tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16659850.post1732803013054701368..comments2024-03-17T03:42:21.277-05:00Comments on LEARNING CURVE ON THE ECLIPTIC: Apish Ramblings Twilighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14138621610593773784noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16659850.post-14257063823894124352014-07-20T14:01:35.167-05:002014-07-20T14:01:35.167-05:00mike (again) ~ Oh yes! Chinese astrology didn...mike (again) ~ Oh yes! Chinese astrology didn't forget our ancestors. Thanks for that reminder.<br /><br />The Monkey Statue at a Shinto shrine in Tokyo, (see Wiki) looks like something that could have come straight from one of the Planet of the Apes movies.<br />(No disrespect intended!)<br /><br /><i>A century ago, people laughed at the notion that we were descended from monkeys. Today, the individuals most offended by that claim are the monkeys.”</i><br />― Jacob M. Appel, Scouting for the Reaper Twilighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14138621610593773784noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16659850.post-48001790609270709342014-07-20T09:43:42.556-05:002014-07-20T09:43:42.556-05:00DC ~ Thanks - I looked at Wiki's page on Hanum...DC ~ Thanks - I looked at Wiki's page on Hanuman - interesting. I'm pleased the monkey-world hasn't been left out of human-world completely.<br /><br />I suppose the zodiac is missing our ancestor-strain because in the long, long ago days when it was defined and the signs given icons (different ones in different parts of the world I think) the science which tell us that apes are our early ancestors didn't exist.....or maybe they aren't - our ancestors??? Maybe the Chaldeans knew something we don't know.<br /><br />(Theme from Twilight Zone heard faintly in the distance.)Twilighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14138621610593773784noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16659850.post-62817716217199723562014-07-20T09:01:03.285-05:002014-07-20T09:01:03.285-05:00I often wondered why there wasn't a monkey or ...I often wondered why there wasn't a monkey or ape represented in the Zodiac.....besides the Bull, and Lion,..... humans, fish, crustaceans, even a sea-goat as well as Scorpio, an insect, (arachnid actually)is represented....but no monkey.<br />Hindu has a monkey-man deity called Hanuman tho.DChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03404195170822950372noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16659850.post-76569772642434353802014-07-19T16:24:23.635-05:002014-07-19T16:24:23.635-05:00Twilight ~ I'm not a member of the Socialist p...Twilight ~ I'm not a member of the Socialist party either (or any other party), though I do appreciate an alternative perspective coming from a source other than FOX.<br /><br />mike ~ Thanks for the link to the Guardian piece.:) LBnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16659850.post-6682894624109530562014-07-19T15:59:51.808-05:002014-07-19T15:59:51.808-05:00LB ~ Yes that's it in a nutshell - higher and ...LB ~ Yes that's it in a nutshell - higher and lower natures. I think you'll enjoy "Dawn of....". <br /><br />Thanks for the link re Al Gore's Australian adventures. I had read about it elsewhere. I'd very much like to hear Gore's side of the story.<br /><br />Much as I admire the Socialists (capital S) they do have an axe to grind, it's one reason I haven't convinced myself to pay the dues and join any of their official parties.<br /><br />My gut feeling tells me to trust Al Gore's judgement on this.<br /><br />Among comments under the article mike links above is one by<br /><br />"AussieChilcotinq"....I'll copy it as a balancing factor here rather than stretch my brain and typing fingers to paraphrase it.<br />:-) - <br /><i>Al Gore's timely political intervention is about ensuring Australia does not close the door on an ETS, nor continue the pretense that it is politically taking the lead on climate change initiatives.<br />Dismantling the Carbon Tax legislation is not the death of carbon action as The Australian front page headlines would have us believe. Rather these political developments, should PUP hold the line, still leave it open for Australia to join a global ETS; one that may have a greater impact in the long term when our major trading partners sign up - which they appear willing to do.<br /><br />Even though Palmer is perhaps cynical about a global ETS taking shape anytime soon, he is no doubt happy to take credit for any short term and long term developments arising from his new stance.<br />In the short term Palmer is happy to be praised for being instrumental in the killing off of the carbon tax. He wants the political credit for "lifting the financial burden" on Australians and our carbon intensive Australian industries.<br /><br />In the long term Palmer, I suspect he will want to claim the political capital for ensuring that Australia - thanks to his intervention (read: Al Gore's) - remained open to participating in a global ETS. His PUP party is unlikely to go out of its way to bring this about integrating Australia into a global ETS, but he appears less likely than the Liberal Party to be obstructing it.<br /><br />In this sense, the maneuvering instigated by Al Gore is a realist response. It is about accepting that Australia's political leadership will not "lead on climate change" - it won't under Abbott - and is instead more about ensuring Australia will at least stay open to following other's lead. Sound familiar?<br /><br />Put another way, this is about acknowledging that Australia (the climate change "leaning nation") under the current government should not be expected to do the "heavy lifting" behind the development of an global ETS architecture as it much more likely to be done by others.</i>Twilighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14138621610593773784noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16659850.post-70418210359094155352014-07-19T15:49:02.719-05:002014-07-19T15:49:02.719-05:00mike (again) ~ I'm not too keen on the single ...mike (again) ~ I'm not too keen on the single issue idea either - he's better than that (in my opinion), but it would be better than nothing at all.<br /><br />As you say, he's experienced and shrewd enough to know the best way to go in a very tricky game of political chess. It wouldn't be easy, and it'd take a lot of courage on his part. He's Aries Sun, Cappy Moon, Leo rising, enough courage, daring and common sense there, as long as his Pisces Mercury doesn't get in the way.