NYT: Divinity consultants are designing sacred rituals for corporations and their spiritually depleted employees. [Click] My first thought was “Good Lord.” My second thought was that the New Reformed Orthodox Order of the Golden Dawn was an outgrowth of a thesis in a class about ritual, so that should be right down their alley. Then I thought of what the NROOGD combined with a corporation—say Google—could be like, which is scary as Hell. Then I thought, well, they’re not dealing with any corporations that are yet really powerful—that I know of. Next thought: they’re playing with fire. Even if they’re amateurs (maybe especially if they are amateurs) at this sort of thing, they could stumble across or inspire something beyond their ability to control. Having read through the entire article, I think they ARE amateurs, and probably haven’t accomplished much. But they’re still playing with fire. Sparks can set off a conflagration.
Oh, yeah. Amateurs can be a whole lot more dangerous than pros, especially mucking about with religion and spirituality. Could be a perfect setup for a potentially nasty cult.
Probably one of the most important things about NROOGD, Spiral Dance, and suchlike is that they learned how not only to induce heightened states of awareness (OK, just what it is can be debated) through group ritual, they also figured out how to come back down from them--again, as a group. Nobody left behind.
That isn't spirituality, though, it's spiritualism. It isn't about connecting with the source at the center of the universe, but about getting a kind of high. I'd say it's not a whole lot different than the high one gets running a marathon. Spirituality, at its best, is about transcendence, but not for the sake of the self, and not for the good of the team, but for the sake of the Love that undergirds all in all. Love for Love's sake.
That said, the Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation in MD offers a Soul of the Executive program. It's for executives who want to go deeper spiritually as well as to lead as one who is spiritually grounded. It is a highly respected, inclusive and gentle approach. It's more about being more thoughtful humans, more aware and more compassionate. Imagine some of that imbuing corporate America.
Today we start making raisins. Yesterday I set up our wheeled drying tables and covered them with paper; this morning we go to a packing shed and buy seven boxes of Princess grapes. When we get home we wash them, put them on the tables and roll them out in front of the garage (on the south side, so they get both direct and reflected sunlight). I also visit the dentist for routine maintenance this afternoon. High temperature predicted to be only 96F, visibility said to be 8 miles (I doubt that), air quality index up to 102 ("unhealthy for some people"). I expect we will skip our morning constitutional; lugging those grapes back and forth will be exercise enough in addition to our regular stretching exercises. Coffee is ready, so time to peruse the InnerTubes.
Aside from being two days early and in the wrong place, we were right on time to pick up the grapes! So this afternoon I will do a better job of repairing one of the raisin drying tables.
It's not much hotter than usual; the sunlight is weaker than usual because of the smoke. I hope they don't come out smoke flavored! But they will be washed before being set out, and again after drying.
Anyone with even passing familiarity with the news can tell the man is terribly ill. Nominating him for anything, except maybe a nice, peaceful stay in a hospital or sanatorium amounts to criminal abuse. And I don't even like the son of a bitch!
Yes. And I wouldn't want to see him just doped up to make him manageable. I remember reading about care of people with Altzheimer's Disease. Since people have better memories for sensations than for thoughts, when they get set off by something giving them a chocolate works better than Valium.
First headline at politicalwire.com: How Much Does Biden Need to Win By? Nate Silver figures if Biden wins the popular vote by 3%, the electoral college could go either way; at 5% Biden has a lock on it.
Second headline: Biden Leads Trump Nationally by 10 Points Per a new Quinnipiac poll [Click], Biden is ahead 52% to 42% among likely voters, who figure the country is worse off than it was four years ago by 58% to 38%.
Well, I’m certainly glad to have that cleared up! And in order to keep the truth quiet, one of those people in the shadows mucked up your link to the story! But here it is, fixed up (until they realize I fixed it) [Click] Thanks, Bill!
That's the one, Alan. I kind'a thought you might not be familiar with Dark Shadows. Can't say as I remember it too clearly myself, only that I enjoyed watching it...illicitly. Mum did not approve. But Diane Down The Hall's mother let her watch it, and I used to oh so casually slope down to her apartment just about the time it was starting. Occasionally I wondered, even then, why Mum didn't tumble to the ruse. Didn't question good luck though.
Covid cases could surge in battleground midwest during Labor Day holiday [Click] “White House taskforce has already warned Iowa health officials the state has the highest rate of cases in the US.” It seems that it would take remarkably little disruption of the over-65 vote to move Iowa into the Democratic column. And presumably that would have a knock-on effect among other voters as well.
OHIO: As of Wednesday afternoon, there have been at least 125,767 confirmed or probable cases in the state, 4,176 deaths, and 13,574 hospitalizations, according to the Ohio Department of Health.
