Month: July 2013

elegantpaws:

vulgarweed:

sandandglass:

Total respect. 

Not only was she the first female writer to make the Forbes billionaires list, she then became one of the very few people to take herself off that list by giving so much to charity that it actually made a dent in her fortune.

And she gets it. There aren’t enough generous billionaires in the world who remember where they came from, therefore private charity isn’t the ultimate (only) answer to poverty like some politicians would have us believe. We are all interconnected, we all need each other, in democratic countries we are part of the government, and so keeping needy people from falling into complete destitution and despair is an important and worthy role for government to take. It benefits all of us in the long run. And nobody who feels comfortable and secure now (fewer and fewer of those people around these days) has any guarantee they won’t need help themselves someday.

JK Rowling…reason numbers 2.7 billion why I adore this woman.

scrollofthoth:

My Story

An obsessed magician will do anything it takes to satiate his perverse needs.

My Myth

He turns to forbidden arts to manifest his will.

My Revelation

In doing so, he will bring about the end of everything.

My Babylon

A serial novel about the paranormal and dark desires. The story of a cursed young man who has an intimate view of the end of the world as we know it. My Babylon weaves elements of urban fantasy, erotic horror, and real-world occult practices, to form a unique personal tale that thrills, terrifies, and even enlightens.

In My Babylon, the magus, consumed with longing, seeks to create a replacement for his lost love using a grisly ritual that requires the theft of a body. Through her creation, he learns that he has a much bigger role to play, and that she may be a form of salvation not only for him but for others.

Currently Available

Book One: Body

Where we learn of the magus and his desire.

Book Two: Rose

In this book, the magus reveals the source of his longing and depths to which he has fallen. Both his strength and his weakness come from a girl named Rose.

Book Three: Risen

In Book Three: Risen, the magus gains the object of his desire. Her presence not only changes him and his life forever, but attracts the notice of enemies he never knew he had.

Book Four: Host

In Book Four: Host, the magus learns about the powers that are arrayed against him, and that which he has carried all along.

Book Five: Beast

In this final episode, the magus unleashes the power that lurks within him and is consumed by it. Through the flames he is reborn to his destiny.

Book Six: Commentary

A collection of essays by the author on the magical symbolism and thoughts behind the series. Get it free by signing up for the James L. Wilber mailing list at jameslwilber.com.

My Babylon, the Complete Edition, with all five books will be released July 23rd, both for Kindle and in print.

My Babylon comes to Kobo July 30th.

The Truth About SwedenCare

The Truth About SwedenCare

thefreelioness:

This healthcare “bread line” is where people die. It happens regularly that by the time a patient gets to see an expert, his condition has progressed beyond remedy. It also happens frequently that referrals get lost. Bureaucracies create listless employees, who don’t care, who refuse to go the extra mile, and who are never responsible for failures.

I just came across this, and it’s quite relevant to one of the discussions on my blog today about the programs in Scandinavia.   Feel free to read if you are interested in an opinion from an actual Swede who has experienced both the system there and here in the U.S. 

Let me sum-up this article for you with a quote from it:

“It is impossible to put a number on it”

Actually you can. Right here. Where we see once again, all across the board, the US compares poorly in all areas vs. Sweden and other socialized health care plans. Especially by cost.

Once again, what you have here is a screed full of anecdotal evidence by someone wronged by the “system” They trot this shit out every time we try to reform our health care system, and it’s really fucking pathetic how some people fall for it.

You want to talk about Obamacare, that’s a fucking monster of it’s own. which sucks balls. It’s in no way single-payer or socialized health care.

My Story

An obsessed magician will do anything it takes to satiate his perverse needs.

My Myth

He turns to forbidden arts to manifest his will.

My Revelation

In doing so, he will bring about the end of everything.

My Babylon

A serial novel about the paranormal and dark desires. The story of a cursed young man who has an intimate view of the end of the world as we know it. My Babylon weaves elements of urban fantasy, erotic horror, and real-world occult practices, to form a unique personal tale that thrills, terrifies, and even enlightens.

In My Babylon, the magus, consumed with longing, seeks to create a replacement for his lost love using a grisly ritual that requires the theft of a body. Through her creation, he learns that he has a much bigger role to play, and that she may be a form of salvation not only for him but for others.

Currently Available

Book One: Body

Where we learn of the magus and his desire.

Book Two: Rose

In this book, the magus reveals the source of his longing and depths to which he has fallen. Both his strength and his weakness come from a girl named Rose.

Book Three: Risen

In Book Three: Risen, the magus gains the object of his desire. Her presence not only changes him and his life forever, but attracts the notice of enemies he never knew he had.

Book Four: Host

In Book Four: Host, the magus learns about the powers that are arrayed against him, and that which he has carried all along.

Book Five: Beast

In this final episode, the magus unleashes the power that lurks within him and is consumed by it. Through the flames he is reborn to his destiny.

Book Six: Commentary

A collection of essays by the author on the magical symbolism and thoughts behind the series. Get it free by signing up for the James L. Wilber mailing list at jameslwilber.com.

My Babylon, the Complete Edition, with all five books will be released July 23rd, both for Kindle and in print.

My Babylon comes to Kobo July 30th.

Pirate Bay Co-Founder Wants to Build an NSA-Proof Messaging App

Pirate Bay Co-Founder Wants to Build an NSA-Proof Messaging App

thinksquad:

Peter Sunde, co-founder of BitTorrent search engine The Pirate Bay, needs your help to create a private messaging app.

Called Heml.is (Swedish word for “secret"), the app is an elegant messaging app for iOS and Android that uses end-to-end encryption to make sure no third party — governments and ISPs included — can intercept the users’ communication.

“We love the internet, social networks and the power it gives for sharing and social connections. What we don’t love though is that private communication has more or less turned into an open stream for companies and governments to listen into,“ the Heml.is team explains on the app’s official page.

Shall Death reign the lord of the soul,
Shall the dust be the ultimate goal—
I will storm the black bastions of Night!
I will tread where my vision has trod,
I will set in the darkness a light,
In the vastness, a god. (x)

swordchant:

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN WOLVES AND RAVENS

Ravens and wolves form social attachments with each other and take huge advantage of each other.

Both animals eat meat. When wolves killed a prey, ravens eat from the left over cadaver and scavenge it. Also, ravens lead wolves to preys or cadavers. The ravens fly and the wolves follow. Ravens also alert wolves to dangers.

They also play with each other. For example the ravens dive at the wolves and then speed away or peck their tails to try to get the wolves to chase them, or wolf cubs chasing after teasing ravens.

Dr. L. David Mech wrote in ‘The Wolf: The Ecology and Behaviour of an Endangered Species’: “It appears that the wolf and the raven have reached an adjustment in their relationships such that each creature is rewarded in some way by the presence of the other and that each is fully aware of the other’s capabilities.”

Also very interesting: Bernd Heinrich wrote in ‘Mind of the Raven: Investigations and Adventures with Wolf-Birds’: “Ravens can be attracted to wolf howls. The wolves’ howls before they go on a hunt, and it is a signal that the birds learn to heed. Conversely, wolves may respond to certain raven vocalizations or behavior that indicate prey. The raven-wolf association may be close to a symbiosis that benefits the wolves and ravens alike. At a kill site, the birds are more suspicious and alert than wolves. The birds serve the wolves as extra eyes and ears.”