Monday, October 20, 2008

TWELVE MOONS HAVE PASSED.

By Murph and Freeacre.

Folks, the anniversary I am referring to is us. The Trout Clan Campfire is now 1 year old and I thought I would talk a bit about its history and development.

Over a year ago, I had archived Cyclone’s site because I thought it had value into the future. However, for some reason, the media I had stored it on, (a CD) was adulterated and couldn’t be pulled up, it was right after the last computer crash and mother board going belly up and my attempts to salvage the secondary hard drive. So, I have re-archived both Cyclones and Trout Clan blog site. In the process I started to look at what was said on Cy’s site three years ago up until a year ago when Cy stopped posting. It is very interesting reading. The site is still active and you can go back way to the beginning and see what we were all talking about then. For new people that site is at: http://cyclone696.blogspot.com/

Stoney, you take the honor of being one of the absolutely original readers and commentators on Cy’s site, Rockpicker taking a very close second place by one day in the comments anyway. Over the two years of the site being active, many people showed up, made comments for a time and then disappeared. The original paradigm at the site was political investigation, extrapolation and commentary concerning the political situation from Nov 2005 to Oct. 2007, at which point Trout Clan was moved to our current site.

During the life of Cy’s site, there were a lot of projections concerning what expectations we had about future events in this country and the world. A few of them actually came true. Many of them were too immediate, happening a year or two later, and some haven’t happened, and since the ones that didn’t happen had to do mostly with legal action of entities in our government, we were disappointed.

We have much to thank Cyclone for. His exposé’s on the political happenings of the day were always insightful and drew much interest. It was what appealed to Freeacre and myself and got us involved in the site. Another attribute of the site was the people taking part in the comments. We became enthralled by the interaction and the personalities involved resulting in Freeacre and myself in the summer of 2006 making a trip to Montana and meeting Montana Freeman and Rockpicker and family. What a beautiful time that was.

After a time, about 8 months actually, Cy posted less and less and Freeacre and myself, as well as some other contributors, began to post more and more as Cy had personal problems and he simply couldn’t contribute as much. There was a brief period for a while in late 2006 where Cy rejoined the post before dropping out completely and turned the site over to Freeacre and myself. After the formation of the Trout Clan off shoot, Cy came in and made comments for a few months and then disappeared altogether. We are so glad Cy has made an appearance again just lately. We missed you dude.

Because Cy was unique to the site in that he had contacts for inside information on events, he was able to contribute a lot of data and information the rest of us did not have. When he began to withdraw from the site, the contributions to the posts changed the tone of the site since we all did not have contacts like that, changing from political information and bashing to something else; I am not sure what to call it. In a sense, we become more abstract in our posts and comments. Belgium, Stoney, Carl in Pa, Reality, Freeacre and myself kept the blog alive, making contributions in the form of posts. Thank you all for doing so and providing different perspectives and information.

Which pretty much brings us up to the present. What we have ended up with is quite literally a cyber tribe, passing the talking stick around; with a greatly expanded subject interest that sometimes take a bizarre twist from the posted subject. All of which lends a uniqueness to the site. Freeacre and myself spend a lot of computer time looking at a huge assortment of sites, many of them blog sites. I can unequivocally say this site is quite unique. We have not found another blog site that has the amount of comfort zone in it that we experience. Some do come close. Over the last three years we have watched ourselves and the regulars contributing to posts and comments develop a trust and sharing that we do not find elsewhere. I guess that should qualify us all as a community, even if it is in cyberspace and we are all separated by thousands of physical miles.

Without being presumptuous and steering away from being maudlin, all of you who have stayed with the site, contributed posts, made comments and shared yourselves and thoughts have enriched my life and knowledge base. We also welcome the newcomers to the site. Hope you stick around. I bow in gracious acknowledgment to all your efforts and thoughts. Murph.

From freeacre

As I look back at the evolution of this site, I see three stages. The first was when we were all outraged and fuming about George Bush and his miscreant cabal. Much gnashing of teeth concerning politics, power plays, the inside scoops on the economy, a lot of the information provided by Cyclone at his site, Cyclone’s Real Deal. This, of course, continues to this day with the outrages at every turn.

Then, as the Murphinator and I began to contribute, the content began to include more information on resource depletion, Peak Oil, changes in the economy, our relationship with the earth and serious changes in lifestyle. My history of eight years in a women’s spiritual drumming circle and honoring Native American traditions began to influence the format. Our Cherokee elder, Montana Freeman, greatly enriched our world view with his bold stories, great humor, and intuitive wisdom. His spirit guide, Langusta ( a cricket) became one of the tribe as well, and is a valued member of the tribe even today. This probably would not have been possible if we had not begun to have the value that none of us has The Answer. Rather, each of us shares what is true for us, and together, we gain a much larger perspective. Stoney, as well, is part Cherokee, and his warrior (ex Navy Seal and ferocious father protection energy) essence contributes that fire that warms us all.