Philip Bump: “Trump regularly touts the record enthusiasm in his base. In CNN’s poll, that is clear, including that 87 percent of his supporters say there is no way they will change their minds about whom they will vote for.”
“Among supporters of Biden, the figure is 94 percent.”
It's 2020, and I don't know that I'll ever feel complacent again in my lifetime. But it sure does feel good to see those numbers. It starts as a warm glow in the chest, doesn't it?
And he's the Attorney General, no less. If *he* doesn't know, Trump certainly can't be expected to know.
Good Lord! I sure hope there's a twelve step program to help those trying to recover from being perpetually sardonic. If not, my outlook may be permanently warped.
"Oral polio vaccines cause about three cases of vaccine-associated paralytic poliomyelitis per million doses given. This compares with 5,000 cases per million who are paralysed following a polio infection."
The Salk vaccine is better, but requires refrigeration for transport and storage, as well as syringes and needles for administration. There were some bad batches among the early ones; I have a shirt-tail relative who got polio from it.
So the last primary is finally past. Should cut down the number of emails a bit, at least theoretically. But perhaps more importantly I know know that when candidates as for donations to defeat a Republican opponent that donation will not in fact be going to defeat a Democratic primary opponent. I saw far too much of that.
NYT: Divinity consultants are designing sacred rituals for corporations and their spiritually depleted employees. [Click] My first thought was “Good Lord.” My second thought was that the New Reformed Orthodox Order of the Golden Dawn was an outgrowth of a thesis in a class about ritual, so that should be right down their alley. Then I thought of what the NROOGD combined with a corporation—say Google—could be like, which is scary as Hell. Then I thought, well, they’re not dealing with any corporations that are yet really powerful—that I know of. Next thought: they’re playing with fire. Even if they’re amateurs (maybe especially if they are amateurs) at this sort of thing, they could stumble across or inspire something beyond their ability to control. Having read through the entire article, I think they ARE amateurs, and probably haven’t accomplished much. But they’re still playing with fire. Sparks can set off a conflagration.
ReplyDeleteOh, yeah. Amateurs can be a whole lot more dangerous than pros, especially mucking about with religion and spirituality. Could be a perfect setup for a potentially nasty cult.
DeleteI misspoke--NROOGD started as an assignment in a class about ritual, not a thesis.
DeleteProbably one of the most important things about NROOGD, Spiral Dance, and suchlike is that they learned how not only to induce heightened states of awareness (OK, just what it is can be debated) through group ritual, they also figured out how to come back down from them--again, as a group. Nobody left behind.
DeleteThat isn't spirituality, though, it's spiritualism. It isn't about connecting with the source at the center of the universe, but about getting a kind of high. I'd say it's not a whole lot different than the high one gets running a marathon. Spirituality, at its best, is about transcendence, but not for the sake of the self, and not for the good of the team, but for the sake of the Love that undergirds all in all. Love for Love's sake.
DeleteThat said, the Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation in MD offers a Soul of the Executive program. It's for executives who want to go deeper spiritually as well as to lead as one who is spiritually grounded. It is a highly respected, inclusive and gentle approach. It's more about being more thoughtful humans, more aware and more compassionate. Imagine some of that imbuing corporate America.
DeleteBronze age Britons made keepsakes from parts of dead relatives, archaeologists say [Click] Or maybe they weren’t relatives?
ReplyDeleteDetectorist in Scottish Borders uncovers bronze age haul [Click]
Today we start making raisins. Yesterday I set up our wheeled drying tables and covered them with paper; this morning we go to a packing shed and buy seven boxes of Princess grapes. When we get home we wash them, put them on the tables and roll them out in front of the garage (on the south side, so they get both direct and reflected sunlight). I also visit the dentist for routine maintenance this afternoon. High temperature predicted to be only 96F, visibility said to be 8 miles (I doubt that), air quality index up to 102 ("unhealthy for some people"). I expect we will skip our morning constitutional; lugging those grapes back and forth will be exercise enough in addition to our regular stretching exercises. Coffee is ready, so time to peruse the InnerTubes.
ReplyDeleteNote: the Blogger clock says it is 9:43, but the local time is 6:43.
DeleteAside from being two days early and in the wrong place, we were right on time to pick up the grapes! So this afternoon I will do a better job of repairing one of the raisin drying tables.
DeleteOops! Ah well. One out of three ain't bad.
Delete*ducks*
That's what I figured! We got a good laugh out of it.
DeleteWill the raisins dry faster than usual in that heat?
DeleteIt's not much hotter than usual; the sunlight is weaker than usual because of the smoke. I hope they don't come out smoke flavored! But they will be washed before being set out, and again after drying.
