What can be the pleasurable effect
Of inhaling the smoke of a cigarette
To pollute ones lungs with toxic gas
As insane as it sounds
It's really first class

All the disadvantages
Are outweighed by the feeling
Of that first puff in the morning
That sends you reeling to the ceiling

The nausea soon disappears
Although the smell remains
Along with the coughing and the cancer
And the tar build up in your veins

There is always a cost to pay
For each of life's small vices
And the only time I'll ever quit
Is when I can't afford the prices

If there were visitors out there and not to say there isn't and if you are one and you are here tonight I apologize because I know how frustrating it feels when someone claims you don't exist. Regardless I hope the visitors would visit me and we could smoke a cigarette or two and have coffee and they could answer a question which I'm sure has plagued many men or at least myself. The question is this: How high up heaven is?

Since we have sent satellite after satellite into the deepest parts of space and have never come back with a picture or even a post-it stuck to the satellite with the words "Please leave packages at the front of the pearly gates. Thank you." I am left to be skeptical. Not that I believe heaven doesn't exist or that it does and if you are from heaven and you are here tonight I apologize because again I can commiserate how it feels to have someone tell you that where you are from doesn't exist. Some people that I've asked have told me that heaven is a place inside each of us who believes in Jesus Christ as our lord and savior. I would like to kindly point out that I have had several x-rays done and I found nothing but a complicated set of squishy insides and before I had the x-rays done I had spent a solid week convincing my parents, siblings, coworkers, friends and the hospital staff, that I accepted Jesus as my lord and savior. Still no heaven, no dice.

Belinda Carlisle once sang that "heaven is a place on earth" again I checked my globe and several local maps and found no heaven. Carlisle was a founding member of the new wave group The Go-Go's who had recorded several relatively with some catchy tunes that received a fair amount of radio play. This was of course before going solo and discovering the location of heaven which she apparently kept to herself. Every globe I have checked there is no heaven to be found. Yet I did find Havana, New Haven, Haven and Hoven but no heaven turned up. Now you might ask me if I was looking at out dated sources which I can assure you I was not. All maps and globes were up to date. Still no heaven.

So back to the beginning, if there were visitors among us I would enjoy a brief chat over coffee and cigarettes. I guess I can only assume that an interstellar traveler would have visited many places before taking a brief pit stop on this little blue marble. I guess I can only also assume that any visitor would be quite impressed with how well us apes have done. When I ask the visitor or visitors if they travel with company, how high up heaven is I think I would want to hear something like "just two clicks left of the green planet with blue smog. I suggest you visit on the off season their rates are cheaper." I would also accept "there isn't one. I'm sorry little monkey." as long as they didn't lay any of that inner peace kind of jargon I suppose I can accept any answer.

And if the visitor did answer with a statement like "heaven is within you" I would show them my x-rays and then demand to know the name of the missionary who got to them before I had a chance to get a candid answer. And I would also like it to be kept in mind that I am not trying to insult, ridicule or take down any religion that anyone is affiliated with. My grand father and father were both active members of their local church at one point. Both of my step siblings were married in a Catholic church (I am a Protestant). But I attended both wedding and neither time did I spontaneously burst into flames nor did either church fall apart when I walked in. I'm simply asking a question. And if you believe faith shouldn't be questioned then perhaps you should take your blindfold off to see who has their hand in your pockets.

Wouldn't it be nice to finally get an answer? With a location available we could chart small and inexpensive tours (inexpensive because I do feel that a religious pilgrimage should be easy on the wallet) and then all the religious believers could take day trips with their friends and families to heaven. Wouldn't that be nice. I know I would go if for nothing else than the fact that it is somewhere to go if I could ever take time off from whatever it is I do but I would make sure I went during the off season to avoid the large crowd. So with all that said good night and good luck.

