Posts by Mommie Dark

32

What do you think would happen if aliens landed?

by Abaddon in

jw
friends

let's paint a little picture.. it's spring 2002. at 1200h gmt a radio and tv announcement is broadcast on almost all conventional frequencies, in appropriate formats according to the medium and the area.. it's from a bunch of pale violet humaniods who have come "in peace for all qw'z'x>kind".

they say they want to meet up with the un in full cnongress.. disbelief rapidly turns to amasement when cnn and other news-services provide footage of a large alien vessel descending into the river near the un.

large in this case means 5km long... and wisely, none of the sac jets sent to have a look pull a will smith or anything stupid, although one gets nudgeed gently away by an invisable beam of some sort when it gets too close.. let's say it becomes apparent the aliens are utter benign, happy to hand out technological aid, scientific knowledge, and hope to welcome the people of earth to your typical peaceful federation of planets (about 5,00 different species all told).. how do you think people would react?

Mommie Dark

Abaddon honey, have you read Damon Knight's story "To Serve Man"? Altruistic aliens come to earth, give us cheap energy and a cure for cancer... why are they so anxious to take care of us? They have a handbook to which they refer regularly. UN translators work feverishly to translate a stolen copy of the book. They finally manage to crack the language enough to get the title of the book... it's 'To Serve Man'. Wow! What altruists!

Aliens offer vacation packages to humans, take them on big ships for intergalactic bonding. Humans swarm to sightsee the universe.

As a group of dignitaries prepare to board ship, a linguist comes tearing across the tarmac, shouting 'NO! No! I've finished the translation! IT'S A COOKBOOK!"

The other scenario is of course found in the fabulous old film 'The Day The Earth Stood Still" with the gorgeous Michael Rennie as Klaatu. Aliens come here to warn us that if we attempt to take our warmongering ways off-planet, the intergalactic robot police force will blow us to oblivion.

I imagine either of these would be more likely than just some species cruising the universe looking to make new friends and share the wealth.

Love,
Mommie
too curmudgeonly to believe in benevolent visitors

39

What books have shaped your affected you?

by Eyebrow in

jw
friends

in another post i mentioned job a comedy of justice by robert heinlien.

the responses to the post got me thinking about other books that have affected me.

what books have had an impact on your life?

Mommie Dark

_The Dispossessed_ by Ursula LeGuin. Although almost all of LeGuin's work is wonderful, this novel moved me most deeply. It discusses social responsibility, anarchy, conscience and free will without ever becoming preachy; her style is elegant and simple, her characters beautifully etched. I reread it every few years. Currently I am reading a translation of the Tao that she worked on with a Chinese colleague. She has been teacher and touchstone for me for many years. Her numerous awards have all been very well deserved. I wish I had a tenth of her talent and clarity of thought.

A novelette by Roger Zelazny, _A Rose For Ecclesiastes_. A prose poem dedicated to the notion that free will can overcome prophetic doomsaying, set on Mars where 'the wind is a whip, the sun is a tarnished penny.'

A cautionary tale by Cyril Kornbluth called "The Marching Morons" should IMO be required reading for all intelligent beings. This short story can be found in several seminal science fiction anthologies.

Orwell and Aldous Huxley. Pick a book, enjoy mind expansion.

_Be Here Now_ by Baba Ram Dass.

Anything by Tom Robbins.

_Cat's Cradle_ by Kurt Vonnegut.

_Towing Jehovah_ by Robert Morrow.

Oh all you King fans, do you love the Gunslinger series? These are by far my fave of his whole body of work.

I read _Insomnia_ while I was in hospital a few years ago. I was reading the bit where the 'little doctors' were in the hospital cutting balloon threads... they were in room 213, room 215.... I sat in room 217 in my hospital sweating bullets; read right thru the night, too scared to turn the light off and go to sleep! LOL Talk about insomnia!

54

HillaryStep's Disassociation Topic

by IslandWoman in

jw
friends

hillary,.

you said: "well, you have to admit it most da letters are boring".

i know your post was a spoof but i just wanted to say that many of us who chose da did so over life and death matters; what we thought was life with god or death with the slime that led the watchtower!!.

Mommie Dark

Hey COMF: do I get a prize for the correct answer? Cause we both know, the answer is "all of the above".

Right?

Now go stand under the mistletoe and pucker up, Mommie's gonna take her prize in holiday smackerels on your cute face.

13

Have you read this book?

by Eyebrow in

jw
friends

about three years ago my future husband suggested i read a book by robert heilein called, job: a comedy of justice".

i reccommend this book to everyone and anyone that has been in any religion.

it is quite an amusing, but disturbing story about a minister that keeps being put into different lives.

Mommie Dark

Conflicted, a whole lot of people missed the comical aspects of Heinlein's Martian religion. Check out Church of All Worlds online; they follow the novel's religious outline as closely as possible. Smegging morons, but funny in a sick sort of way. Orgies as church service, 'thou art god' invoked as orgasmic truth. Nutters, based in Missouri... I met some of these folks in my communard days, they were seriously screwed up in '75 and have grown into institutional idiocy since then.

Heinlein was a sexist intellectual snob and his female characters pretty much make me wanna puke. He did write some ripping yarns for young men though. I admit a sneaking fondness for Lazarus Long, and his notion of zero-g childbirth is inspired, but IMO Heinlein is overrated as author and visionary. If CAW is his legacy, he got what he deserved.