DeleteGovernment funding deadline hits at the end of this month, while coronavirus relief and economic stimulus still need to be taken care of. [Click]
ReplyDeleteTrump Gives Conflicting Reason For Hospital Visit As His Meltdown Over Stroke-Gate Continues [Click]
ReplyDeleteAnyone with even passing familiarity with the news can tell the man is terribly ill. Nominating him for anything, except maybe a nice, peaceful stay in a hospital or sanatorium amounts to criminal abuse. And I don't even like the son of a bitch!
DeleteYes. And I wouldn't want to see him just doped up to make him manageable. I remember reading about care of people with Altzheimer's Disease. Since people have better memories for sensations than for thoughts, when they get set off by something giving them a chocolate works better than Valium.
DeleteI'm not sure one way or the other about his mother, Cat, but he's definitely the son of a bastard.
DeleteNew Engineering Report [Says] Bannon’s Privately Built Border Wall Will Fail [Click]
ReplyDeleteFormer senior adviser claims she corresponded multiple times a day with the first lady on state business via private channels [Click] Better get the FBI and CIA on that pronto.
ReplyDeletePut 'er in jail!
DeleteRussia's Navalny poisoned with Novichok-type nerve agent per German government [Click]
ReplyDeleteGravity wave from merger of black holes seven billion years ago reached Earth last year. [Click] There was another story in the news about this a couple of weeks ago.
ReplyDeleteThat's a lot to wrap one's mind around.
DeleteHey, do you suppose that's why we gained weight last year? ;-)
I hadn't thought of that...
DeleteCharlie Hebdo: 14 suspects on trial over Paris massacre [Click]
ReplyDeleteArwa Mahdawi: New York isn’t dying. The rich are moving out and the city is being reborn [Click]
ReplyDeleteIndoor plant with four leaves sells for $8,000 in New Zealand [Click]
ReplyDeleteNYT: A trove of Phoenician artifacts was long ascribed to a single shipwreck. More likely they were tossed overboard, and over centuries, a new study suggests. [Click]
ReplyDeleteNYT: Wild "singing" dogs rediscovered in New Guinea [Click]
ReplyDeleteThat's it for now.
ReplyDeleteMy goodness, and a heroic effort too. Thanks, Alan.
DeleteThere are too damned many gnus stampeding around these days--and I expect that worse is to come in the near future.
DeleteFirst headline at politicalwire.com: How Much Does Biden Need to Win By?
ReplyDeleteNate Silver figures if Biden wins the popular vote by 3%, the electoral college could go either way; at 5% Biden has a lock on it.
Second headline: Biden Leads Trump Nationally by 10 Points
Per a new Quinnipiac poll [Click], Biden is ahead 52% to 42% among likely voters, who figure the country is worse off than it was four years ago by 58% to 38%.
Georgia Wrongly Purged 200K from Voter Rolls [Click] The report is worth reading; the number is not a guess.
ReplyDeleteTrump’s ‘Air Antifa’ plane story is true (maybe). I know because I was there (maybe). Another nice Rex Hupke satire.
ReplyDeleteWell, I’m certainly glad to have that cleared up! And in order to keep the truth quiet, one of those people in the shadows mucked up your link to the story! But
Deletehere it is, fixed up (until they realize I fixed it) [Click] Thanks, Bill!
Most interesting. Glad to get that cleared up. BTW the guys in the dark shadows weren't by any chance named Barnaby and Quenton, were they?
Delete*duck and run*
Cat--the reference is not in my Rollodex; Cat—Might this be the it? [Click]
DeleteUh, yeah, Barnabas, that's what I said. Ahem.
DeleteThat's the one, Alan. I kind'a thought you might not be familiar with Dark Shadows. Can't say as I remember it too clearly myself, only that I enjoyed watching it...illicitly. Mum did not approve. But Diane Down The Hall's mother let her watch it, and I used to oh so casually slope down to her apartment just about the time it was starting. Occasionally I wondered, even then, why Mum didn't tumble to the ruse. Didn't question good luck though.
I'm betting Mum knew and was grateful you were watching it down the hall and not in her hearing. LOL!
DeleteBaltimore postal facility sat on 68,000 pieces of election mail for 5 days ahead of primary, audit shows [Click]
ReplyDelete🤬
DeleteBidens will visit Kenosha on Thursday. [Click]
ReplyDeleteProtesters sue Kenosha for discriminatory enforcement of curfew [Click]
Biden Calls Closure of Schools a national emergency [Click]
ReplyDeletePompeo announces sanctions on international tribunal prosecutor, aide [Click]
ReplyDeleteSpanish judge orders Franco’s heirs to hand over summer palace
ReplyDelete[Click] Dictator’s manor in Galicia ruled to be the property of the state.
