer by Catherine
Chaos magick is difficult to explain in full. It is also a relatively recent notion, its’ birth seeming to have occurred only in 1976.
A general description of Chaos Magic outlines the contradictory nature of belief and reality and the idea of there being no real set of rules by which to achieve something.
The gnosis state is the aim for a chaos magician, whatever type of trappings you choose to employ doesn’t really matter, ‘just as long as they inspire you.’
Chaos Magick as we currently know it was first formulated in West Yorkshire in the 1970s as a consequence of a meeting between Peter Carroll and Ray Sherwin in Deptford in 1976.
In 1978 Carroll and Sherwin also founded the Illuminates of Thanateros (IOT) a chaos magic organisation.
The name of the organization is derived from the Greek gods of sex and death: eros and thanatos, apparently in accordance with the notion of these two methods being the positive and negative ways of achieving ‘magical consciousness’.
The group was criticized for its use of hierarchical and traditional ritual, things which should technically be rejected by most chaotes, many of whom believe the entire concept to be somewhat un-chaotic.
The group is also renowned for being, perhaps somewhat paradoxically, rather difficult to get into.
Chaos theory and magick primarily have their roots in theories outlined by Austin Osman Spare, artist and once a member of the A?A?, created in 1907 by Aleister Crowley and George Cecil Jones after they left the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.
However, it is also important to note that they do not replicate his beliefs exactly.
While sources such as Wikipedia call him the father of chaos magick, other sources instead call him the grandfather of it, and instead believe Peter Carroll to be the ‘father’ of chaos magick.
Spare disapproved of religion and of science as well, relating religion to ‘chains’ and feeling both were restricting in their self-proclaimed ‘truths’.
One of Spare’s most significant contributions to the theories of chaos magick is probably the use of his sigils, that is, his notion of a ‘symbolic representation of the magician’s desired outcome’.
His ‘alphabet of desire’ was adapted by Carroll in his Liber Null & Psychonaut.
Spare’s use of sigils involved designing a symbol over which to obsess, something that would occupy the mind as he felt that the mind was a hindrance to magic.
Gnosis, therefore, is loosely defined as an overwhelming of the parts of the mind involved in rational function.
His other main contribution to the overall belief system of Chaos magick is the rejection of traditional magical systems and ritual in favor of achieving a Gnostic state.
Chaos magick is anarchic to some degree, hoping to negate the effects of religious structure and allow one to build a structure of their own to some degree – ie, whatever works for you.
It emphasises the importance of belief, summarising it as a form of magic in itself, though many self-proclaimed chaos magicians do not feel that belief is necessary to participate in that form of magic.
Reality is not important, then, as if a belief results in the desired outcome it is often accepted as truth or taken to heart. Only subjective truths are available – nobody knows what is absolutely true, only beliefs are available.
Chaos magick is, at its heart, about freedom, but it is filled with opposites and paradoxes.
While the notion of belief is important and the freedom that comes with choosing any helpful belief is key to chaos theory, it is also temporary.
A chaote will believe something before changing that belief for the next one that becomes useful.
Therefore, a chaote both truly believes and does not technically ever really believe at all. This approach was propagated by Carroll, Spare would have spoken differently.
This could also be called ‘paradigm shifting’, in that often opposing rites or rituals are used and entirely believed in their context at that time.
The saying ‘Nothing is True, and Everything is Permitted’ (A saying popularised by William Burroughs, though its’ origin was a line from a character in ‘Alamut’ by Vladimir Bartol.) plays into these principles, a self defeating statement that could be interpreted as meaning that there is no absolute objective truth to tell us what is entirely right or wrong, there are no rules.
Sigils are fundamental to chaos magic, a form by which magic can be personalised to some degree.
It begins with focusing on a wish or aim or writing a ‘statement of will’, such as ‘I will get an A on the paper I wrote’, then using the letters in the statement to form a symbol or design of some nature which must be achieved without intense focus. It should ‘come to you’.
Carroll added to this process by suggesting removing the letters that repeat in the sentence to make it easier.
This done, gnosis must be achieved, to ensure total focus on the goal.
This can be achieved by one of several techniques which are as follows.
Inhibitory gnosis: similar to what we know as mediation, to achieve a trance-like state. This involves self-hypnosis, regular breathing techniques, progressive muscle relaxation and absent thought-processes. It could be achieved by fasting, not sleeping, sensory deprivation or even drugs.
Excitatory gnosis: Perhaps almost the opposite of the first mentioned, involving a degree of intense arousal that could be achieved via flagellation, dance, song/ chanting, hyperventilating, sexual excitation, or, again, drugs.
Indifferent vacuity: This third method was added later, and involves casting said spell almost as a sidenote so that there is little thought involved to suppress in the first place.