The fire is fanned brighter by the incredible poetic breath of Rockpicker, a stone mason in Montana and natural born Irish muse. He paints us pictures that inspire and enlighten and once in awhile bring us to tears. I have asked Rockpicker to send us a collection of poems that he has written on the blogsite. Posting them would be a way to celebrate and acknowledge the heart essence of the Clan, as well as the eye that sees beyond the visible.

Ah, and our far-flung, but invaluable brothers, Belgium (Spirit Across the Sea), an Englishman living in Belgium; Ely from Columbia, and Singapore Guy – who contribute excellent thoughts and practical applications of their vast knowledge, as well as sharing their feelings and poignant experiences. Our perspective is so enhanced by the gift of sharing the view from differing parts of the globe. It’s good to be humbled by how much more they know about what is going on here than we in America know about there. Eventually, the tribal element began to take form, and the campfire was struck and moved to this site next to a river in our collective imaginations.

We are so lucky that just the right people keep coming along and throwing another log on the fire. Our brilliant youngest sister, ras, from Alabama, struggling to invent a new paradigm to live her life by. Our dear Palooka’s Revenge, a wonderful blend of strong masculine as well as feminine philosophies and insightful wisdom. Mrs.p, and Dude, and Dave – all eloquent contributors who give us glimpses into their lives and how they walk their talk.

Some have sat with us awhile and then moved on. But, I believe they know that they are always welcome if they pass this way again. And, some sit in silence with us. We can feel them, and we are happy to have them here as well.

These are challenging times. Most people can’t get their minds around just how significant are the changes required in response to resource depletion, the collapse of capitalism that requires ruthless growth, and the resulting political and social turmoil as it all transforms into something else. These tidal wave like forces re-shape us and take their toll. Navigating these waters requires all the intelligence and wisdom and energy and good humor and love we can muster. Sometimes we lead, sometimes we follow, rant, stumble, heal, and oftentimes we laugh.

In the process of kicking around our ideas of community, freedom, how to build a better world, and how to survive in this one, we have somehow created a cyber tribe of folks joined at the heart and open to each other’s minds. We welcome our new acquaintances, Moonraven, Jacque, Kesher, L.C. and want to hear more from you. With almost 25,000 hits in a year, I know there are many more of us in this circle.

I think it has all been good and very good. I think it is appropriate to celebrate and acknowledge the first full year of the Trout Clan Campfire and all that we have come to mean to each other. October 24, 2007 was the birth of this blog. We’ll keep the conversation going as long as we can. We are looking ahead to some seriously bumpy road. The lights may go out, and we may need to hold each others hand, just to get by. I am so grateful that we have each other.

Yea!! Now how about those trout tattoos!

aho

43 comments:

Álvaro said...

What I most like about this blog is you are optimistic and happy people. Everything about peak oil is so depressing we need some fresh air to keep going. I'm tired of reading apocalyptic visions of our future. They may be true, but c'mon, let's enjoy some of our shared time on Earth.

Anonymous said...

From Belgium,

My you two, I almost had a glub moment there with that swing down memory lane. Some of the old names came back to me with a certain poignancy. Some form a core, some tarry for a while before moving on to the next village and some pass this way again on their return journey. I am so pleased Cy looked in again. I was going to say a kind of closing but it was more like completing the circle. I, like most I would imagine, hope he can put the occasional comment up now and again but if this is the thin end of the wedge to an addiction then better to have acknowledged a nod as he passed by. Btw, I still wear the T shirt as the wash cycle comes around.

Karcher is right, be aware, look at the glass half full and ‘non illigitimus corundum’ (don’t let the bastards grind you down). Let’s build a bonfire in our hearts.

MoonRaven said...

Congratulations on keeping the fire alive through these dozen moons. As someone who has just found this site recently, I am grateful to be part of the expanding circle. As KesheR points out, your optimism is refreshing. We will need all of us to keep a clear, hopeful vision in the difficult times to come. I'm grateful that the Trout Clan is here to keep holding out that vision. Thank you, Murph and Freeacre, for all your work tending this fire.

Palooka's Revenge said...

even as we look beyond the 12th moon its a great time to pay homage due. due to who? to all those who gather here. but most of all to fa and the murphinator. it is their tenacity that is the glue in the mortar. the undieing ember that keeps the campfire kindled.

i can always count on murph to keep me honest and fa to inject a point of view i'd never even considered. and, in my view at least, thats what this campfire is all about. expanding our points of view... p

Anonymous said...

Again, thanks everyone for your support.

As an aside; I have suggested that it is not incompetence that has created this financial mess, but rather a long term plan that is coming to its conclusion. Here is a link with an explanation of what has been happening. If the writer is right, it has been a long time coming and only a comatose population could have allowed it to progress.
http://www.rense.com/general83/expose.htm

Álvaro said...

I also think it is not incompetence at all: it's premeditated theft. I don't like "conspiracy theories" and this is NOT one of them: our politicians are the servants of the financial elite. That is a fact if you know something about our current societes, something will be thaught in schools in 2080 (or even before).

But I don't think this final collapse was planned in detail. I think the elite that rule the world (and again, this is not a conspiracy theory but the thought of people like Noam Chomsky) are improvising as events unfold. Details are way too obscure for anyone to understand them: this is true even for the Rockefeller. No one knows for sure what's happening from now on, but the elite will do anything they can to take advantage of it.