Recently I had a long talk with my sister Sandra about Xanga and the reasons why she left Xanga less than a year after she came back to it. She said she doesn't like the hostile environment in Xanga and how these ''selfish, arrogant" people love to create drama out of boredom. "...as if they need some new toy to toss about every other week," she said with a mirthless smirk. Her eyes are cold as usual... she always has this 'poker look' on her but her tightened lips betrayed her feelings. The circumstances that lead to her departure still tearing a hole in her, but she shrugged them all off like an old coat. "I'm moving on," she told me, between sips of hot mocha.

A long drag of the cigarette later, she continued, "You won't be seeing me for awhile. He and I will be doing some traveling." 'He' refers to her model boyfriend, the one she met in Facebook. I asked her about our parents, step parents, our sister Janette and I. "Don't you love us? Won't you miss us?" I asked her accusingly. Her eyes softened for a brief moment. She patted my hand, the cigarette smoldering between her scarlet lips. "Of course, you little brat," she assured me. I reminded her that Mom is sick. Her eyes quickly hardened. "Where was she when we were sick?" she said cuttingly. She looked at her watch, signaling that our talk is over. She sighed and mumbled "I have to go now. I'm leaving tonight." I told her that I'm leaving for Melbourne soon to see Mom. She smiled crookedly. "Send her my regards." No love? I thought silently. A quick peck on my cheek later, and she is gone.

Coffee break is over.

                 bloody
Let's have a ^ good time!!
From : Reckless Eagle Vampire

First of all, do you smoke cigarettes?
All the time.

How long have you been smoking?
Almost five years.

Do you actually like it?
I love smoking, I don't even consider it a guilty pleasure. I have nothing to feel guilty about.

What's the best kind of lighter out there?
I like Zippos, they last forever, or so it would seem, but I do like Clippers as well.

Do you have any rituals you do when lighting a cigarette?
I like to leave it resting on my lip for a bit, and I always exhale the first drag through my nose

How much of the cigarette do you smoke?
Always down to the filter, I've been known to try and smoke further when drunk though.

How many cigarettes do you smoke every day?
I think I'm smoking around 20 a day, but that can increase to nearly 60 when stressed or when drinking.

Have you ever brought an entire carton of smokes?
Yeaaah...

Can you pack cigarettes?
That I can.

Can you flick cigarettes?
That I can, but not brilliantly, I prefer the old crushing with the foot.

Can you blow smoke rings?
That I can.

What kind of cigarettes do you smoke?
I only smoke Marlboro, Camel or hand-rolled Golden Virginia. You can keep the rest. There is just something so wonderful about Marlboro cigarettes and I don't know why. I started smoking on reds, but changed to lights about a year ago.

Lame cigarette story:
I once told my friend I was considering quitting smoking, to save money and what not, she looked appalled and promptly flipped her phone out and showed me every picture of me on it. In every picture I had a cigarette in my mouth/hand/ashtray.

When did you start drinking coffee?
Not a clue, around 11 or 12?

How many cups/mg a day?
Upwards of 6 at home, plus I'll have at least 2 venti size drinks from coffee shops when I'm out.

Do you go to coffeeshops?
All the time, most of my social life revolves around coffeeshops, bars and pubs.

What's your favorite roast/blend?
I like a nice bold roast, but I can't say I have an absolute favourite.

Favorite espresso drink?
Just hit me straight up. Don't ruin a good espresso.

Do you know how to use an espresso maker?
Yes

Have you ever worked at a coffee place?
No, I haven't. Which is a shame, because I'd love it.

Picture this : You're invincible. 10 of the most powerful nukes ever designed could fall out of the blue sky at random and detonate 2 millimeters from your left eyebrow in unison. Despite everything for miles being devastated beyond recognition; you would remain untouched. This unique characteristic would transfer to physical attributes in terms of improved speed, power, endurance and such. This could enable you unique abilities such as walking into a heavily fortified mafia headquarters and dispatching every button man, assassin, assorted tough guy, snitch, or don without being scratched - if you so chose. A person with a gun, grenade, knife, sword, tank, jet plane, blow torch could not do you physical harm. But, if you happened to lose your temper and strike someone, it would be more than what they would feel if they were hit by a train. IE You Superman, everyone else Michael Jackson.

