wildaspie

Introduction:

Language can be frustratingly limited when one is exploring and developing new concepts.  Often the best solution is to coin new words.

Esoteric and exoteric describe types of knowledge, “inner” and “outer,” respectively.

But in my studies, I have found that this occasionally arbitrary distinction limits perspective, which can render information nearly useless.

The prefix “inde” is from the Latin root for “next” or “as a consequence of.”  It lends nicely to the Idea that indeteric study is what we are exploring now, having built upon the esoteria and exoteria of the past.

Between science and superstition one can find often surprising similarities …

In North America, and particularly in the Midwestern States, the Thunderbird is a crypto-zoological curiosity, or cryptid.  From the legends of the indigenous people to more modern reports, these huge, predatory birds have swept the skies in search of the unwary.

In Europe and Asia, these mythic raptors are known as Rocs (a name given to them by Greco-Roman storytellers); in North and Central African nations proof of their rapacious daring can be found in bone piles beneath their huge nests.

With wings reportedly spanning twenty feet and more, the Thunderbird can easily make away with a sheep, calf, or even a human child.  One incident details the experience of a boy in Lawndale, Illinois, that was attacked by a monstrous bird, with witnesses.  Though “experts” insist his description indicated an Andean condor, and that the species does not get as large as described, the attack remains characteristic of Thunderbird strikes.

1. 1620: Peregrine White was the first child born in New England to English parents.
2. 1789: New Jersey became the first State to ratify the Bill of Rights.
3. 1889: Edwin Hubble, American astronomer, was born.
4. 1893: The US Supreme Court ruled that the Great Lakes and their connecting waters constitute ‘high seas.’
5. 1910: Leo Nikolayevich Tolstoy, Russian novelist, died.
6. 1959: Ford stopped production of the unpopular Edsel.
7. 1966: The musical “Cabaret,” with music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb, opened on Broadway.
8. 1984: The Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI) Project is founded.
9. 1985: Microsoft released Windows 1.0 for personal computers.
10. 2006: Nintendo’s Wii game system debuted to mobs of prospective buyers.
11. Great American Smokeout
12. Absurdity Day
13. Universal Children’s Day

The average body is anywhere from 55% to 78% water, and requires up to a half-gallon of water every day to avoid dehydration.  Early signs of dehydration include fatigue, inability to focus, irritability, headaches, and body aches.  It is not uncommon that the thirst reflex becomes weakened to a point where it is mistaken for hunger.

On a cellular level, water is necessary to both form and break bonds with other chemicals, allowing creation of molecules for energy, storage, waste disposal and respiration.

There is too much of a good thing.  In 2007, 28-year-old Jennifer Strange died of water intoxication after consuming a large quantity during a radio contest, only the most recent of many deaths by water intoxication.

“Link Love” is an Internet custom similar to link reciprocation.  The main difference is that reciprocation, as the name implies, has both parties in agreement of placement of links.  Link Love is less formal and sometimes one-sided.

Bloggers, in particular, engage in Link Love, sharing their favorite Internet finds as well as content, products, and services.

Link Love is especially popular among those particular about Internet ranking as measured by sites like Technorati, Blogged, Google, and Digg.

Even those not concerned with Internet popularity appreciate Link Love, since it shows that their work is appreciated by others.

Many blog templates offer a “blogroll,” or list of blogs or sites that the author enjoys; this is an easy and generous way to spread the Link Love.

Urban legends and friend-of-a-friend (FOAF) stories are today’s incarnation of folklore.  Folklore that endures becomes a culture’s mythos, preserving a society’s values, perspectives, and fears.

Many of these tales are familiar; some are updated versions of older lore and legend, and others are current stories shared all across the country as fact.

Sometimes, a legend will start with a fact – usually something spectacular, gruesome, bizarre or ironic – and in the retelling be embellished, inflated, or otherwise “bettered” to appeal to the audience.

Email and the Internet have improved the ease and speed with which folklore is shared.  Many recipients know the story is false but forward it anyway, because of the moral, the style of telling, or simply because the telling and retelling of our myths is a way to keep connected with each other and our common experiences.

Since it’s Thursday the Thirteenth, I figured I’d share 13 random facts about myself.

1. My thumbs are double-jointed.
2. I published my first comic strip at age nine.
3. I have visual hyper-acuity.
4. I compulsively make lists.
5. I once had a pet opossum.
6. My favorite color is green, but most of my wardrobe is black.
7. I’d like to see the return of Victorian fashion sense.
8. I like B-Movies.
9. My favorite food is fried chicken.
10. I wrote an 80k-word novel in 28 days.
11. I have an elevated immunity to spider venom.
12. I’ve lived in California, Colorado, Illinois and Texas.
13. My biggest fear is being hit by a car because the driver was on the phone.

What is normal?  By strict definition it means average, but what each culture considers average can vary widely; even within a culture many variances from the norm can be acceptable as average.

Personally, I have never had much success being “normal,” but for the most part normalcy isn’t something I seek for myself.  Psychologically, I like my unique perspective on the world; physiologically I have no complaints that I rarely get sick or feel physical pain; emotionally I am pleased to know my feelings are my own and cannot be much affected by external events.

The truth of it is, few individuals are “normal.”  We mostly do what we must to keep our societies running as smoothly as possible, making small concessions of ourselves for the greater good.  “Normal” is simply a word, an ideal against which we measure our deviations for better or worse.

In this season of remembrance and thanksgiving, a common but seldom noted tradition is the Dumb Feast.

A Dumb Feast is a way to show that those separate from the family due to distance, duty, or death are not forgotten.  Most often, their continued presence in the hearts and thoughts of those celebrating is shown by setting an extra place at the gathering’s table, just as if the missing party will arrive and partake of the meal with hir loved ones.

In some cultures, food is even portioned to the extra setting; this has old roots in sacrifice gestures, when, despite scarcity of food, it is still shared with the memory – spirit – of those who cannot attend in the flesh.  It also happens sometimes that at the end of the meal, the offering is burned, with the thought that the smoke will carry the thoughts of love and well-wishes to the absent, wherever they may be.

1. Earth is also known as Terra, the World, and Gaia; also, the surface particulates of the planet are known collectively as earth (dirt).
2. Our plant’s circumference is roughly 24,901 miles (40,075 km).
3. Earth is the largest of the inner planets (largest to smallest: Earth, Venus, Mars and Mercury).
4. The planet is approximately 4.54 billion years old.
5. Life has probably existed on Earth’s surface for some 3.5 billion years.
6. The planet rotates on an axis tilted 23.4 degrees past the perpendicular to orbital plane.
7. Approximately every 366.26 rotations, Earth completes an orbit of the Sun.
8. Earth is made up of layers: a crust of tectonic plates and bodies of water; a mantle of viscous minerals; a liquid outer core, and a solid inner core of iron.
9. Our planet’s crust is made up mostly of silica, followed by aluminum, lime, magnesia, sodium, and iron.
10. 71% of Earth’s surface is covered by salt water.
11. The planet produces a magnetic field; at irregular intervals the polarity of the fields reverse.
12. Earth has one satellite, the Moon, which creates tides on the planet due to gravitational attraction.
13. Our planet is home to millions of species, and humans alone count near 7 billion lives.