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 |  You are what you write. Illusion and Reality...I reside in between. Where are you? |
UNDERSTAND THAT REDIRECTING CIVILIZATION is a major undertaking. You can write volumes about it and who will listen? But the energy that goes for that purpose cannot be withdrawn. You know that.  |
 Ludwig Wittgenstein said: “I wanted to write that my work consists of two parts: of the one which is here, and of everything which I have not written. And precisely this second part is the important one.”Do you agree with Wittgenstein and believe that what you haven’t written yet is more important than what you have already written? I think it is presumptuous to even think that what I write might be important. I’d be happy if they were judged entertaining and worth the read. I write speculative fiction as in science-fiction and adventure fantasy. Most of the stuff I’ve written has at least partially come true in the real world as I’m barely ahead of scientific advances. If my stories make readers aware and thinking about what is possible, I’m gratified. In my blog I sometimes push human health as somethiing to encourage awareness. For some individuals that could be important, but only on an individual basis. I’m not happy with our political and foreign relations, so I dig at those occasionally. All I can offer is this piece written some years ago: THE PAST OF VISION Yellow, see it. Orange-red, feel it. Purple-Blue, become it! For you to see the way clear Into the faultless realm of listen-see-do. Let it flow into the glass like a focus of metal glitz That phonies up in the white glare of press lights As I write for the future to read about the Past of Vision. I seek the history of the world as it will be A vision of timespace visited with a thoughtful eye Toward lean-words well-spent. A flight of eagles is breathless In its eye filling splendor, But the twinge of another’s eyebrow Is more in conclusion with the thought of the day. Lately spent, Their greatest war machines did the deed Unto all who grimaced in frankness and truth. And lastly, They who learned of the dare Pulled back all their strings Without a tick to flick In the moist sparings Of contorted pollution fruition. Paired off like sparring hens In a strawless nest The egg broken at first thrust Leaving yoke to mix with dirt. Dirt-life drains under mindless feet. Knowledge of its passing A mystery pondered by others Faraway on a mountain top Tiny figures at the opposite end of the telescope Twisting for focus Bent in concentration Fearing, Helpless. They never considered the force of tiny minds Full of hate-fear-doubt The disbelief of their downfall Courses into every heart With stinging frayed petulance (evil). Awareness is a total state of being Responsibility is the end result That comes too late. Action is limited to preconceived untruths Learned from those ignorant fathers Who mix blood and chicken s*** Into a paste they know will mend the egg But they can’t find all the pieces Nor all the fluid so precious Now that it is lost forever. Darkness is the gift Of children’s fathers Better let them die without the knowledge Of who did this to them. They cried with salty tears Ocean deep Polluted dank Dark Children Blind to reasoned arguments Belch forth pain in droves of searing beads, Strung on a sleeve of bent twigs Flaking off into a mustard-colored sea Of molten dreams. He cared He cared He died without a trace Not a vapor of intelligence Was born with his death Garish beads of blisters Festooned the back of his hand Hand that held the raster grip When it fired the last time. He willfully smiled A grimace really Coming from a dead heart whose purpose was lost Into desire of acceptance and ridicule. “Others have ideas, I have needs!” Outfox Outgain Dream deeper Less than more Is a bigger solution People with mighty blinkers See no possibility Only feasibility Study their grave holes Lined with better Barbiedoll plastic aprons And sleeveworn ideas About helter-skelter pudding for grownups Mediocrity reigns without a shrug of decision. Past of Vision Includes tear drops turned to vapor Burnt out cartons of love For Marines homebound To Waste-city-dump. Fire the torch of liberty! Where is the breeding ground of freedom? Freedom fighters? Freedom racers? Freedom Imposers? Freedom fraud? Better give into reason Whose reason? Reason is reasonable Only after pain Sharp stinging pain Lingering pain Rooted forever In the Past of Vision. -Gale Peterson, March 2003 And has the world changed that much since 2003? Peace and Love...>>> iggy     |
| Prompt: What advice would you give to those in power--leaders of nations presidents, etc.--on the subject of handling violent extremism which keeps turning our world into a senseless one? This is a very aggressive prompt. War is, and always has been, about conquest for plunder and power. And the many wars that we see taking place around the world today are no different. Last year, the US military was running special operations in 147 countries, which represents roughly 75% of the entire planet. US and NATO military operations have grown exponentially over the years, as the Western nations have taken it upon themselves to police the world and use that position to their benefit at every possible opportunity. Who created and is funding and trainiing the so-called terrorists for what projected purpose? There are layers of conficting information. That’s the senseless part. Two days after the Paris massacre more evidence is beginning to emerge suggesting that the attacks may indeed have been an operation designed by Western intelligence agencies for the purpose for gaining support for more western intervention in Syria... France launched "massive" air strikes on the Islamic State group's de-facto capital in Syria Sunday night, destroying a jihadi training camp and a munitions