Due to these circumstances your scope of influence would vastly increase. In response to your unique traits some would fear you, others for various reasons might flock to you and wish to ally themselves with your policies for common material gain or other reasons.

This would enable you the potential to raise armies, completely devastate any nation or society by the sword, if you so chose. By the flip of the coin this would enable you to create your own nation, building it in your own image - enabling an opportunity an exclusive minority of people share: the power to create policy and tell people how reality should be, will be. What shape the law will take and enforce whatever is mandated.

Or, if you so chose you could shun the world and live as a common person never using your unique abilities. You could be a janitor, a CEO, a doctor, a lawyer - even Bobo the clown.

My question to you is : If you had the abilities listed above, if you knew you could do whatever you wanted in this world, with no one except maybe God having the power to punish you nor hold you accountable for your words and deeds. And, also that you had a superior power over people to change the world you saw, directly, with your own 2 hands like a conquering king - or barbarian of old...

What would you do?

[Dedicated to C]



We too, had a story.
It is unfinished, agreed, but we still had a chance,
You, took that chance for granted,
My love burned like fire for you,
Greater things happened,
Your hate for me grew, I gave up my life for you.
Our ill-fated story unfolded,
It never stopped, I still went on hurt, bleeding.
But today, that story has been burned,
By me, by my believers, all that remains are ashes.
Our memories in ashes.

[This blog/rant is dedicated to all members of the Socrates Cafe ® blogring]



I was wondering about what’s wrong with philosophers of today, when it struck me what an interesting topic that is. The philosophers of then, now, back at the beginning… we often say that some things are ahead of their time. So rare is it, though. So much is a product of its time. This got me wondering, “What if Socrates had an iPod?” Would he have been a philosopher at all? With the limitless number of distractions today, I think it’s amazing any of us are. And maybe most of us aren’t even philosophers on the level that people in the time of Socrates were.

That begs the question, “What are we, if not philosophers?” Are we patrons? Consumers of a grand philosophy we just add to? Are we, indeed, ever inventing something new? What else is different about us compared to them? We’re technologically advanced, yes, but we’re also participants in a global economy and a global civilization, more than ever before, and more and more every day. There are, seemingly, more demands placed on us as participants in this. We’re all something/philosophers. Auto-mechanic/philosopher. Movie theater assistant manager/philosopher. Student/waitress/philosopher. Professor/father/philosopher. Or maybe the slice of the pie that is ‘philosopher’ is much littler. 30%? 10%? Whatever the case, we’re not an ‘all-philosopher pie’ like they were in previous times.

I guess what I’m saying is we shouldn’t feel as much pressure to be philosophers. We can’t be, if we want to make it in this world. We have to be what we are; auto-mechanic, movie theater assistant manager, student, waitress, professor… that is, if we’re convinced that this is what we want; this kind of global economy and civilization we have today. So, are we convinced? Do we, indeed, want this? Should we not feel contented in being what we are and not philosophers only? Or are we just being distracted from what’s important and there’s more progress and reform to be made to this wider system we find ourselves in? What makes us philosophize? Is it just a hobby, or as a result of something we are called to do on account of the conditions of the wider system we find ourselves in?

No doubt we are all products of our time. Should things continue, is the philosopher slice of the pie destined to get smaller and smaller until it’s altogether gone? Is this a bad thing, or is there something good and inevitable about it?

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Take your time to see each photo. For each photo tells a story.

E=MC (squared)

[Energy] (=) [Mass] (multiplied-through), [Light](that has been complexified-squared)

Listen, Son.....

[Energy-Chance-Dance] (is equal to)
[Massive-Sound-Singing] (multiplied-through-into),
(the complexified-square of) [Light-Spirit-Shining]

so then.....

[Light-Spirit-Shining] (is equal to)
(the fundamentalized-root of), [Energy-Chance-Dance]
(divided-out-from) [Massive-Sound-Song]  

So Thus,
Our Dance
Is This Song, Individually Shining?

So Thus,
Our Light
Is This Massive Change, Coordinated?