OVO

OVO at esozone.com [LINK-ZUM]

"The new issue of Trevor Blake's OVO Magazine features many Esozone participants: Anonymous, Johnny Brainwash, Klint Finley, Vincent Al Ken, Wes Unruh, and Edward Wilson. Plus many other fine contributors. For those not in the know, OVO has been published by Trevor Blake since 1987."

Labels: blog, magick, ovo, periodical, portland, trevorblake, zine

Trevor Blake: Souls and Minds [LINK-ZUM]

Some people claim that souls exist. Souls are said to be something like the pilot for the ship of our bodies, the true animating agent in what would otherwise be base physical matter. Many earlier cultures claimed that the soul was located inside our bodies. Perhaps it was in our chest, because when we were inflamed with passion or danger something moved in our chest. Thus the word 'heart' has come to mean central (the heart of an argument) even though our hearts are not physically in the center of our bodies. As time passed it was learned the moving organ inside us was the heart but that it functioned to circulate blood, not as an animating agent. The more we learned about our bodies, the more our souls changed from a physical object inside us to a wispy ghost-organ that wasn't really in us, just... around. The evidence suggests that our consciousness, our animating agent, occurs mostly in our brains and entirely as a physical process. There is no soul, and there never has been. But belief in souls continues.

A few questions about souls may convince the reader what some have claimed about souls breaks down in the face of real-life evidence. Look at any two people. How many souls do they have? How many souls, then, did Joseph and Luka Banda have at birth, and how many souls do they have now? How many souls do Abigail and Brittany Hensel have? Lori and George Schappell? And Manar Majed? Lydia Fairchild is a chimera. While she still in the womb, her body and the body of a twin merged into one. How many souls does Lydia have? Did the species we evolved from have souls? What about the species before that one?

How a believer in souls answers these questions usually reveals that they actually hold the soul to be the mind - the functioning of the human brain. The mind is a more secularized version of the soul, one that places its seat in the physical organ of the brain but is still exempt from any responsibility to show evidence of itself. The mind is a small step toward accuracy but doesn't go far enough. We can delight in our consciousness as a physical process just as we delight in any other physical process. We become 'one with nature' when we abandon the supernatural.

Labels: atheist, science

Keith Olberman: Special Comment May 2008 [LINK-ZUM]

Part One:

Part Two:

Labels: fascism, television, video

Trevor Blake: Muslim Priorities [LINK-ZUM]

One great equalizer among all humanity is our mortality. All of us have limited time on this Earth. If something is going wrong, we need to step up and protest it. Let's take a look at the protest priorities of the Muslim world...

Protest! "Shueisha Inc, a Japanese publisher involved in the production of the cartoon 'JoJo's Bizarre Adventure' and its animation version, suspended sales of some of the original comics and the DVD series Thursday, but said the material was not intended to be offensive. At issue is a 90-second segment from 'JoJo's Bizarre Adventure,' which depicts Dio Brando, a villain, picking up a Quran from a bookshelf and apparently examining it as he orders the execution of the hero and his friends." [Apparently the Quran doesn't contain any directives to kill people].

No Protest! "This woman's breast was cut off by the soldiers as a reminder to her and her small child of what lies ahead for those who refuse to convert to the Muslim faith."

Protest! "Police in Halifax are investigating a complaint about a political cartoon that some members of a local Islamic group claim is a hate crime."

No Protest! "Women were sometimes executed for the vague charge of doing something 'un-Islamic.'"

Protest! "A Pakistani Taliban leader has warned local tribesmen to grow beards within the next two months in accordance with Islamic teachings or face harsh punishment, residents said Monday."

No Protest! "Muslim villagers in Mymensingh district eager to rid the area of the Christian work of a local pastor have gang-raped his 13-year-old daughter, the girl's father said."

... for what it's worth, my priorities seem to be at odds with the Religion of Peace. On the one hand I do not kill or rape or mutilate women. On the other I enjoy comic books and keep clean-shaven. What are your priorities?

Labels: comics, islam

Craig Gustafson: San Diego County workers may be excused from gay weddings [LINK-ZUM]

San Diego County plans to comply with a state Supreme Court ruling that allows same-sex marriages but will not force employees to perform the ceremonies if they cite religious or moral objections. County Assessor-Recorder-Clerk Greg Smith, whose office issues marriage licenses, said he has informed the roughly 115 employees deputized to conduct ceremonies to tell him if they object to same-sex marriages. Smith said he needs to know if he'll have to juggle employees around or train more to handle what could be thousands of gay couples arriving at his office after the court's ruling takes effect next month. [...] County Counsel John Sansone has advised Smith to wait until the state gives direction before issuing licenses. He said the county will comply with the court ruling, it's just a matter of when it can start. Sansone also said employees cannot simply object to performing same-sex ceremonies. They must give a legitimate religious or moral reason for refusing, he said.