Anonymous said...

Congratulations on the anniversary of this fine site!!

You know I could probably say a lot about this site and that would not really fully complete what I feel about all those who grace this spot in cyber space.

It is not only a place of careful respite, thoughtful prose or a place of shared knowledge but for me it is place where I feel at peace most often in a troubled world.

I migrated here from the original Cyclone Blog, sort of followed the migrating tribe and I am pleased to see that the tribe continues to expand.

I learn much and while there are times I would like to say or send more information, I know it is OK that I don't and well OK if I do that is the beauty here... you put in what you wish and take away what you need in the form of different perspective or additional knowledge or just having that feeling of a shared bond on a lot of topics.

It is my wish that this blog continues on as long as there is this form of communication that allows us to span such great distance. I for one will keep coming back...

On that note I will give you this...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LDBOPcHpeo

take in what you will but what is of interest to me is at about the 2 min 40 second mark.

Hasta luego de Colombia

Ely

Palooka's Revenge said...

the 2 min 40 second mark.

good catch ely. yup... and trained tom totally ignored the prediction. prediction? damn, it was stated more like a foregone conclusion. i mean, WTF, any idiot would-da jumped all over that while sociopaths and psychopaths got wood over it.

so now we have powell AND biden making similar stmts in the last couple daz... while joe the plumbers remain in a daze. hyptomized by the false promise of a trickle of rancid piss down the leg of the man!

Anonymous said...

Yep Palooka ....there is something in all of this. Still trying to piece it all together.

Was this a prediction or was it a subtle not so subtle warning?

Was it strange that out of almost nowhere Powell is on the scene with something that he knows will get him extensive media coverage, and that little ditty was endorsing Obama over McCain. The media for their part are all over it like a junk yard dog on a T Bone and this gives Powell the stage he needs to get a message out???

Hmmm... but alas I am thinking that there are very few who would have caught that little bit...

Still again if he is a harbinger of things to come then we should be picking up on other bits of foreboding information regarding another crisis if we all just keep our eyes and ears tuned.

Ely

RAS said...

I'm exhausted so I hope this makes sense, but I wanted to post today. I can't believe it's been a year all ready. Thanks for all you've done murph and fa! This blog means a lot to me.

I'll write more tomorrow, but I worked 12 hours today and am about to fall asleep at my desk. But I would like to ask everyone for good thoughts for an older friend of mine who is having emergency orthopedic surgery in the morning.
aho

Anonymous said...

I would guess that there are a number of factors that could lead to all hell breaking loose, and that if at all possible, the PTB will try their damnedest to make it happen just when the new President takes office.
This could be "the death of the dollar" that is anticipated, a war begun by Israel, or one with Pakistan, or food and gas shortages all over the place, and an enraged populace. It may be a brutal winter with severe heating oil shortages or any combination of the above that will have people shitting a ring around themselves.
It may be a good idea to think of giving people things like cooking oil, nitro-pak foodstuffs, and seeds for the garden as Christmas presents. There does seem to be a shift in consciousness going on. When I asked my son what he wants for his birthday, he suggested a hand grinder for wheat berries! This from a kid who told me not so long ago that he thought we should mellow out on all this doomer stuff and to think positive. Seems he's been reading some books...
People like us that have been assimilating this info for years and have made preparations and come to terms with some of it emotionally, hopefully will be in a position to extend a sense of peace to those who are caught flat-footed and are just really PISSED OFF.
It has felt good to be involved in local policy making in terms of land use and comprehensive planning. City and county officials need to begin to think in terms of resource depletion, rising prices of things like asphalt, gasoline, and local food production, as opposed to Destination Resorts and tourism for tax dollars. So far, most of them just don't get it, but very soon it will be obvious even to them.
I, too, take great comfort visiting this site each day. We could not maintain it without you.What would be the point?
By the way, has anyone else become sort of disenchanted with the Rense site lately? There are some good articles, but a heavy preponderance of really shrill anti-Obama stuff that seems racist and hysterical and divisive to me.
I have been making pies. I made a pumpkin pie for the friend who let us use her trailer, a key lime pie yesterday for us, and an apple pie for my massage therapist. Also baked a loaf of pumpkin bread. Just seems a good thing to do with the changing colors of the trees and the leaves blowing around in the air.
aho

Anonymous said...

Happy birthday to us, happy birthday to us,happy birthday dear usssss, happy birthday to us.
this is from a grown man?
feels good that we are still going after all this time and so many folks are still bringing good stuff to the council fire.
i thank everyone that have made this possible., thank you.

Cyclone !! yea your back,to stay i hope, wow, it makes one aware of the time sense of things that have occurred since your last visit.

Murph, i read the post you linked and got so fucking dizzy i thought i was going to faint, how in the hell does any comprehension take place in that insane issue of words located there? i could not understand one fucking thing!!! only a vague feeling that we as expendables are just that, expendable and something to be used by those that are much smarter then we are. is this true? are we just cattle to be born,fattened and butchered by those that have scales, this really pisses me off i can tell you that for sure to think that we allow this to happen to us. goddam thats fucked.

ok fuck the rant.
great post murph and fa, and thanks for the undeserved mention of my handle, sometimes i feel like i just crawled out of the looney bin and somehow managed to swim my way to this oasis of hope and friendship and it seems like others share this feeling also.