Of course, this implies that there are some rules involved in a kind of magic that prides itself on being ruleless to some degree, therefore these methods are viewed more as ways of inducing gnosis only as opposed to processes that’re valuable or significant by themselves.
Chaos itself is not a label used to specifically describe mayhem or disorder, but acts to chaotes as a description of something all-encompassing.
It is described by one researcher as “…what you love, but it’s also what you hate. Chaos is fire, and it’s water, and it’s those things whether that’s good or bad. This doesn’t just mean that it’s objective, in that it is beyond good and bad (although it is held to be) – but it also contains the subjective aspects also. It contains all opposites. As everything is of chaos, so everyone mirrors it.”
Many aspects of chaos magick have become incorporated in to the even more confusing paradigms of discordianism.
So that’s Catherine’s Introduction….
So let’s take things a bit further…
DETERMINISM is the notion that every event or action is the inevitable result of preceding events and actions.
In many ways, the spiritual movement embrace this concept within the “Laws” of what is commonly known as “Karma”.
In science determinism suggests, at least in principle, hat every event, or action, can be predicted in advance or in retrospect. This is a view point which can be traced back to the Ancient Greeks and became part of modern science around 1500AD with the establishment of the idea that cause and effect completely govern all motion and structure on the material level.
The deterministic view of the universe suggests, therefore, that the universe unfolds in time like the workings of a machine and subject to predetermined ‘laws’.
Newtons Laws of Motion are perfect examples of deterministic thinking and it is an approach which still underpins much physical science. These ‘laws’ can be defined by measurement and expressed mathematically.
Now, one of the fundamental principles of experimental science is that no real measurement is infinitely precise but includes a degree of uncertainty in the value. The question ‘how long is a piece of string?’ is not so simple to answer – it depends upon how we measure it and what we are measuring…
In 1900 the physicist, Henri Poincare commented upon a special kind of behaviour in time found in certain physical systems. In essence he pointed out that there would be imprecision in all astronomical predictions made by Newtons equations and ‘laws’. Simply put Poincare challenged the assumptions made by his peers that such imprecision would become less significant the more accurate the system of measurement…. in astronomical systems when the measurements became more precise the ‘shrinking of the initial conditions’ shrank from he final predictions in a corresponding way.
He summarised his arguments thusly :-
in ‘complex systems’ the only way to obtain precise predictions with any degree of accuracy would entail specifying the initial conditions with absolute infinite precision.
The extreme “sensitivity to initial conditions” became known as ‘chaos’.
In 1963 the meteorologist wrote a basic computer program to predict weather patterns. In short he found that no matter how he altered the variables he could never quite recreate expected patterns from the initial conditions. By the late 1970′s he discovered that even the smallest discrepancy between initial conditions would always result in a huge discrepancy at earlier or later times – the hallmark of a chaotic system. The well known and oft quoted ‘Butterfly Effect’.
The discovery of chaos seems to imply that randomness lies at the core of any deterministic model of the universe. Also, although seemingly counter-intuitive, is that chaos may produce ordered systems on large scales.
It is against this scientific backdrop that Chaos Magic was born.
Simply put, if Magic (as a ritualistic act) is about ‘bringing about change in accordance with will’ the way we define that change and the actions we undertake to bring about that change will, necessarily, not have a simple cause and effect relationship.
Chaos Magicians are generally of the opinion, as far as general opinions can be stated, that belief is an active magical force. There is an emphasis on flexibility of belief an the ability to consciously choose ones beliefs – so, you do not have to have ‘belief’ in order to make magic work.
Austin Osman Spare stated that will formulates desire which promulgates belief.
In Peter Carolls works not only does he talk about magic being related to increasing the probability, not a certainty, of a specific outcome, but also the importance of the ‘gnostic state’.
This state, similar to the Buddhist notion of Samadhi, is achieved when a persons mind is focused on a single point, thought or goal.
Gnosis is said to be achievable through Inhibition or Excitation.
Inhibition would include deep meditation, trance, fasting,sensory deprivation.
Excitation would include sex, flagellation, dance, drumming, chanting, sensory overload, hyperventilation and the possible use of drugs.
Despite its ‘nod’ to Thelemic (Crowley) and Golden Dawn, OTO and A:A traditions at the core of Chaos Magic is the notion that the ‘magic is within you’ and that whatever ritual path you choose to take is more to do with choice of belief, tradition and opportunity.
I would go a step further, perhaps, in suggesting that ‘doing by not doing’ and ‘being by simply being’ is the state of gnosis ritual attempts to create. It is from this state of knowing that we can really understand what is meant by the phrase ‘to bring about change in accordance with will’.