[Article continues at link. The state of Oregon has banned, offered, and rescinded same-sex marriage licenses. I have spoken with opponents of same-sex marriage as they campaigned. When I asked them what legal rights available only to married couples they want same-sex couples not to have, they have been either at a complete loss or state clearly that they do not want to deny any of those rights to same-sex couples. A few more questions reveal their genuine concern. They believe that their place of worship will be legally required to conduct same-sex marriages. No place of worship has ever been required to conduct any marriages. Clergy are free to decide who they will or will not conduct a wedding ceremony for. Legal recognition of same-sex marriage will not change this fact. As has always been the case, there is a difference between weddings (what happens among friends and family) and marriage (a legal contract sanctioned with the State). Should legal recognition of same-sex marriage occur, clergy will remain free to refuse to conduct their weddings. Getting that through the head of those who oppose legal recognition of same-sex marriage would likely cause their efforts to evaporate. The compliment to the freedom clergy have in being free to decide who they will wed is that the State is not free in the same way. The rule of law applies to all. State workers should not be free to refuse to issue marriage licenses. If they object to doing so strongly enough, they are free to find a new job. I cannot imagine what criteria County Counsel Sansone will use to determine what "a legitimate religious or moral reason for refusing" might be. County Counsel Sansone perhaps might benefit from reading the Constitution of the United States of America in which it is clearly stated that the State is not fit to establish religion, not fit to judge which religions are legitimate or not. Should State employees be free to refuse to issue marriage licenses for religious or moral reasons, you can be sure it won't stop with same-sex marriages. State workers would then be free to refuse to issue marriage licenses for multi-ethnic marriages, as commanded by Numbers 12:1. State workers would then be free to refuse to issue fishing licenses for clams, oysters, crabs, lobsters, and shrimp, as commanded by Leviticus 11:10-12. State workers would then be free to refuse to issue teaching licenses to women at some schools, as commanded by 1 Corinthians 14:34-35. There's a very good reason why the United States government was advised from the very start to keep out of the religion business. - Trevor Blake]

Labels: christianity, sex, theocracy

Science Daily: Increase In Drunk Driving Fatalities Followed Ban On Smoking In Bars [LINK-ZUM]

A ban on cigarette smoking in bars is meant to save lives by reducing patrons' exposure to secondhand smoke. But it may actually be having an unintended consequence, according to a study done at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. By comparing data from a variety of locations around the United States where laws requiring smoke-free bars exist with locations without bans, economists Scott Adams and Chad Cotti found a relative increase in fatalities caused by drunk driving following ban enactment. The results of their study appear in the June issue of the Journal of Public Economics and have also been reported in the May issue of The Economist.

[Article continues at link. Prohibition never succeeds, prohibition never avoids unintended and awful consequences. - Trevor Blake]

Labels: prohibition

Trevor Blake in Ritualized Combat [LINK-ZUM]

A typical Sunday.

Labels: fight, portland, trevorblake

Trevor Blake: Legal Torrents [LINK-ZUM]

legaltorrents.com has long been a mirror of OVO, for which we give thanks. I am shocked and pleased to see that they have distributed 300+ gigabytes of OVO. Recently the site celebrated a re-launch and issued the following...

"We're happy to announce that we have launched the new and improved beta for LegalTorrents. The site is now designed to make top quality open-license content available and to provide a support system to content creators (you) through financial sponsorship by site members and visitors.

"The re-launch of the site includes two important new features:

"(1) An Online Community. We are building an online community to discover, evaluate and publish content, for networking and information exchange, and to promote the site.

"(2) Sponsorship for Content Creators. We now accept voluntary financial contributions towards your work. We distribute 100% of payments to you if they come from members of the community, and 85% if they come from visitors to the site."

Visit legaltorrents.com today, won't you?

Labels: ovo, periodical, trevorblake, zine

Entartete Kunts [LINK-ZUM]

"Entartete Kunts" is a playful bastardization of the German term "degenerate art" and a snide reference to the 1937 Nazi purging of all art deemed objectionable by "Der Fuhrer." This unfortunate pun seems somehow appropriate for a bunch of drooling degenerates that consistently crank out uncompromising eyesores with seemingly little regard for commercial viability or good taste. As it turns out, the title also insures that many local businesses will refuse to display the flyer or otherwise promote this annual optic apocalypse. Entartete Kunts is in fact a very special exhibition that assembles some of the most devoted artists from around the world for a rare glimpse into a thriving and still largely renegade culture!