A crisis on the 21st or 22nd of january that we don't even know about?? what the fuck is that all about, that guy makes my skin crawl,not because of the color of his skin, its the little cascade of scales that are falling off his face, goddam lizards. there is just no end to them and you know thats all you see for the most part doing the talking.
was at a restaurant the other day for biscuits and gravy and on the giant screen was fox news and babbleheads galore spouting so much bullshit and filled every single second it seemed with unending warmth and how wonderful everything was, , and i thought to myself, ''this is what is in front of people 24/7?? its no wonder peoples brains are complete mush!! i wanted to shot the goddam television,. except that it was a good acquaintance of mine that owned the place, and im pretty sure he feels the same way about it and just keeps the giant screen for the montana footballies.

ras i light a candle and invoke the great spirit to assist your friend in recovery.
you do not state her or his age but in my own research it is the medical profession that is the most damaging to people, i know they killed my mother with the dozens of bottles of pills that she could not keep up with and finally overdosed on one or more of them, god those poor people that trust these cocksucking blood suckers and the pharmaceutical crime syndicates that leave people penniless in their older years.
man is this country in need of a really good scrubbing or what.
i think war-crime trials should be the first thing to start with.
they did it after wwII, what makes this any different?

oil below $70 dollars a barrel?
wtf?
http://www.iht.com/articles/reuters/2008/10/22/business/OUKBS-UK-MARKETS-OIL.php

next project still a still. make my own alcohol, yep!

and mexico talking about decriminalizing most ordinary drugs? us gov. no likey, think we all move to mexico for cheap drugs, ok , im packing, just kiddin, but there was a time,,hummm/
bitch RICE is down there with her wonderful self trying to get blackhawk helicopters and other fat contract goodies over the border.
is anyone sure were' on the right planet?

anyway have wonderful day folks, the sun is shining and there is frost on my best pumpkin, ok pie time.
peace and love
aho
mf

ps, yep kesher we are happy and depressingly optimistic, but we love it because we are in such uninhibited folks's company.
amen

Palooka's Revenge said...

next project still a still. make my own alcohol, yep!

still working on the same here too mf. lets compare notes cuz its a fucking challenge thats what. been looking for home cookin on the subject... no pun intended... but keep coming up with an empty pot. have even solicited that blume guy to see what's bloomin and his contact says ain't nothin bloomin and he's otta the country. new zealand or some far off land doin more talkin about it. talk, talk, talk. do these guru's ever go into action? not that its dead on the vine... far from it. i've mined the minds of enuf in the know who's heads ain't up the ass of big oil or been hijacked by the anti-alcohol myths and they tell me its definitly a do-able thing on paper. done right its clean and it ain't a robber barron. me... i listen to talk and look at papers too but sooner or later i gotta start drivin nails so to speak. and the later bag is definitly open and all the contents spilled on the floor at our feet.

its not that i wanna sell alcohol or solve all the probs of the world. i just wanna to get my power back and have some control over my own destiny and leave the wood pile stacked a little higher in the process. you makin any progress? ...p

Anonymous said...

Happy Birthday! As one who has been here (though mostly silently) since Cy first started his blog, I want to say how grateful I am that Murph and Freeacre and all the regular contributors have kept the campfire going. I love the way everyone cares about each other; this place creates such a warm, welcoming aura that I feel like a member of the clan even if I just listen and learn. Thank you.

Anonymous said...

It's been a good time sitt'in around the campfire, shoot'in da shit. Wish I could contribute more to it, but it's great to find others whose clue-bags are full. The lemmings in Mormon HQ are just that -lemmings. They're gonna vote for McInsane 'cause their church elders will it. Geez, religion sucks.

Yeah aho, Rense is kinda getting to be National Equirer-ish. Maybe soon we'll be seeing articles like, "Woman Gives Birth to UFO!"

I'm a little gleeful this morning. The DOW is down some 300 points. This rape and distruction of the earth for "stuff" has got to stop. Read in the local newpaper that it's illegal to catch your own rainwater via downspout. Damn mo-fo's! But, a state rep is tryin to reverse that with some good legislation. Hopefully it'll succeed.

Anyway, it's great hanging out with you all. Let's keep the fire hot!

Later -

Dude

Anonymous said...

Uncuga,

Hi there. I don't remember you putting up a comment since Cy's site. Got to revise a statement. Thought you weren't with us anymore. You, were one of the earliest commenter on Cy's site. Glad to hear from you

Anonymous said...

Hi Guys,

From Truthseeker

I'm still here too, though I haven't commented in a while. Congratulations on your anniversary. You are both (Murph and Freeacre) doing a grand job.

I actually visit this blog most days. After reading on other blogs, websites and forums, coming back to the Trout Clan Campfire really feels like coming home. It is a wonderful little cyber community you have here, that does not compare with any place else that I have found on the net.