dump in the city of Raqqa, where Iraqi intelligence officials say the attacks on Paris were planned. French aircraft dropped a total of 20 bombs in the biggest air strikes since France extended its bombing campaign against the extremist group to Syria in September, a Defence Ministry statement said. The jets launched from sites in Jordan and the Persian Gulf, in co-ordination with U.S. forces. Note that the reaction comes before the investigations or the evidence. Many passports were found from many different countries. All bomb-proof, I guess. It would be impossible to believe that the ‘World Leaders’ are not connected to the above activity and events. Their decisions could be influenced by high-powered military advisers, by blackmail, by financial rewards, loyalty to foreign governments or political party agendas. Who benefits? Follow the money, follow the power, listen to the silence of the media. Are you distracted and misdirected from what you should have heard and seen? How deep is the illusion that protects the truth from being revealed? I’m going back to my novel, it’s easier to believe. >>>iggy |
| Course, if you have a superstition about Friday the 13th, please share I love reading about them. I always felt those Fridays the thirteenth were kind of special. Today is part of the first week of the Caribbean high season---cruise ships and thousands of tourists. AND IT IS RAINING, like a lot. The ocean is filled with small churning storms that blow in with drenching rain and then move on. Rough waves and cool for this time of year. No ships here, but they are out there somewhere looking for tropical paradise. For some folks, the thirteenth might be considered unlucky. My work is canceled today because of the rain, so I look at it as a holiday! At WYRM we are running the annual GAUNTLET competition. The Gauntleteers are into their third round. We’re seeing some really exceptional writers this time. Happy day...>>>iggy ** Image ID #1289006 Unavailable ** ** Image ID #1264233 Unavailable ** |
| STUFF TO THINK ABOUT As the United Nations gears up for its next international conference on climate change in Paris next month, a scathing white paper released by a society of French mathematicians calls its fight against global warming “absurd” and “a costly and pointless crusade”. Here’s some little news items that sort of back up that idea: >>> NASA Shock Study: Antarctica Is Growing Not Shrinking Antarctica is growing not shrinking, according to the latest study from NASA. Furthermore, instead of contributing to rising sea levels, the still-very-much-frozen southern continent is actually reducing them by 0.23 mm per year. >>> Up to 13.5-feetof snow is currently forecast to fall on 14,411-foot Mt. Rainer in Washington state in the next 3 days. That huge snowfall total is due to an atmospheric river that will be “slamming” into Washington this weekend. >>> Greenland is blowing away all records for ice gain this year. They have gained almost 200 billion tons of snow and ice over the past two months, which is more than 50% above normal. The surface of the ice gained more than 200 billion tons during the previous 12 months. >>> 2015-2016 Winter forecast along with early snows across Europe, N.E. USA and strange bird migrations from Russia. Submitted by IWB, on October 14th, 2015 >>> Ice in Hudson Bay this year extending into late August was so thick that emergency delivery by ice breaker to coastal communities by Canadian Coast Guard was activated. >>> wo major snow storms in Fairbanks combined to make last month the city's second snowiest September in the past 102 years of record keeping. September 2015 recorded 20.9 inches of snow. Only September 1992 has experienced more snow, with 24.4 inches falling that year. And it’s all your fault!...Stay warm. >>>iggy |
| Should we stop teaching critical thinking? Is it to linear to with the twenty first century world? What are your thoughts about how children are taught today? What about creativity, are children encouraged to think outside the box? Australian philosopher John Passmore said half a century ago: If being critical consisted simply in the application of a skill then it could in principle be taught by teachers who never engaged in it except as a game or defensive device, somewhat as a crack rifle shot who happened to be a pacifist might nevertheless be able to teach rifle-shooting to soldiers. But in fact being critical can be taught only by men who can themselves freely partake in critical discussion. I think critical thinking involves finding evidence when considering an issue and weighing up the value any conflicting evidence before forming your own opinion. What could be wrong with teaching students how to do that? So much time, money and effort is spent on Standardized Tests, which frustrate students, teachers, administrators and the legislators who created the mess in the first place. The pressure to pass the test drowns out any other kind of thinking. One of the issues in today’s world is computer literacy. How to find information, How to find the evidence. It goes way beyond the card file at the local library, which is now computerized. Many students simply cannot read beyond a third or fourth grade level, and for millions, English is not their first language. In a world that works, teachers would have students track patterns in information forcing them to look at the information as a process instead of simply information to be memorized and that would help them develop skills of recognition and prediction. What happened at your school? >>> iggy |