<br /><br /><br />Twilighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14138621610593773784noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16659850.post-23265254898930141312014-07-19T15:42:08.142-05:002014-07-19T15:42:08.142-05:00Jefferson's Guardian ~ Yes, and if we're n...Jefferson's Guardian ~ Yes, and if we're not quite there yet, we've rounded the corner and signs in the near distance have come into clear view. Twilighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14138621610593773784noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16659850.post-38947377099323264322014-07-19T12:06:40.344-05:002014-07-19T12:06:40.344-05:00LB - Your link provides a touch of conspiracy to t...LB - Your link provides a touch of conspiracy to the Gore-Palmer meeting. "The Guardian" dishes it more front and center:<br /><br />http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/26/al-gore-and-clive-palmer-behind-the-scenes-of-an-unlikely-bromance<br /><br />mike (again)noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16659850.post-19134958420866134832014-07-19T11:36:56.870-05:002014-07-19T11:36:56.870-05:00Twilight ~ I actually kind of enjoyed "Rise ...Twilight ~ I actually kind of enjoyed "Rise of the Planet of the Apes". Based on your review, I might see the latest one too. <br /><br />All these stories really speak to the eternal struggle between our own higher and lower natures, don't they? And also, how we seldom learn from our mistakes. <br /><br />Speaking of higher and lower natures, and in response to your and mike's mention of Al Gore, this wsws.org article, "Al Gore’s strange meeting in Canberra: More at stake than the carbon tax" offers a different perspective: http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2014/07/04/agor-j04.html <br /><br />It's an interesting and informative read - the author makes his point in the last two paragraphs. I'll leave you to draw your own conclusions without debating them.:)LBnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16659850.post-48724590502617289422014-07-19T11:03:43.742-05:002014-07-19T11:03:43.742-05:00Re Al Gore - Great essay and wonderful to know tha...Re Al Gore - Great essay and wonderful to know that others are hoping for a Gore ballot! The author suggests that Gore insist on a single-issue campaign focusing on climate change, yet states: "Moreover, climate change has long struggled to be taken seriously as a major national priority, a problem reinforced last month when a Bloomberg National Poll found only 5 percent of Americans ranked it as the most important issue facing the country today (placing it seventh)."<br /><br />The GOP (and corporate donors supporting the GOP) would rip Gore by instilling fear that jobs and industries would be lost, economy would stall, welfare would increase, taxes escalate, USA would lose its global edge, etc. Gore will have to find a tactic(s) to diminish his climate change message, in my opinion, and be viewed as centric to the electorate's concerns.<br /><br />The electorate is naive and has a one-track mind: more jobs, more money, less taxes. I'm sure Gore recognizes the challenges ahead, should he decide to run. Gore will be able to hold his own against all candidates, regardless of topic. I suspect that foreign policy will be an ever greater issue in the next couple of years, even more than it is right now.mike (again)noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16659850.post-87963509759987262572014-07-19T10:25:06.503-05:002014-07-19T10:25:06.503-05:00Ernst Mayr observed that "the average life ex...Ernst Mayr observed that "the average life expectancy of a species is about 100,000 years." <br /><br />We're there...give or take a few.Jefferson's Guardianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16950868026721859555noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16659850.post-8975487265659417022014-07-19T10:16:48.539-05:002014-07-19T10:16:48.539-05:00mike ~ Off the apish topic, also, but I've jus...mike ~ Off the apish topic, also, but I've just read another piece supporting Al Gore:<br /><br />http://www.salon.com/2014/07/19/al_gore_is_the_single_issue_candidate_we_need/<br /><br />I've "followed" the writer on Twitter and Tweeted support. :-)<br />Twilighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14138621610593773784noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16659850.post-55041234789339599102014-07-19T10:13:16.986-05:002014-07-19T10:13:16.986-05:00mike ~ Yes, we're "fools to ourselves&qu...mike ~ Yes, we're "fools to ourselves" alright. Blind or blinkered or willfully ignorant of the road we're on.<br /><br />I doubt we'll take the planet with us. It'd survive in some form, but no longer as an environment for mankind, it'd join the billions of uninhabited others in the celestial roundabouts of the universe.<br /><br />mike (again) ~ Hair. Loss has ceased, I think, apart from the usual normal amount. I await re-growth in affected areas - a slow process. I'm taking a Nordic "Hair Volume" supplement with some minerals and natural extracts in the hope it'll help - eventually. No more colouring can be risked, but luckily my natural colour is blending fairly well - it'll take the rest of the year for full transformation I guess.<br /><br />Thanks for asking. :-)<br /><br />Twilighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14138621610593773784noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16659850.post-69840167374566087762014-07-19T09:33:55.547-05:002014-07-19T09:33:55.547-05:00Speaking of hairy apes, how's the hair-loss pr...Speaking of hairy apes, how's the hair-loss problem? Did you finally take the scissors away from anyjazz?mike (again)noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16659850.post-74425993664136677482014-07-19T08:46:44.629-05:002014-07-19T08:46:44.629-05:00It would be nice to envision a post-apocalyptic Ea...It would be nice to envision a post-apocalyptic Earth inhabited by simians, rather than the more likely scorched soil and rock devoid of all life forms, which is the trajectory we seem destined to create...our mission is nearly complete.<br /><br />Messages of self-destruction abound in the liberal arts, but we've reached a point that the allegory is an obvious reality even to the scientific community. The narrative now is whether we've exceeded the tipping point of no return...usually applied to global warming, but could be used for any of our endeavors such as toxins-poisons in our food, fracking our clean water into oblivion (which was already headed into oblivion before fracking), air pollution, utilization of nuclear radiation, etc.<br /><br />We humans are on track to glorifying ourselves to death...and we may take the planet with us. It seems that we were bred for this purpose.mikenoreply@blogger.com