So keep up the good work.

Best Wishes

Truthseeker (Andrew)

Anonymous said...

Uncuga & Truthseeker! Stand up and let me give you a big HUG. So nice to hear from you again.

And, the rest of you quiet ones... let us know who is out there, even if it's only your name. It's just nice to know who is at home.

Love you,

freeacre

Anonymous said...

From Oldensoul and Rockpicker;

we bask
in the radiance
of this affirming flame



A new interview with Bob Dean, from Bill and Kerry, at projectcamelot.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbgHyrmgRZM

-rp

Jacques de Beaufort said...

I can't remember how I stumbled across you guys, probably from a link in someone's page.

In the world where I now exist, the majority of people are completely invested in the system as it stand and are dead set against a deep analysis that might threaten their unwavering allegience to the narrative of corporate capitalism and the myth of progress.

I find myself unable to communicate the very urgent and pressing ideas that will be coming into play all too soon. I am marginalized and compared to the Unibomber if I even mention the folly of the Ideology of Growth.

This is the one place that I've found a consistent human presence with the ability to stare clearly down the barrel of reality.

I appreciate your site and what it represents.

I only hope a larger social and cultural enlightenment can occur. Preferably in a pro-active way. Reacting to catastrophe is much less effective than anticipating it.

This is a moment of reckoning for all of mankind and I'm honored to be in the company of such people.

Anonymous said...

From Belgium,

Ras,

Our positive thoughts and best wishes are with you throughout your friend’s illness.

Ely,

That comes in the category of very well spotted and like you said, a professional reporter should have jumped all over him and like a junk yard dog not have let go until he had shaken the answer out of him. I’m afraid this clip is old news repeating itself but for the benefit of our new members could this be what Powell was alluding to?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiFlouOozpk&eurl=http://polidics.com/ethics/congress-addresses-the-eminent-marshal-law-plan-in-private.html

And I do keep coming back to the GEAB people just because they are so good at what they do.

http://www.leap2020.eu/GEAB-N-28-Contents_a2251.html?PHPSESSID=1a040c30ed6f5cad3fd34ac057dbda66

Just the same answers to the same problem I’m afraid, that’s the way I see it. There is an old adage of ‘When in doubt, just grab hold of the essentials’.

Freeacre asked in so, many words if Rense is a turncoat. I don’t know, I don’t have the time to give all the sites a proper appraisal these days but I know that there were questions asked about Alex Jones’ allegiances’ some time ago; the guy who runs the Information Clearing House was leaned on heavily by unnamed men in black suits; Mike Rupert fled the country after his premises were ransacked and hard drives were stolen and Michael Hertzong from the radio show America Awakening had to get his wife and kids out of the country because of DHS activity. These are just the ones that spring into my mind without thinking too hard. It is a little bit obvious if Jeff Rense is not there one day on the next but maybe he has also had a ‘Maybe we didn’t make ourselves clear’ session? This is just a thought, I don’t know if it had any basis or not.

Eves Leterme, the Belgian PM is hopping mad. He has just found out that the three main directors of the bailed out Fortis Bank awarded themselves new contracts this summer giving themselves salaries of €5.0m; €4.0m and €3.5m respectively. Not only that, they left the banks employ to become self employed agents of the bank which means their salaries are not taxed at source but they manage to keep all their parachutes and bennies. Why should this not surprise me?

P

In my youth I used to have a lot of fun making beer and wine from scratch although I never distilled any of it. It is not too difficult to do though. All the stuff got left behind many countries ago.

When I worked for big Chema, years ago, a guy in the same block purloined a load of equipment and was into refining his own mind altering substances at home. When he got caught pushing, as they usually do, the only thing that was said in his defence was that the police complimented him on the purity of his product!

stoney13 said...

FIREWOOD!!!!! Holy SHIT!! I'm already sick of fucking firewood!

Been busy with the chainsaw, and the splitting maul people! Damned busy! The old back doesn't take too kindly to the abuse any more! The results of all those drag racing, and motorcycle wrecks are popping up, letting me know that I wasn't quite as indestructible as I thought I was back in the day!

Now I'm busy with the most horrific gasoline engine, I've ever seen! Up until three weeks ago, I had no idea that GMC even built a 701 cubic inch V-12 engine! But if I get that thing running, I get the use of a dump truck, and old track hoe with a knuckle boom grapple in place of the bucket! Waiting on ignition parts, so I got a piece of slack to write a comment!

Murph and Freeacre,

Damn has it been a year? Shit! Where does time go? Hazel and I have been married seven years June 17. Damn! It seem like it was only yesterday!

It's amazing to see what came out of the old "Real Deal"! What a tribe we put together! People from all over America and the world! I guess you guys built it, and we all came!

It feels like family here, and I know I've been busy here lately, but I'll be coming around more! I promise!

Cyclone!

Good to hear from you in the last post. We miss you, man, and we hope you can come see us more! I thought the boys from "Fort Fuckemall" had come to your digs, and drug you off in the night! Glad to see that wasn't the case!