Featuring J. Petagno, Chris Reifert, Drew Elliott, Rev. Kriss Hades, Conny Cobra, Mannuel Tinnemans, Nor Prego, Glenn Smith, Strephon Taylor, T. Ketola, Joseph A. Smith, French, Musta Aurinko, Paul "Unhinged" McCarroll, Bobby BeauSoleil and Dennis Dread.

OPENING RECEPTION
Friday JUNE 20 2008
7pm-10pm
OPTIC NERVE ARTS

[All text from press release. Dennis Dread is well known to readers of OVO as the cover artist for OVO 16 ANTICHRIST. See press release for remarkable biography of each artist. - Trevor Blake]

Labels: art, magick, music, satanism

afrik.com: President plans to kill off every single homosexual [LINK-ZUM]

Addressing supporters at the end of his meet the farmers tour here Sunday, Gambian President Yahya Jammeh says he will "cut off the head" of any homosexual caught in his country. Jammeh also ordered any hotel or motel housing homosexuals to close down, adding that owners of such facilities would also be in trouble. He said the Gambia was a country of believers, indicating that no sinful and immoral act as homosexual would be tolerated in the country.

[Article continues at link. What sort of believers are people like President Jammeh? Maybe Astru Free Assembly, or Menonite? Since the source doesn't say, I guess there's no way to even make an educated guess. - Trevor Blake]

Labels: islam, theocracy

Trevor Blake: The Subprime Mortgage Lending Crisis [LINK-ZUM]

After Wikipedia: "The subprime mortgage crisis is an economic problem manifesting itself through liquidity issues in the banking system owing to foreclosures which accelerated in the United States in late 2006 and triggered a global financial crisis during 2007 and 2008." See also The Giant Pool of Money, an episode of the radio show This American Life.

More educated and articulate minds than mine have writen about this problem so far. But there is one small bit of analysis that I have yet to see. This problem seems to be a demonstration that capitalism is a self-correcting economic system. If one borrows more than one can pay, one will suffer. If one buys more than one can sell, one will suffer. These are some of the terrible and marvelous aspects of capitalism, and they are not found in socialism. Socialism has no self-correcting mechanism, a flaw that makes it a doomed economic system. No one should claim that capitalism can prevent suffering. Natural disasters and human error will make sure that suffering will be with us no matter what economic system we use.

Labels: money

AP: Afghan teacher killed after speech condemning suicide bombings [LINK-ZUM]

A teacher was shot to death in northern Afghanistan after he gave a speech condemning suicide bombings, officials said Wednesday. Abdul Hadi criticized such attacks as un-Islamic and un-Afghan during a speech Tuesday in the Archi district of Kunduz province, said Khair Mohammad Subat [...] Hadi spoke at a gathering of about 700 people, including the Kunduz governor and was on his way home when he was killed [...] According to UNICEF, there were 236 school-related attacks last year. In central Logar province, meanwhile, education department director Kamaluddin Zadran said three girls schools have been set ablaze in the past three weeks. Girls were barred from schools under the Taliban regime.

[Article continues at link. Exactly where are the tens of thousands of Muslims marching in the streets to demand that such atrocities end, and that they are not carried out in their name? Perhaps they are busy instead protesting editorial cartoons. But setting little girls on fire for going to school, shooting a man dead because he said in public that killing people was wrong... we have to celebrate the diversity of those murderers by not talking about it (much less doing more than talk), right? I predict that the silence will be deafening from most Muslims. Is Islam capable of reform? Not if they keep killing the reformers and the children. - Trevor Blake]

Labels: islam, theocracy

Luke Broadwater and Stephen Janis: Records say cult killed baby because he was a 'demon' [LINK-ZUM]

Cult members concluded Javon Thompson was a "demon" after the baby wouldn't say "amen" at mealtime and starved him to death, witnesses told homicide detectives, according to records obtained by The Examiner. "The child was abused because Javon was noncompliant with the existing rules of the 'cult,'" the records state. "The child was also viewed as a "demon.'" [...] A witness told homicide detectives Javon was "beaten, physically abused [and] deprived of food and water, which led to the child's death," according to Khadan-Newton and records obtained by The Examiner. Khadan-Newton said investigators told her cult members grew angry after Javon would not say "amen" at mealtime, even though the baby was just learning to say basic words. [...] After his death, Javon was placed on a mattress, on which cult members said God would resurrect him from the dead, documents state. Cult members then took the child in a suitcase to Philadelphia, where they stored Javon's dead body in a shed of an acquaintance, police said.

