DS 106

I have chosen to pull from the visual section of DS106. I've always considered myself to be a visual person so this just fits right in with my learning style. In most of these visual blogs however there is no text it is just pictures. Some are funny. Some are telling. Most of the bloggers get there images from pinterest. Which is a very good source for copyright free images.

The first blog I came across in the visual section is called "Demotivate Yourself" The Man The Myth The Paul. He has done several blogs in which he analyzes pictures, creates his own, or edits pictures to make a point. His blogs are very interesting and worth a look. Some are even good for a quick laugh. I'm not really sure what to make of the DS 106 course. I don't know enough about it yet to say definitively whether or not I would want to take this course. If you judge the book by the cover though it looks very interesting and worth looking into. Here you can see his demotivational poster he created. Funny stuff.

Another blog that I found humerus was "fat cats make art better" GrotoGrotto. He takes several classical art pictures and adds fat cats to them. One example is The Scream by Edvard Munch. He takes this classic piece of art and sits a fat cat on top of the screamer. I'm a sucker for funny photos of cats so anytime someone adds fat cats to classical art it gets my attention. I found this picture particularly hilarious. Simply because this painting was intended to be serious but just by adding a cat to the equation it completely changed the painting. Here you can see this picture. Try not to laugh.

As I said in the 2nd paragraph of this post I don't know enough about this course yet to make a decision on whether or not I would want to take this. It looks very interesting. I did use to make demotivationals for my high school computer class. I haven't done this since however. One of the reasons I chose visuals is because I am a firm believer that a picture can tell a thousand words. I feel like a picture can tell you more about that moment than if someone was trying to explain what they saw. I'd much rather see a picture than to hear a story. 

*Blog below was done before this one. I forgot that this weeks blog was to be on DS 106. I will leave the other up and welcome comments for it even though it is not a class thing.*

Georgia Guidestones and It's Mystery

Sunday me and two friends from home took a road trip. We got in my car and hit the interstate with only one destination in mind. Elberton, GA and the Georgia Guidestones. We learned of this location through 2012 research and Brad Meltzer's Decoded on the History Channel. This modern stone megalithic structure was built  in 1980 on a remote, country-side hill in Georgia. It is sometimes referred to as America's Stonehenge. In this post I will do my best to inform readers on the history of this monument and the theories of what they might mean.

In 1979 a man came from parts unknown to the small, country town of Elberton, GA. Elberton is know by the locals as the "Granite Capitol of The World." This man came to the Elberton Granite Co. and said he wanted to build a monument based on the theme of conservation. The name he gave was R.C. Christian. It did not take long however for the towns people to realize however that this was not his real name but a pseudonym. When asked about this he refused to give his real name. And since the monuments cost half a million dollars to build and he payed up front in cash the granite co. was more than happy to take his money with no question. He did however shed a small amount of light on who financed this project. He stated that he represented a small group of Americans who sought the "Age of Reason". He also said that his order was "In the know" and they felt that the endtimes were upon us and he wanted the survivors to have set guidelines to go by and rebuild civilization. These stones have what many have coined as a "New 10 Commandments". The stones that they are carved into are 16 feet tall and way 24,000 pounds EACH. These commandments are written the worlds 8 most commonly used languages, English, Spanish, Russian, Swahili, Hindi, Arabic, Hebrew, and Chinese. There are also inscriptions on the capstone of Egyptian Hieroglyphs, Babylonian Cuneiform, Ancient Greek, and Sanskrit. Those four languages are dead languages and there are no translations to what these inscriptions say. But this monument is not just this. The 4 pillars point to true north, south, east, and west. There is also a horozontial slot in the middle stone that the Sun shines through perfectly at sunrise and sunset everyday of the year. There is a slit in the capstone that the Sun shines through perfectly at high noon everyday of the year. And there is also an upward looking hole in the middle stone that you may see the North Star at any point during the night. So this monument is not just guidestones; it is also a compass, a clock, and a telescope. The new commandments read:
1.) Maintain Humanity under 500,000,000 in perpetual balance with nature.
2.) Guide reproduction wisely, improving fitness and diversity
3.) Unite humanity with a living new language.
4.) Rule passion, faith, tradition, and all things with tempered reason.
5.) Protect people and nations with fair laws and just courts.
6.) Let all nations rule internally with resolving external disputes in an international court.
7.) Avoid petty laws and useless officials.
8.) Balance personal rights with social duties.
9.) Prize truth, beauty, love, seek harmony with the infinite.
10.) Be not a cancer on the Earth, leave room for nature, leave room for nature(the stone repeats itself)
When the monument was completed in 1980 "Mr. Christian" disappeared, and has not been seen in Elberton since.