Of course I'm not worried about the boys from "Fort Fuckemall"! I'd have 'em all in therapy before the sun set on my second day! I actually got thrown out of a North Carolina Department of Corrections facility in 1986, and told not to come back! I've had 21 years to work on my technique since then! The poor bastards wouldn't stand a chance!

Montana Freeman,

How's the bug getting along? Give her my warmest regards! Glad you came with us, brother! it just wouldn't have been right without you!

Ain't this Wall Street shit a hoot? Trickle down my ass! The pain trickled up! 700 billion for the banks, and nothing for the people, eh? I see than money buying the fat cats about three, maybe four months tops! Then the whole shit pile collapses, and the bankers have seriously pissed off people at the door with garden tools! History shows us again, and again how this scenario always ends, and the ones at the top always get it first!

Already three thousand factories have closed in China! Oil is down under $70.00 a barrel, because the demand has dried up! The big damn, and the Olympic Stadium in China are both done! The need for thousands of gallons of diesel fuel has disappeared! The oil companies are stuck holding a bag of gold, that turned to shit overnight! Let them have their big summit meeting! It won't do them any good! I almost feel sorry for the sad bastards! (Almost, that is!)

The mandate for United States presence in Iraq ends on December 31. The Iraqi people have laid down the law, and they want us out! Trillions of dollars wasted, and for what! Bush did for this country what he did for "Arbusco"! Now he's drove us all over the cliff!

Noticed the Republicans are all glommed on to their new "Real American" Buzz word. Won't make a bucket of shit! You can piss on our heads, and tell us it's raining just so long, before somebody notices rain isn't that warm! I hope the fuck sticks in The GOP enjoyed the ride, because now it's time to pay the fare!

Oh! And by the way! No checks! There's a sign on the seat back! It says: "In God we trust, all others pay cash!" (Yea, I know MF, but you gotta admit, it's kinda catchy!)

RAS said...

Hey all,
Happy birthday again! Thanks for the good wishes for my friend. She's in her late 60s and took a bad fall. She came through the surgery okay but they had to do a bone graft and use screws. She's going to be off her feet entirely for 8 weeks.
MF, I couldn't agree more that big pharma and doctors tend to kill a lot of people.

I had another 12 hour day today and I'm wiped. Why did I have anothr 12 hour day? Because the lady I'm working for this week has had 11 hour days all week. She's an executive and minding her kids while they're on break from school. I'm getting paid (relatively) well for it and its only for a week, so I can't complain too badly. But this lady does this all the time and doesn't see a problem with it. If someone wanted me to work 11 or 12 hour days on a regular basis for a corporation I would say sianara. Some people just keep buying into the system...

Anonymous said...

Jacques,

Thank you. Freeacre and I often talk about how this all came about. We have been encouraging community where we live as well as on our blog site. Freeacre commented to me that there is lots of talk about community, but we don't see much effort at forming one on the internet. It's just as difficult, if not more, with the people around you. We wanted to have a community atmosphere on the blog, and think it is there for people to take part in. We have had people come into the blog that were very depreciating toward it. They don't seem to stick around much at all.

Both of us attempt to write posts that will stimulate thought, stimulate discussion, even if it doesn't stick to the subject contained in the post. I thank you for your kind words and your presence.

Anonymous said...

This is a test. I have no idea what happened to change the format. Got to see if I can still post...

Anonymous said...

Stoney,

Yup, been a year now. All of us that regularly communicate on this blog have been doing so for 3 years now thanks to Cyclone. In many ways we really owe him our thanks for bringing us together.

Ahhh yes, the firewood lament. lol.

Yes indeed, we have a world wide community here. I for one am pleased with the tribe that has evolved out of the beginnings. I also thank you for being among us. You are a valuable member of the group.

Anonymous said...

Truthseeker,

Thank you also for your good words. We are glad you are still with all of us.

Isn't it interesting we can talk about coming home in cyberspace? Answers the question of why Freeacre and I continue this blog and enjoy it so much.

Thanks again for letting us know you are still around.

Anonymous said...

KesheR,

Yup, the doom and gloom sure can permeate and take over our lives if we let it. We still do postings that talk about all the strange/weird/awful stuff going on. There is certainly an abundance of sites that talk about the shit going on on a daily basis.
However, we think that communities of people working in cooperation, not competition, is the answer to making a better way of living. I post here one more time:

YOU MAY ALREADY BE AND ANARCHIST

It's true. If your idea of healthy human relations is a dinner with
friends, where everyone enjoys everyone else's company, responsibilities are
divided up voluntarily and informally, and no one gives orders or sells anything,
then you are an anarchist, plain and simple. The only question that remains is
how you can arrange for more of your interactions to resemble this model.

Whenever you act without waiting for instructions or official permission,
you are an anarchist. Any time you bypass a ridiculous regulation when no one's
looking, you are an anarchist. If you don't trust the government, the school
system, Hollywood, or the management to know better than you when it comes to
things that affect your life, that's anarchism too. And you are especially an
anarchist when you come up with your own ideas and initiatives and solutions.

