KNOW YOUR STATES

http://jimspages.com/States.htm is a cool site and good for kids [and some adults] who need to practice where the states are located on a map of the U.S.A.

MOONCHILD by Aleister Crowley

Moonchild, by Aleister Crowley
Boston: Weiser Books, 2004, (1927). paperback, 335 pps.

Aleister Crowley remains a bit of a controversial figure nowadays. I do have a few acquaintances who are fascinated by the legend. Truthfully, I myself have a grudging respect for someone who walked naked through an English town to a favorite cafe, believing that the invisibility spell he had cast rendered him invisible [as told by John Sutton in his biography].

But there are plenty of other things which are less admirable. One of them is Crowley's track record with women. He tended to pick out unstable addicted women, encouraged them to believe that they were "channeling" ascended masters or spiritual entities of some sort or another, and cheated on them with predominantly other males. Crowley was interested in gaining personal power through the use of "magick." Crowley-- not present day fluffy bunnies so-called-- popularized the spelling of "magick" with the "k" in order to distinguish it from sleigh of hand magic. The extra "k" was also a subtle reference to the Greek word kteis which meant the female reproductive organs.

Moonchild is a work of fiction which is interspersed with his own occult ideology. Crowley in real life was interested in creating a perfect specimen of humanity-- a sort of god incarnate. There are other references in the book to a few of his rivals; a "black" lodge, the poet William Butler Yates [who appeared in the book as "Gates,"], and H. Spencer Lewis who founded A.M.O.R.C. [who was a character named "Butler"]. The appearance of Eliphas Levi [who in real life Crowley claimed to be a reincarnation of], and the hideaway on an Italian island are among the many references in the book which point to things that Crowley believed or experienced. In order to truly understand Moonchild, the reader must know something of the author who penned it.

The story itself, reflective of Crowley's pathos, is engaging at once. From the first chapter dealing with a "chinese god," through the introduction of Lisa, and right on through to the ending introduced and developed a formidable cast of characters. The plot and dialogue were both engaging. Narrative passages were explanatory and flowed into the story.

I was not seeking any great mystical understanding when I picked up Moonchild. As a work of fiction written by a crazed occultist, it did not disappoint. Those who are hoping to gain an unbiased understanding of the author won't find that in the book Moonchild. Moonchild is chock full of Crowley's delusional 'magick' and the casual reader might do better elsewhere. Those who do not recognize the truth about Aleister Crowley will plow through Moonchild looking for hints of his present-day charisma I am sure. As for me, I liked the book even though I do not like the man.

sapphoq reviews

http://fusionanomaly.net/aleistercrowley.html

http://www.mith.demon.co.uk/CROWLEY.htm

http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/crowley.htm

http://skepdic.com/crowley.html

http://www.crystalinks.com/crowley.html

sapphoq
Aleister Crowley

POOPALOOSA 3/24/07

Click here.

Dump the Dubya 3/23/07

I take some modest pride in the knowledge, especially in the wake of the latest Republican-based scandal from Washington (The great US attorney purge) that I have been an inveterate foe of Dubya and all his works almost from the first time that I had heard of him. That, if you are curious was when the media reported, during the candidate debates in 1999, that when asked what political philosopher had had the most influence on him, he answered, “Jesus Christ, because he changed my life.” This response told me three things:

1. That he was a born again, fundamentalist mental midget,

2. That he was pandering to his religious base,

3. That he did not have enough grasp on the subject to tell the difference between a religious figure and a political philosopher, and

4. That he had never read any political philosophy, and so was supremely unqualified to be president.

In what appears in hindsight to be the utmost in wishful thinking, I assumed then that Dubya had managed to cut his political throat, and that we would never hear of him again past the third or fourth primary. I was wrong. I wish to goodness that I had not been. I underestimated the rising strength of the Religious Right, and the naiveté of the American public. Until 9/11, many people, myself included, believed that he would be a completely ineffective president, a belief that was strengthened by the fact that he appeared to be a “one-issue” politician, and that his mania for “faith-based” programs would continue to be crushed by a Congress that still had some hold on reality. We tend to think of the damage that Mohammed Atta and his gruesome little band did to America in terms of lives lost and buildings destroyed, but that pales in comparison to the fact that they transformed George III (think about it) from a nonentity into possibly the most horrifyingly damaging figure in American history. I remember before the full extent of the disaster became clear that I would say he was the worst president since Warren G. Harding. I now believe that was unfair to President Harding, who was at least aware of his own inadequacies.

I see in the news that the Mayor of Salt Lake City has taken up the cause of impeachment of this president. I fully endorse that position. If President Clinton could be considered for impeachment for lying about his sex life, what are we to make of a President who has entangled us in a foreign war on pretexts that were demonstrated to be false, almost as soon as the war was initiated? A President who has repeatedly used executive power to unconstitutionally pass out funds to religious organizations (Let’s drop the misleading euphemism “faith-based”) against the will of Congress and the American people? A President who has gutted environmental restrictions and subverted scientific findings on global warming in order to accommodate his buddies in the energy business? A President who allowed a government agent to be compromised in order to punish her husband for telling the truth about his corrupt regime? A President who appears to be attempting to make America over as a religious theocracy, and who seized unprecedented power over ordinary Americans by railroading through the Patriot Act? A President who initiates a purge of government attorneys who have placed their duties to America ahead of loyalty to those in power? When is enough enough? How about today?

The only problem I have with impeaching the president is that it does not go far enough to solve our current problem. If we dump Dubya, we are left with his Mephistophelean VP, Dick “Quail Hunter” Cheney. This grey eminence is the Richelieu of this administration, and needs to be included in any impeachment proceedings. Dick has the potential to be an even more disastrous chief executive than Dubya, if only because he is light years more competent and unprincipled.

Why do some parents have to be so rude?

Why do people have to be so rude? When you share custody of a child, you would think that there would be less problems because of that, right? Well, not really. That just aggravates me, it seems like no one cares for the child they only care for themselves.

If the mother has the child and the father didn't sign the birth certificate then the father shouldn't have any say so in when they get to see the child. It is the mother's choice. But no, nothing can be that simple these days can it?

Then when you have a teen mother and father it is even harder. Especially when the child's father won't stay out of it. And they keep threatening that they will find a way to get the child taken away if you don't do what they want. Freaking bullshit. Just because a male has the sperm doesn't mean that they are capable of being a daddy. Just like the saying, "ANY MAN CAN BE A FATHER BUT IT TAKES A REAL MAN TO BE A DADDY."

People don't really care about anything but themselves some days. Or at least that is what it seems like to me. The more things that I see going on in this world, makes me wonder if I even want to raise any children in this type of world. Here is what I understand SOME guys to understand about a baby. Sperm + Egg = Baby.

Then you get a mother who takes care of the child and a father who doesn't give a crap about anything and doesn't even want to help with anything when they only see the kid maybe once a month if that. I still have one word for that BULLSHIT. It just makes me angry what some people will do.

I know that there are some guys who will go the extra mile for a child that is theirs or may not be theirs. I congratulate them and they do deserve to be called a daddy. But if you are just using the child to use the mother, you need to get a life and let the child go. And quit acting like a total jackass.

There are way too many people that I have run into in this world that are like this and it just drives me crazy. I am getting to the point where I can't take any more of the crap that they put the innocent children through. The children didn't do anything to deserve any of this. Why do they need to go through the hell of what the parents decide? If both of the parents are good parents and are willing to share the responsibilities of having a child then that is a good thing. The more people that do that the better. And the better for the child.

Okay I got my ranting out for now. Sorry about the mild swearing.