Joe Biden raises $364 million in August, shattering fundraising record.
ReplyDelete👍👍
DeleteCovid cases could surge in battleground midwest during Labor Day holiday [Click] “White House taskforce has already warned Iowa health officials the state has the highest rate of cases in the US.” It seems that it would take remarkably little disruption of the over-65 vote to move Iowa into the Democratic column. And presumably that would have a knock-on effect among other voters as well.
ReplyDeleteSenators call on Pentagon to reinstate funding for Stars and Stripes newspaper [Click] When active duty personnel are already starting to favor Biden, this should help things along, even if the Trumpets cave.
ReplyDeleteIt's typical of Trump to trample on a constituency he assumes supports him.
DeleteWell said!
DeleteOHIO: As of Wednesday afternoon, there have been at least 125,767 confirmed or probable cases in the state, 4,176 deaths, and 13,574 hospitalizations, according to the Ohio Department of Health.
ReplyDelete3.32%
DeleteTrump’s ‘Law and Order’ Message Not Resonating [Click] Oh, “law and order;” I thought it was “lawn ordure.” $1.58 per cubic foot at Home Depot.
ReplyDeleteYou're obviously the domesticated type. Me, I thought it was a long-running television show.
DeleteOh, you two are on fire tonight! 😂
DeleteI *love* that! "lawn ordure"!! Perfect! It sounds like something puddle would approve as well.
New Fox News polls:
ReplyDeleteArizona: Biden 49%, Trump 40%
Wisconsin: Biden 50%, Trump 42%
North Carolina: Biden 50%, Trump 46%
And the U.S. Senate races:
Arizona: Mark Kelly (D) 56%, Martha McSally (R) 39%
North Carolina: Cal Cunningham (D) 48%, Thom Tillis (R) 42%
Somebody's not trying. I mean, c'mon! Can't the president's pet channel do better than that? I'd fire them if I were him.
DeleteFox News is one thing; Fox News Polls is another. They are actually one of the better polls.
DeletePhilip Bump: “Trump regularly touts the record enthusiasm in his base. In CNN’s poll, that is clear, including that 87 percent of his supporters say there is no way they will change their minds about whom they will vote for.”
ReplyDelete“Among supporters of Biden, the figure is 94 percent.”
LOL Trump just can't catch a break, can he?
DeleteSeriously, it would be interesting to see analogous figures for Hawkins supporters.
I'm really loving these numbers!
DeleteIt's 2020, and I don't know that I'll ever feel complacent again in my lifetime.
But it sure does feel good to see those numbers. It starts as a warm glow in the chest, doesn't it?
The cockles of one's heart are the valves, from their visual resemblance to the shellfish.
DeleteTrump Encourages People to Vote Twice [Click] As memory serves me, the courts take a rather dim view of that. In fact, it is usually considered a felony.
ReplyDeleteBill Barr Dodges When Confronted on Trump Encouraging Supporters to Illegally Vote Twice: ‘I Don’t Know’ What State Law Says [Click]
Sounds like lawn ordure to me.
DeleteAnd he's the Attorney General, no less. If *he* doesn't know, Trump certainly can't be expected to know.
DeleteGood Lord! I sure hope there's a twelve step program to help those trying to recover from being perpetually sardonic. If not, my outlook may be permanently warped.
Trust DT to recommend that we all go out and commit a felony. Maybe he thinks it will normalise his own behaviour.
DeleteDefinitely lawn ordure!
Don't worry, Cat. The cure is to spend time around people who are trustworthy. One more reason to vote early.
Vaccine-derived polio spreads in Africa after defeat of wild virus [Click] I didn’t know the Sabin vaccine virus could become so dangerous.
ReplyDeleteOh dear God, that's frightening!
DeleteFrom Wikipedia:
Delete"Oral polio vaccines cause about three cases of vaccine-associated paralytic poliomyelitis per million doses given. This compares with 5,000 cases per million who are paralysed following a polio infection."
😳
DeleteThe Salk vaccine is better, but requires refrigeration for transport and storage, as well as syringes and needles for administration. There were some bad batches among the early ones; I have a shirt-tail relative who got polio from it.
DeleteHe recovered.
DeleteVT: 1637 (+2)
ReplyDelete58 deaths (28 days)
155 active cases
Recovered:1433 (+1)
In Hospital 1 ( 0)
Tests 139,096 (+650)
So the last primary is finally past. Should cut down the number of emails a bit, at least theoretically. But perhaps more importantly I know know that when candidates as for donations to defeat a Republican opponent that donation will not in fact be going to defeat a Democratic primary opponent. I saw far too much of that.
ReplyDeleteI noticed quite a few that were vague about how my donation would be spent.
Delete