As you can see, it's anarchism that keeps things working and life
interesting. If we waited for authorities and specialists and technicians to take
care of everything, we would not only be in a world of trouble, but dreadfully
bored -- and boring -- to boot. Today we live in that world of (dreadfully boring!)
trouble precisely to the extent that we abdicate responsibility and control.

Anarchism is naturally present in every healthy human being. It isn't
necessarily about throwing bombs or wearing black masks, though you may have
seen that on television (Do you believe everything you see on television? That's
not anarchist!). The root of anarchism is the simple impulse to do it yourself:
everything else follows from this...

Anonymous said...

Ely, ras, MoonRaven, SATS, Montana Freeman,Palooka

I find it so interesting to look at how we have all formed our attachments through this blog. I know it cannot last forever, but while we have it, it is good. And, I include the bug in that statement. BTW Montana, has she ever commented on our community? Be interested in what she has to say on it.

It is late, got to get some sleep. Aho

Anonymous said...

BTW, I have no idea where this change in format came from. Takes a bit of getting used to

Anonymous said...

must be a blogspot thing. just looked in on mine and it's displaying the same format... p

Álvaro said...

Murph: I AM an Anarchist! Your description of an Anarchist fits me exactly. Specially the "dreadfully boring" part.

I am currently reading "On Anarchism" by Noam Chomsky, and it's quite great.

stoney13 said...

What the fuck is going on! I can't post on my own blog! Blogspot has gone snakeshit again!

Anonymous said...

From Belgium,

Here is a bit of low cost eco sustainability. They didn’t happen to mention an audit of whether the kids eat more, sleep more or both.

http://www.brasschecktv.com/page/452.html

Anonymous said...

Hey everyone, check this out!

http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/18138

As some of you know, I really like the movie, "The Matrix" 'cause it pretty much sums up what's happened to the human race on this consumer-sheeple Earth.

The pic is a take on one of the end scenes when Neo realizes what the Matrix is.

Later-

Dude

Anonymous said...

Jesus, Belgium! This is just the kind of thing that kills me about Africa. It's a great idea to have wells rather than getting water from a polluted stream and sentencing half your population (the female half, of course) to carrying the friggin water all their lives. But, this is not exactly a new concept. I mean, where have these people been for the last several thousand years? Whether they use kids, draft animals, a hand pump, or dipper, it isn't that hard to get the water out of the damn ground.
It seems to me the issue would be to concentrate on why so many African villages don't already have these basic things, for God's sake. If a government can build a school, it can damn sure dig a well. What's the use of a school if it doesn't teach the most basic info on how to function??

MoonRaven said...

Thank you, Murph, for reposting the piece "YOU MAY ALREADY BE AN ANARCHIST". It's a nice reminder how natural and easy it all is. It's all about being willing to 'do it yourself' or as my friend Ellie puts it "do it ourselves" because you don't have do it alone.

I certainly am an anarchist--and have known it for some time--but it's nice to hear that all anarchists aren't 'necessarily' bomb throwers. Some of us believe in compassion and forgiveness and generosity of spirit--things that seem particularly lacking in the government, management, etc.

Anonymous said...

"Some of us believe in compassion and forgiveness and generosity of spirit--things that seem particularly lacking in the government, management, etc."
I'd like to follow up on that thought, Moonraven. When I was younger, I wanted to study sociology and psychology because I wanted to understand myself and help others, etc. But, then I noticed that the social workers were a bunch of paper shufflers who got paid comfortable bucks while the clients mostly didn't get much better. And then I noticed that the therapists wouldn't do therapy for free for anything. And, statistically, people didn't get better talking to a therapist than they did talking to a concerned person. I think there are some things that are actually done better for free. In fact, in my experience, a circle of people who use the time proven method of the circle and talking stick can find the process to be profound and therapeutic. But, since there is no money involved, it is not used much. Sharing and gifting and bartering things help to build a sense of community and bonding that is really strong - much stronger than bureaucracies that often serve to keep people dependent and poor. It is much more empowering for people to all feel that they have something to give that is of value, even if it is just their attention. Anarchy is based on a sense of equality, not hierarchy. To me, that's a good thing.

Anonymous said...

the circuit breaker blew. dow futures in limit down this morn after another sharp decline on the foreign indicies. magic number? 550.

wanna see a house burn down? watch the open. thats when the rules change. from 5% down to
10%. currently set @ 1100.

how bad is it overall? say your house is on fire and you have 2 choices. 1 is to call the dumbest guy in the world. the other is to call the smartest.

no brainer eh? you'd call the smartest. you just figure since he's the smartest guy, he'll know what to do. 'cept the smartest guy ain't never had to put out a fire. he could, actually, do things that amount to pouring gasoline on the fire.

thats exactly whats happened. every since the fire started in the bear stearns room.

meanwhile, the fire burns warm and cozy at the trout clan circle... p

MoonRaven said...

I agree totally, freeacre. Sharing, gifting, and bartering are important, but even more important for building community, for taking care of our needs, is simply listening to each other. Your attention is more valuable than the system wants you to know. Corporate capitalism fosters disconnection between people--it feeds the system. Simple things like being with each other, being equals, building community, are radical acts in this society.

Anonymous said...