8

Forgiveness and Guilt Trips

by Mommie Dark in

jw
friends

http://www.echonyc.com/~onissues/f95guilt.html.

got this in my mail today; i thought it was fascinating.

it's long but well worth reading.

Mommie Dark

. http://www.echonyc.com/~onissues/f95guilt.html

got this in my mail today; I thought it was fascinating. It's long but well worth reading. Survivors of abuse take note: you will recognize the subject and I hope take heart from the sensible ideas offered in lieu of the usual 'forgive your abuser' claptrap we get fed.

15

A surprise in my Christmas tree

by Princess in

jw
friends

we cut a christmas tree this afternoon at a u-cut lot about one hundred miles from home.

we were on our way home from my mother-in-law's house and thought we'd start a new tradition.

we had ideas of tromping through the woods with the kids looking for the perfect tree.

Mommie Dark

Princess, that's so sweet! Enjoy your little gift.

We have a small artificial bird in a nest that gets a place of honor in our tree every year. It doesn't require the careful handling that a real nest does, which is good 'cause little hands love to check it out .

I dug out all of PD's great-grandma's costume jewelry and hung the shiniest rhinestone things on the tree. Looks really kewl with the lights on.

Isn't it fun making your own holiday magic?

Merry Christmas,
MD

28

Under the Mistletoe.....

by individuals wife in

jw
friends

for the benefit of those who need a good excuse for a cuddle and a kiss i bring to you the benefits of mistletoe.... enjoy!.

to start with - a big xxxxx .

and a big smoochie to all the little individuals in our house!

Mommie Dark

Imagining with glee the horror in the faces of all the menz when Mommie stumps up to 'em when they pass under the mistletoe and forces them to let her give 'em big ole granny smackers! And the helpless little kids, 'specially the preteen boyzez, who gotta let grannies pinch and smooch 'em...

Merry Christmas and happy kissing everyone!

18

Talking to the dead

by josephus in

jw
friends

i just watched a show on spirit communication.. what do you think?.

demons, ghosts, nobody ?.

josephus

Mommie Dark

John Edward's show is carefully edited to make him look good. He also has production assistants planted throughout the audience to gather clues. On live talk shows he runs about 30%, which is about what anyone could do guessing. He's very good at what he does. He puts on a really good show.

Check out his website; he schedules appointments a YEAR in advance and it costs big $$$$ to get a private reading. He and his wife also offer fabulous island getaways where they claim to be able to teach YOU to talk to your dead by taking their 'seminars'...and it ain't cheap! As most of us know too well, it's pretty easy to manipulate a willing person, thus cult membership of all kinds; the vacation seminar thing is near-genius in its use of psychological control techniques in a closed setting.

If I had a year to do some basic research, I could give you an astoundingly accurate reading, too! I could take you to a fabulous relaxing fun place and convince you of something you want to believe anyway. Anyone with a basic grasp of behavior modification techniques and sideshow psychic tricks could do what Edward does. The thing that sets him apart is his ability to convince even himself that what he's doing is somehow 'supernatural'.

Edward is a student of Sylvia Brown, another fabulously pricey psychic prostitute.

Beware, beware of those who want to SELL you their 'ability to communicate with the dead'.

Two equally true statements follow:

When the dead talk, they talk to John Edward.

The dead don't talk.

Caveat emptor,
Mommie Dark

31

Does Music Influence You?

by mindfield in

jw
friends

aaah, yes... i still remember that stupid awake!

which encouraged everyone never, never to attend a rock show.

(they actually throw blood at the crowd, ya know...[8>]) i read it, and personnally i thought it was all hogwash.

Mommie Dark

Frank Zappa once opined that he could rule the world with music. Although that's exaggeration, it's nonetheless true that music can stimulate emotion and in some cases even alter consciousness: Gregorian chant, Sousa marches...and film scoring is the art of manipulating the mind through music to enhance the 'movie experience'. Good old gospel music will lift you up and move your body if you got any soul at all. Lots of organizations use music to stimulate the mind/soul.

Music is perhaps one of the only unexplained miracles. It can help clarify your thinking (Mozart does...) and help sick people heal faster. Even birds are moved by music: my canary sings along with Pink Floyd; he seems to love great guitar, or perhaps he views it as some amazing rival male and is trying to outperform... but it sounds to me like 'singing along' and I fondly accept that notion .

When Papa Dark got his Doctor of Divinity from the Universal Life Church, he was also certified Missionary of Music. (Stoners will appreciate that the date of his ordination was 4/20/00 ) He takes the job seriously, too. He has a whole drive devoted to his mp3s, and he can find damn near any obscure tune you might want. He recently rose to a challenge of mine and found me a recording of "Gypsy Rose and I Don't Give a Curse" as performed live by the Kingston Trio. So far I haven't been able to stump him. The variety of stuff available to me these days is awesome. I enjoy it all voraciously, all genres, all eras.

Last nite we listened to 'Sweet Dreams (are made of this)' as done by 3 different artists: Eurythmics, Marilyn Manson, and Rockapella. It's ALL good!

Love
MD

57

Why is there evil

by d0rkyd00d in

don't know if this has been touched on before, but where did evil originate?

yes, some may answer satan.

but think about this: god created all things, and god is perfect.

Mommie Dark

dunno why there's evil, but here's an explanation for death & grief:

. http://the-lesser-evil.org/radio

click on file name chefs god lecture.mp3