| Prompt: The FBI show up at your door. Why are they there? What a question. Just using (those initials) in the title sets a red-flag for the ‘watchers’ to take notes. Pay attention to what Mr. Snowden says. That is a question that is too dangerous to even speculate about why they might come to your door. Because I write science-fiction and fantasy, I live in an alternate or fantasy world most of the time. In my world there are no agencies with ominous letters for their name. However my second novel was set in Iran, and I wrote about the people there. Science fiction, but a real place. The Apex Project is out there for all to read. (Amazon, Lulu, iTunes, etc.) That could bring men in black suits to my door. Except it’s only a hatch, since I live in a sailboat. Illusion is the game, and isn't that what THEY are all about? Isn’t life interesting? >>>iggy |
| Do you ever feel like an imposter when you read other writers here on WDC? How do you handle that insecurity that strikes us all? Learning to write is a very difficult and life-consuming process. I don’t think you ever stop learning. Excellent or good writing is not a secret, it’s all around us, everywhere we look. I believe one of the best ways to learn about writing is to read the best authors. And then read some not-so-good authors and analyze why they are not up to standard. Insecurity should be replaced by an insatiable curiosity and desire to learn. Then the horror part---read your own writing and compare! If you read enough, study enough, analyze enough, you will begin the make sense of it all---as it applies to the words you set down. You are not frozen in a state of constant inadequacy, but it requires effort and dedication to move to competency. Learning to express yourself in a blog is one kind of writing. Story-telling in a short story or novel is a more involved application of learned skills. Technical writing, straight news reporting, and journalistic investigative writing are more variations and each require experience, background and a learning curve. Theatrical play writers, movie script writers and game and animation creators are more branches of the writing world. Then there are poets and song writers and advertising writers, ghost writers, biographers, historians, and of course the clever folks who write all the propaganda. Do you realize how many kinds of writers contribute to our world? There’s no limit, find your niche...>>> iggy |
| Prompt: Think of your blog as a mirror. What does it reveal? Blog name, theme choice, design, bio, posts.... What does each element say about you? iguanamountain blog >>> the name of my blog is my handle on WDC. by iguanamountain (28) Rated: E >>> No cute names, just my handle. And the E rating says open to all and not too sexy. The picture is an iguana from a painting I did after I moved to Belize. The name of the blog is also on the picture. You are what you write. Illusion and Reality...I reside in between. Where are you? >>> my by-line for the blog. I write Science Fiction and Fantasy so that part of me is in the illusion. But I am concerned about the state of the world and the reality of truth. I like the question that sort of challenges the reader. At the top of my blog home is the statement: UNDERSTAND THAT REDIRECTING CIVILIZATION is a major undertaking. You can write volumes about it and who will listen? But the energy that goes for that purpose cannot be withdrawn. You know that. >>> I won’t make a big change, but here and there, once in a while---I increase a reader’s awareness about some critical truth that could change their lives, or how they perceive something. I usually say, “Research and learn---hear the silence.” The energy of doing that is always positive. I believe directing civilization is a human-collective process. We have to choose to contribute toward that end. Next I have the WYRM Signature, the Blog City image, and the Talent Pond Blog Harbor where I’m moored. Mostly because I actually live in a sailboat (yacht) so it’s really like a mirror! I’ve just added OCEAN where I do more reviewing. Also part of the mirror as my real boat is moored in the ocean. How’s that for a blog mirror? >>> iggy <----Sailboat, get it? OMG! I have a theme! |
| Prompt: What would you do if you suddenly found yourself in a terrifyingly dangerous situation? Could you keep your calm? What would be the first reasonable thought to occur to you? First of all, every situation is DIFFERENT. The reaction, the decisions depend on what the danger is. Being in an automobile going 90 MPH with an out of control driver is different from the Swat police trying to break down your front door at 3AM. Some things happen so fast there is no reaction time. I think guns and automobiles lead that list. I understand that many times being taken to a hospital is a terrifyingly dangerous situation. Some folks go voluntarily, calm as can be. There is a survival mode in humans that pushes them to avoid dangerous situations if possible. Risk comes in case there are children or a spouse or parents or good friends in danger. Enough about this topic. I find it depressing. Peace and Love...>>>iggy |
| Prompt: Where do you think fear of failure comes from? Was there ever something that you had feared you’d fail at but didn’t? A very big, painful, topic that touches almost everyone from childhood through old age. How about unsuccessfulness? Or nonfullfillment Or bankruptcy or more serious kinds of failures: abortion, miscarriage, breakdown, stillborn. or a simple malfunction. Then there’s a mistake, a fiasco, a mess, Or in showbusiness we have a turkey, a flop, a bomb, a washout, a boxoffice disaster! (I think ‘Pan’ just had one this weekend.) The fear of failure drives all humans to try, hope, wish...to avoid all the above plus about a thousand other kinds of failures. Little things like: out of gas, dead battery, parking ticket, Microsoft’s blue screen or a dead black screen. Our highly technical world lives with failure every day. In other parts of the world a hungry child is a kind of failure, or a hundred-thousand refugees, or a million homeless. Brace up folks...>>>iggy |
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