Right On, Sister! That is exactly why I think that our little campfire cyber community is a vanguard of the new paradigm. We do not wait for the revolution. We are living it here and now. We can do this!

MoonRaven said...

Thanks, freeacre. I really like the idea that we are living the change we want to see 'here and now'.

Unfortunately, I am not a sister. (Though sometimes I wish.) Not your fault--I had deliberately left that ambiguous (along with a few other things...) but I don't want to intentionally mislead.

Your campfire cyber community certainly is part of the vanguard of the new paradigm and I hope to keep being a part of it.

Anonymous said...

p, i'm up to my ears in busy trying to get several projects done before the snow flies including some major building construction and at the same time thinking and planing a visit to oregon to sample some of freeacre's home cookin and hoping i can persuade murph to teach me to reload ammo so i don't end up shooting myself in the foot, so to speak,
however the next major project like i said is to manufacture food grade alcohol for the immediate family's needs which includes fuel for engines and the knowledge to start converting them from gas to alcohol,or both.
damn wish you weren't so far away stoney, hopefully the conversion process is not to painful or expensive but i know it would be a lot less if your expertise was at hand.
thats the thing about much of this cyber tribe, we're to far away from each other to get hands on involvement with one another on some of these projects.
phooie!
so have acquired one book from amazon on still building and have about three or four more lined up to round out what hopefully will issue forth drinkable and fuelable stuff.
i have 250 lbs. of sugar on back order from the local grocer, been two weeks so far and no show!! hummm,

http://running_on_alcohol.tripod.com/id3.html

this site got some good info it looks like, will work on this one for the time being. i think my granpa made ''moonshine '' in his days as an archaist, he died the year i was born so maybe he drink to much of his own fixins or else realized that a cherokee wife was not all it was cracked up to be. for revenge i have heard. for killing a loved one they upon the capture of the offender would slowly slice all the skin off his tree tied ass and feed it to the dogs in front of the guy, ( civilized means different things to different people, right? )
anyway i digress

bug says that this gathering of the kindred spirits here is a fulfilling of an ancient DNA prophecy? that is triggered by the unfolding events that are taking place at this time,it is the time of evolvement and the wish to remain behind is loosing its demeaning grip on the two-leggeds.
it sounds like a si-fi flic but maybe its just allegorical and that the true meaning will be comprehensible to those with hearts without scales,
anyway she says a section of DNA still maintains the place of complete re-constructional data to bring 100% renewal to the humans that are bloodlined from the very first encountered fuckfest. i suppose that sounds a little crude to most folks but a fucking rose is still a fucking rose no matter how the lips and tongue wiggle, right?
thats neither here nor there to this point cause the story is really a hollywood theme lookalike i visioned, in the beginning there was a vessel of kids out on a lark somewhere on this planet and somehow managed to smash up their ride and were left here for reasoning that is still unclear, anyway these kids, (and they were kids ) were on their own even though they could mingle with the folks that were here,so must of either looked a lot like the people here or had something to become accepted by them, i surmise that it was the toys that they possessed and became gods to the natives much like is written in the "recent"history books currently in vogue. told ya it sounds like a b-grade movie didn't i? o.
so the kids being "kids" enter-everythinged and some of us still carry these DNA package pieces within our suitcase.
ok these pieces under the uncovering effects of the new crop are clearly seen and stand out in full living color, and the whole thing that is so transparent is the fact that we are from the beginning down to the single cell location are filled with fear as a result of some kind of trauma, real or imagined, makes no difference to the charge nurse/ these layers of unrest known also as Stress...are the complete guide to all our outward activity, and in the vision completely healable, because they are visible to those that have the inclination to take a little peak now and then. the healing follows like day follows night.
she says the two-leggeds have never known what it is to be Completely free of stress, and it is clearly seen when you see a dead persons face at how smooth it is in that particular sleep.
so do we have to die to relax? that kind of sucks i offer.
i also offer one of the effects and im sure there are those here whom have had the reassuring wonder of letting go of all the things that make us sick from time to time,
this is a quest then also to lengthen those seconds,minutes or whatever to make it and all day affair if possible. and i see that it is possible, in the vision.

the opening to that world had been sought by only hands full of folks and im not sure why, someone has to mow the lawn?? anyway its there and it is available/
to busy to really get into this but when the snow is howling and the flakes are bouncing off the windows and we are grateful for having a full shed of wood to burn or a big tank of propane for us lazy, lucky fucks, we can get into this more if anyone is interested, there is so much that is missing in the scheme of things in regard to the realness of out existence its just sucks, the whys are still just as large and just as elusive up until now to us common folks, but those days are gone i can tell you that for sure, its all available, we just have to look, .....bug says this and i believe it i think.
signing off
peace and prosperity
and great love vibes.
aho
mf
ps 12 moons? now wait a minute, 365 divided by 28= ? told ya white people can't count.

pss encountered a grizzle bear and stroked his face through the bars of the capture cage, he weighted 480 lbs and was destined to go to the university in seattle for tests? then to a zoo. very sad for this sacred animal, we,the tribe also pay a heavy price along with the non-members for this kind of thing/ );