Many have speculated on what these stones mean for us and why they were placed where they were. Some fear the monument, stating that it calls for mass genocide and calling for a new world order. To me, this argument holds no water. While the 1st calls for maintaining humanity under 500,000,000 it makes no call for violent genocide or a New World Order. We already are allowing nations to rule internally while externally solving disputes in a world court(the U.N.). While the other commandments call for love and harmony. I take Mr. Christians word for it when he says that after some cataclysmic event, apocalypse if you will, these guidestones will be a guide to an "Age of Reason". And our planet is vastly overpopulated at 6.7 billion. With this gross over population it makes sense that Mother Earth is going to cleanse her self one day. We already see can see this in history in Noah's flood. Christianity is not the only culture with a flood story, all other ancient cultures all around the world from the Ancient Maya to Islam have a story of a great deluge. And there is archaeological evidence to support the claim. In recent years they have found multiple man-made stone structures 50 to 100 feet below the ocean. Climate change has happened before as well, we see it in the Ice Age. When it comes climate change I am in the middle. It is happening and we have scientific data to prove this, but we as humans are not the major cause of this because, as we look through history we learn, that this has happened before and there is no reason that it wouldn't again. The human race has been a huge "cancer on the Earth" since the coming of the industrial revolution. We have chopped down rain forests, polluted the oceans and rivers, and spewed tons of toxic chemicals into the atmosphere. All in the name of "progress". We have left barely any room for nature.

For us to understand what has happened in our past to better understand what may happen in the future we must not go in with any pre-conceived notions. An open-mind and a willingness to question the norm is essential. We must also understand that as humans, yes we are the top species on the planet, but there are things that happen that we have no control over. We are not as powerful and amazing as we think we are. Nature will always win out. This is why I believe that the guidestones were placed. Whatever "Know" this group was "In" they had this built so when (not if) the world as we know it ends; we will have guidelines to go by. And "The Age of Reason" will begin.

The Road We've Traveled

*I don't know if I'm actually supposed to be posting this on this blog but it moved me so I thought I would share it. *
A powerful in-depth look at the decisions our President has made over his first 4 years. Interviews with the President, cabinet members, and former President Bill Clinton. A must watch for anyone planning to vote come November. Narrated by Tom Hanks. 

The Madness Has Begun

It's March and the time has once again come for the most exciting time in College Basketball; March Madness. The tournament began Tuesday with the 'last four in' games and today marked the beginning of bracket play. Kentucky is the overall #1 seed and the overwhelming favorite to take the title. But there are 63 other teams that have plenty to say about that.

With all the talking heads and bracketology going on it can be hard to make sense of it all. Especially if you're like me and want to stay on top of everything from start to finish. Everyone on ESPN, CBS, and Fox Sports likes to think they have all the answers; and they'll tell you they do. For example, today Gonzaga and West Virginia played. Gonzaga was the higher seed but all the "experts" predicted a West Virginia win. With 10 minutes left to go the Zags are throttling WVU 59-34. Guess they might be a little pissed off. My point is; all those pundits who act like they know everything about college basketball, or any sport for that matter, actually don't know anymore than the regular, everyday fan. ESPN is becoming more and more like TMZ everyday and it's embarrassing. I never thought that sensationalism in media would reach the sports world. Unfortunately I've been proven wrong. For example, when the Penn State scandal broke that's all that they talked about. Not minimizing what happened but if people wanted to know the kind of details that ESPN was giving out they could have watched CNN or any of the actual news networks. And all they wanted to do was demonize Joe Paterno. The way they were talking someone ignorant of the situation would have thought Coach Paterno had done what Jerry Sandusky allegedly did(innocent till proven guilty). I watch ESPN because I want to hear about SPORTS news and highlights, not to hear about what happened at Jerry Sandusky's court date. Like I said if I wanted to know that I would have watched CNN. As soon as Joe Paterno died ESPN did a complete 180, they started talking about how great of a person he was and how he was a molder of men. It was despicable. They have no honor in their journalism anymore. Joe Paterno died of old age and lung cancer. But I believe that more than anything, he died of a broken heart. And ESPN is just as much to blame for that as the Penn State board of trustees and Jerry Sandusky.