In order to work with ‘will’ there is the need to question the nature of will – being detached from simple ‘desire’, ‘lust’ and ‘ego-need’.
There is an inbuilt responsibility to bring about ‘change’ through action and that any action, no matter how small will have some effect upon the environment in which the magician operates – mind, spirit, body, home, town, planet, solar system, cosmos. The dictum ‘as above so below’ recreated and restated within the context of Chaos Magic and non-deterministic philosophies.
You may act with belief and conviction but the true effect of that action can have consequences beyond any original intent. To attempt understand one’s own desires in the context of free-will, personal-will and cosmic-will is an interesting challenge.
To be both at once philosophical and naive is the challenge…. and now we’re back to thinking about the ‘Fool’, the ‘Cosmic Joker’ and our own, personal journey.
Alan
Music from tonights show : THE IS – available from Aardvark Records
And here we are another day begins and presents each and everyone of us with the opportunity to start again …. yeah, right!
No, seriously today is what you make it!
So what about what others have done on this day …
Well in…
1990 – The Hubble Space Telescope was launched
1975 – The Baader-Meinhof Gang take 13 hostages in the West Germany Embassy, Stockholm
1970 – The first Chinese Satellite Dong, Fang Hong 1 is launched
1968 – Mauritius becomes a member state of the United Nations
1967 – Cosmonaut Valdimir Komarov becomes the first human to die during a space mission
1953 – Winston Churchill is knighted by Queen Elizabeth II
1918 – First tank-to-tank combat at Villers-Bretonneux, France, when three British Mark IV’s and German A7V’s
1800 – The United States Library of Congress is established
1184 BC – The Greeks enter Troy using the Trojan Horse
And it’s Happy Birthday to …
1982 – Kelly Clarkson
1954 – Captain Sensible
1952 – Jean Paul Gaultier
1934 – Shirley MacLaine
1930 – Richard Donner
1924 – Clement Freud
1815 – Anthony Trollope
Some News…
You know UFO proponents often say that reports of UFO sightings are more reliable from those individuals who have specific knowledge or experience – Airline pilots are often said to be ‘good eye-witnesses’.
Well perhaps this is the exception …
A sleepy Air Canada pilot first mistook the planet Venus for an aircraft, and then sent his airliner diving toward the Atlantic to prevent an imaginary collision with another plane, an official report said last week.
Sixteen passengers and crew were hurt in the January 2011 incident, when the first officer rammed the control stick forward to avoid a U.S. plane he wrongly thought was heading straight toward him.
The incident occurred at night on board a Boeing 767 twin engine passenger plane flying from Toronto to Zurich in Switzerland with 95 passengers and eight crew.
The report said the first officer had just woken up, disoriented, from a long nap, when he learned from the pilot that a U.S. cargo plane was flying toward them.
“The FO (First Officer) initially mistook the planet Venus for an aircraft but the captain advised again that the target was at the 12 o’clock position (straight ahead) and 1,000 feet (305 meters) below,” said the report.
“When the FO saw the oncoming aircraft, the FO interpreted its position as being above and descending towards them. The FO reacted to the perceived imminent collision by pushing forward on the control column,” the report continued.
The airliner dropped about 400 feet before the captain pulled back on the control column. Fourteen passengers and two crew were hurt, and seven needed hospital treatment. None were wearing seat belts, even though the seat-belt sign was on.
The safety board said the crew did not fully understand the risks of tiredness during night flights.
The first officer, whose young children often interrupted his sleep at home, had napped for 75 minutes rather than the 40-minute maximum laid down by airline regulations. This meant he fell into a deep sleep and was disoriented when he woke up.
Getting Fired by E-Mail takes on a whole new significance with this story …
Workers at investment firm Aviva Investors got a shock on Friday when the company accidentally sent an email with leaving instructions intended for one departing employee to the entire worldwide staff of 1,300 people.
The firm’s human resources department realised its mistake and recalled the offending message 25 minutes later and soon afterwards sent out another email apologising to staff for the error, company spokesman Paul Lockstone said.
“An email which was intended for a member of staff who was leaving today was accidentally sent to all Aviva Investors staff worldwide,” Lockstone said.
The email was a standard message sent to people leaving the company, covering things such as handing back company equipment and confidentiality rules, and did not tell recipients they were fired, Lockstone said.
Aviva Investors is the fund management arm of UK-based Aviva plc, the world’s sixth-largest insurance group, and manages assets of more than 262 billion pounds.
This story from The Mirror Newspaper is something you need to look up….