[Article continues at link. I'd like to know more about what the Examiner calls the cult. People should be discouraged from childhood onward from joining or forming such organizations so that the frequency of terrible occurrences such as this can be lessened. The Examiner doesn't give us any details on the cult, and so we will have to piece it together for ourselves from what they do tell us. This cult says prayers, prayers which end in the word amen. They believe in God and they believe in demons. The cult believes that God can resurrect people after they die. That sure sounds like Christianity to me. Why might The Examiner fail to identify 'the cult' for what it is? - Trevor Blake]

Labels: christianity

DJ Scientific [LINK-ZUM]

"Founded in 2005 by veteran DJ, Mark 'Scientific' Branch, Scientific Beats provides top quality music production for artists in the R&B and Hip-Hop genres, as well as top quality DJs for industry events. The founder, DJ Scientific, has been making people dance in clubs and at private affairs across the country for nearly 2 decades, starting in the mid '80s while in Junior High School.

"One day while talking to students about what he does outside of NASA (namely his life as a DJ on TV and in the clubs), he noticed that the students became more attentive. Once he captured their attention, they were more receptive to learn about the plethora of career possibilities in STEM [The Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education Coalition]. After that life-changing experience, Scientific chose to utilize Hip-Hop culture as a means to capture the attention of students and direct their energies toward a focus on improving their scholastic performance. At this time, he is working on a plan to broaden his talks and get involved with 'at-risk' kids at a DC elementary school to see if his ideas will improve those students' scholastic performance and foster an attitude of furthering their education past high school and on to college and beyond! We all hope that he is successful with this endeavor."

Labels: music, rockets

Trevor Blake: Douglas Adams [LINK-ZUM]

For some reason Douglas Adams thought that I knew about the aquatic ape theory of human evolution, and sent me e-mail asking for suggested reading. I wrote back, he said thanks. This happened a few months before he died on this day seven years ago. He died before the long-awaited film version of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy came out. He died too soon. I heard once that he died while working for The Council on Ideas but maybe that's not true. Richard Dawkin's book The God Delusion is dedicated to Adams. This meager post is as well.

Labels: biographic, books

Trevor Blake: Metal Men [LINK-ZUM]

Trevor Blake, April 2008. Starting to frame some of my metal men, which I've been making for over a decade. This is the first one I made.

Labels: art, trevorblake

Trevor Blake: Flower [LINK-ZUM]

Flower, Portland Oregon USA, 12 May 2005.

Labels: art, portland, trevorblake

Carl Dinnen: Pakistan demo against Islam film [LINK-ZUM]

Thousands of people have taken to the streets of Pakistan to protest against a controversial film about Islam made by a Dutch MP. Crowds gathered in Karachi to condemn the MP, GeertWilders, some chanting "death to the blasphemer". The crowd also protested against the reprinting of cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad in Danish newspapers. [...] The Dutch MP who made the film is Geert Wilders - a strident and controversial campaigner against what he describes as the Islamisation of the Netherlands. Earlier this year he spoke to More4 News; his views are deliberately provocative.

[Article continues at link. The above article claims the people who protested (whom we apparently should not openly identify as Muslims) "are angry about the film Fitna made by a right wing Dutch MP and at the reprinting of cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad in Danish newspapers following a plot to murder the cartoonist." So the people who protested are clearly described as angry. Fitna and its maker are described as controversial, strident, deliberately provocative. It is as if both sides were equally at fault and perhaps if they can just meet in peaceful dialog then the issue can be resolved. Except the truth is that one side made a short video that no one on planet Earth is compelled to watch, own, buy, speak of or in any way acknowledge. The other side - according to this same article - "claimed the killing of two Dutch soldiers was revenge for the release of the film." And the other side killed more than one hundred of their own to protest the publication of a few cartoons in a newspaper. And the other side is conducting a global man-hunt to kill one of the cartoonists, who must live in hiding for the rest of his life. So while some reporters like to think if we don't call them Muslims we might miss they are Muslims... if we make it seem like a simple misunderstanding we'll all laugh about soon enough... if we heap derision on the filmmakers and treat the murderers with kid gloves... then all our problems will vanish. But I don't think that is the case at all. What do you think? - Trevor Blake]

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