As popular as the NCAA Tournament is the selection process is shrouded in mystery. It's almost the equivalent  of 33rd degree(highest rank you can get in the order) Free Masons meeting in secret deep within the confines of their headquarters. The selection committee gets together every year on selection Sunday and sets the brackets. No one knows whose on the committee or the mindset they have when setting up the brackets. The only thing we have to go on is the RPI ratings. RPI is a mathematical way the NCAA has came up with to rank basketball teams. This is the formula: RPI = (WP * 0.25) + (OWP * 0.50) + (OOWP * 0.25). WP means winning percentage. OWP is opponents winning percentage. OOWP is opponent's opponents winning percentage. See how confusing that can be? And every year the selection committee always snubs a number of mid-major team(small school ex. Jacksonville State) for power conference teams with a lower RPI rating than the mid-major school. It is becoming increasingly more like the BCS in college football where the little guys aren't on the same level in the committees eyes as the bigger schools. This year Marshall, Drexel, and Middle Tennessee State were denied a spot in the tournament in favor of Texas, Purdue, and West Virginia.The three mid-majors had higher RPI ratings than the 3 power conference teams. But still had to settle for a spot in the NIT or the '2nd best' tournament. In spite of the fact that in recent years mid-majors have had considerable success in the tournament. Last year 2 mid major schools made it to the final four( Virginia Commonwealth and Butler) and 1 of them made it to the national championship(Butler). There's a very good chance this year that another mid-major will advance to the final four. Murray State has the best chance; they have the best record in the 64 team field coming in at 30-1. In spite of that they only got a 6 seed. And there road to the final four is going to be very difficult, much harder than the golden child Kentucky's. The committee seems Hell bent to keep the mid-majors out of the final four. 


There are always going to be little guys and big guys in sports. I understand that. But when the little guys show time and time again they are just as good and sometimes better than the big boys and they are still being excluded; seems very strange to me. 

Where Do We Come From?

The information I'm about to share with you may be controversial to some. If the Ancient Astronaut theories are true than this would change everything. I warn you that some of this information is, quite frankly, disturbing. But to fully be able to understand where we came from and what our purpose is here on Earth, we must be willing to look at all possibilities of creation and who or what started it all.

I have recently come across a very old book. Older than the Bible we know today. It is called the Kolbrin. This book has been carefully guarded by Celtic priests for centuries and is only now being released for the general public (Kolbrin Website). Its account for the creation of man is quite intriguing. It says that we are not created by God but by a race we understood at the time as Gods because the ancients had no concept of the technology that they possessed. It reads that the Gods came down from the heavens on "dragons" that spit fire and smoke. Now where they dragons in the biological sense? Or were the ancients trying to explain away what they saw because they had no concept of what a rocket was? I think the latter. I encourage anyone curious to read the Kolbrin's account of creation. It is very mind opening.

The Book of Enoch was found with the Dead Sea Scrolls. These scrolls were also written before the Bible. Enoch's parables tell of an ancient race of fallen "angels" called The Watchers. These watchers came to Earth (according to the book) to mate with the daughters of men. These watchers also schooled men on Astronomy, how to make better swords, and advanced combat training. Now would the God that we know from the Bible send his angels to Earth to mate with the daughters of men and teach man to kill with precision? My gut says no. Also the word angel has been misinterpreted through history. The word angel comes from the Greek word "Angelos" which means messenger. Not something divine. (Read The Book of Enoch Here.) 

There have been accounts of UFO sightings all throughout history. This is not a modern phenomena. There is an account from Nuremberg, Germany in 1561 of a great battle taking place in the sky above. Everyone in the town saw this. (Source) The ancient Maya and Egyptians, that coexisted on two different sides of the planet at the same time. Had remarkably close ideology, architectural prowess, and an advanced understanding of astronomy. Both have legends of Gods coming down from the Heaven on "Chariots of Fire" and these Gods schooled them on how to build  megalithic structures such as the pyramids. Why would two cultures on opposite ends of the World have almost parallel stories? When modern science tells us that these two cultures shouldn't have had any contact with each other. Is it coincidence or is it something more? 

The Mayan Calender says that world as we know it will end on December 21, 2012. I'm not going to start spewing doomsday theories; because I think that what the Mayans were trying to tell us was that something significant is going to happen on that day. Not necessarily the end of civilization. The book of the Jaguar Priests of the Ancient Maya states that on that date the Human Race will be transcended into the next phase of evolution. They call it the "Great Awakening". I'm not saying that I believe this but, The Mayan Calendar has correctly predicted correctly every eclipse and solar phenomena since its creation 3,000 years ago. How did ancient people come to possess this knowledge? Who helped them? It's a question that I think must be explored to be able to understand the history of our race. I think we have lost some knowledge of our history because no matter where you look; whether it is in the Kolbrin , the Sumerian Tablets, Holy Bible, Koran, Native American folklore, Aztec legends, ancient Egyptians, the Greeks, Hindu Sanskrit’s, Ancient China, or the Norse people. All stories of creation are almost parallel to each other. They all state that some being came down from the Heaven’s and created us in their image. Are we all expected to believe that all ancient cultures have the same creation story by coincidence?

I think that all humans have an innate desire to know where it is we come from and what our purpose is. It is what drove me to research this and write this blog. I'm not saying that I believe this and we all need to throw away everything we've been taught to believe. All I'm saying is that we have to be open to all possibilities of origin to really understand where we come from and where we're going.