It’s a great collection of weird ‘photo-fits’ that have been used in an attempt to catch real crooks…
Mission
Launch: April 24, 1990 from space shuttle Discovery (STS-31)
Deployment: April 25, 1990
Mission Duration: Up to 20 years
Servicing Mission 1: December 1993
Servicing Mission 2: February 1997
Servicing Mission 3A: December 1999
Servicing Mission 3B: February 2002
Servicing Mission 4: May 2009
Size
Length: 43.5 ft (13.2 m)
Weight: 24,500 lb (11,110 kg)
Maximum Diameter: 14 ft (4.2 m)
Cost at Launch
$1.5 billion
Spaceflight Statistics
Orbit: At an altitude of 307 nautical miles (569 km, or 353 miles), inclined 28.5 degrees to the equator (low-Earth orbit)
Time to Complete One Orbit: 97 minutes
Speed: 17,500 mph (28,000 kph)
Optical Capabilities
Hubble Can’t Observe: The Sun or Mercury, which is too close to the Sun
Sensitivity to Light: Ultraviolet through infrared (115—2500 nanometers)
First Image: May 20, 1990: Star Cluster NGC 3532
Data Statistics
Hubble transmits about 120 gigabytes of science data every week. That’s equal to about 3,600 feet (1,097 meters) of books on a shelf. The rapidly growing collection of pictures and data is stored on magneto-optical disks.
Power Needs
Energy Source: The Sun
Mechanism: Two 25-foot solar panels
Power usage: 2,800 watts
Pointing Accuracy
In order to take images of distant, faint objects, Hubble must be extremely steady and accurate. The telescope is able to lock onto a target without deviating more than 7/1000th of an arcsecond, or about the width of a human hair seen at a distance of 1 mile.
Hubble’s Mirrors
Primary Mirror Diameter: 94.5 in (2.4 m)
Primary Mirror Weight: 1,825 lb (828 kg)
Secondary Mirror Diameter: 12 in (0.3 m)
Secondary Mirror Weight: 27.4 lb (12.3 kg)
Power Storage
Batteries: 6 nickel-hydrogen (NiH)
Storage Capacity: equal to 20 car batteries
Alan’s Appetite Appreciation Association
Ok, I’ve not actually tried this one but it was sent to be, or at least the web-link, was sent to me by a listener, so why not give it a try…
Chili Con Pop Corn
This recipe not surprisingly come from a popcorn cookbook : Popcorn Potpourri by Larry Kusche.
The book has quite a few tasty sounding recipes for sweet and savory popcorn treats.
In a mixing bowl, add and mix thoroughly the corn bread mix, remaining 1 quart of popcorn, egg, milk corn and tablespoon of corn liquid.
Place in a layer over chili-popcorn mixture.
Bake for 20 minutes
Makes 6 servings.
Alan’s Astrological Answers
Aries
Watch the pennies as well as the pounds this week. There’ll be more than one opportunity to spend what you thought you had before you spent it and realise your miscalculation later than you needed to.
Taurus
Be happy and help others around you feel happy too. A smile can be contagious and may bring you some unexpected results. Be independent, Be You, Be Optimistic.
Gemini
You need to give your ideas time to develop and grow. Stop expecting immediate results and allow some space to allow for the ripples of your genius to return. Plan now for success later this year.
. Cancer
Keep that secret, bear with care that information you are holding about someone else or some-when else. Not everyone will be with you in a forthcoming debate – use what you know with stealth; play your cards close to your chest.
Leo
Some tasks are easier than others just as some are more pleasant than others. So, when it comes to that dreaded task today know that if you put it off it simply won’t go away. Deal with it now or regret it later.
Virgo
Money from an unexpected source is a possibility this week – and it may well make things so much easier for a while. An idea that you have been nurturing pays off – so share the wealth.
Libra
A real, long term improvement in your financial situation is possible this week. Tread carefully because fresh success is as delicate as a budding shoot – but it’s there for you, NOW!
Scorpio
Get out there! Network! Some interesting contacts are waiting to be made this week if you take the effort to make them. Social Networking really does pay off in your case if you give it the attention it needs.
Sagittarius
There’s some romance on the cards for you this week. A colleague lets you know that they find you attractive – so be ready for anything.
Capricorn
OK work is work and play is play! You need to remember what all work did to Jack. So, let your hair down and have fun this week. It could take you to some interesting places.
Aquarius
Your not at your best this week, so if you can find some time and space to recharge your batteries. Try not to overdue it – relax, find some TLC from whatever source you can.
Pisces
Be assertive when it comes to expressing your opinions. Assertive IS NOT Opinionated by the way! You have an idea which needs support and with the right approach you will attract some powerful supporters.
This Horoscope is for Entertainment Purposes Only and is provided by www.spirit2mind.co.uk
Mark Watson: ”Someone asked me recently – what would I rather give up, food or sex. Neither! I’m not falling for that one again, wife.”
