Minor Threat - CBGB '82

Caanan Gap Pt. 2

Naatsis’áán – Head of the Earth

According to Navajo oral traditions, Navajo Mountain and Rainbow Bridge are integral parts of the creation story cycle.

After forming the six most sacred mountains–Mount Taylor, Blanca Peak, San Francisco Peaks, Hesperus Peak, Gobernador Knob and Huerfano Mountain–the First People created several more important peaks.

Although Navajo Mountain isn’t one of the six most sacred mountains, the peak does carry such significance that traditional Navajos still refuse to climb the mountain above the lower elevations.

We are obliged . . .

... to spread the news, painful and bitter as it may be for some to hear, that all living things on earth are kindred.

The multitudes of thoughtless clones have reached a critical mass.

Under the desert sun, in that dogmatic clarity, the fables of theology and the myths of classical philosophy dissolve like mist. . . .

Had a break in the weather......

.....So I hiked to a pictograph I've been waiting to see.

How to suck at your religion.....

Does your religion make you judge people ?

Does your religion hinder the advancement of science, technology, or medicine ?

"We poison our air and water to weed out the weak! "....

...."We set off fission bombs in our only biosphere! We nailed our God to a stick! Don't fuck with the human race!"

“When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops?”

Damn....that title offends all three major religions, and even vegetarians

Stimuli Eliciting Sexual Behavior in Turkeys

Male turkeys aren't fussy. Give them a lifelike model of a female turkey and they'll happily try to mate with it as eagerly as they would with the real thing.

This observation intrigued Martin Schein and Edgar Hale of the University of Pennsylvania, and made them curious about what might be the minimal stimulus required to excite a turkey. They embarked on a series of experiments to find out. This involved removing parts from the turkey model one by one, until the male turkey eventually lost interest.

Tail, feet, and wings were all removed, but still the clueless bird waddled up to the model, let out an amorous gobble, and tried to do his thing. Finally, the researchers were left with a head on a stick. And surprisingly, the male turkey still showed great interest. In fact, it preferred a head on a stick over a headless body.

Schein and Hale subsequently investigated how minimal they could make the head itself before it failed to elicit a response. They discovered that freshly severed female heads impaled on sticks worked best, but if the male turkey had nothing else it would settle for a plain balsa wood head. Turkeys evidently adhere to the philosophy that if you can't be with the one you love, then love the one you're with.

Curious about the mating habits of other poultry, Schein and Hale performed similar tests on White Leghorn Cocks. They published their results in an article with the intriguing title, "Effects of morphological variations of chicken models on sexual responses of cocks."

A moment of contemplation....

How difficult to imagine this place without a human presence; how necessary. I am almost prepared to believe that this sweet virginal primitive land will be grateful for my departure and the absence of the tourists, will breathe metaphorically a sigh of relief--like a whisper of wind--when we are all and finally gone and the place and its creations can return to their ancient procedures unobserved and undisturbed by the busy, anxious, brooding consciousness of man.

Edward Abbey

The Atlatl

The atlatl may be one of the first compound weapons that is, a tool used to enhance human power. While the earliest archeological evidence is 25,000 years old, it is believed that atlatl has been in use for some 40,000 years. The effectiveness of this weapon allowed early humans to hunt Ice Age mega-fauna such as the Mammoth and Wooly Rhino.

Eventually, the development of bow supplanted the atlatl as the weapon of choice because the bow was more compact, easier to carry and quieter. Also, with the mega-fauna gone through a likely combination of hunting and climate change, the smaller mammals did not require the penetrative power of the atlatl to bring down.

In the 16th Century, when the Spanish Conquistadors invaded Central America, the Aztecs re-adopted the atlatl (which is where we get the word from) because of its incredible power. They weren't able to compete against the Spaniard's firearms but many a Conquistador was surprised to have an armor-piercing dart pass completely through their steel breastplates; both front and back. The Aztecs are all gone but a few cultures still use the atlatl. The aborigines of Australia call it a Woomera. Native Alaskans of the lower Yukon call it a Nuqaq.

World Atlatl Association

Ancient technology survives in many strange ways. Atlatl sport is part of the current surge in recreational interest in “primitive skills.” It is easy to learn to throw with an atlatl, but difficult to become expert.

Bill passes the senate to ban "non-traditional" body art and tattoos

The Senate passed a bill on Tuesday that would ban non-traditional body art and skin implants. The bill's sponsor, Senator Missy Irvin of Mountain View, wants to limit body art procedures, particularly scarification and dermal implants.

By a 26-4 vote, the Senate moved to outlaw scarification, a procedure involving the scarring of the skin using heat to form a tattoo without ink, and implants that place ornaments under the skin.

The bill now goes to the House.

Writing Tablet - Roman - c. 80-120 AD

Scratched onto a wax layer, the lettering on this early 2nd century wooden writing tablet has survived. It is a deed of sale for a young female slave called Fortunata, described as ‘healthy and not liable to run away’. She cost 600 silver denarii - 2 years’ pay for a legionary soldier. This gives us a rare glimpse into government staffing methods and the lives of Roman slaves: they could earn money and own slaves themselves. Fortunata was bought by a slave, called Vegetus Montanus, who worked in the treasury and who was, in turn, owned by another treasury slave.

Criminal Wisdom

Ancient Peoples

As a little kid, I suppose I was a little weird.

A little weird?.....with mental stimulation like this I am surprised I am not stark raving mad.......

He watched the news. Same as yesterday's.

The General Crisis coming along nicely. Nothing new except the commercials full of sly art and eco-porn. Scenes of the Louisiana bayous, strange birds in slow-motion flight, cypress trees bearded with Spanish moss. Above the primeval scene the voice of Power spoke, reeking with sincerity, in praise of itself, the Exxon Oil Company--its tidiness, its fastidious care for all things wild, its concern for human needs.

'I felt like a coroner in the local morgue,'

'The investigating officer comes in and tells me the accident wasn't that bad. But I'm seeing the destruction all around me.'

"UNTIL very recently, the most perplexing mystery of Southwestern archeology -- what caused the collapse of the ancient empire of the Anasazi -- seemed all but solved. Careful scrutiny of tree-ring records seemed to establish that in the late 1200's a prolonged dry spell called the Great Drought drove these people, the ancestors of today's pueblo Indians, to abandon their magnificent stone villages at Mesa Verde and elsewhere on the Colorado Plateau, never to return again.

"But in the last few years, Southwestern archeology has been shaken with a quiet revolution. Textbooks are being rewritten as the common wisdom, taught to generations of students, is overturned. "Nobody is talking about great droughts anymore," said Dr. Linda Cordell, a professor of anthropology at the University of Colorado in Boulder and director of the natural history museum there. "The mystery of the Anasazi is an open book again."

"Groundbreaking climatological studies have convinced many archeologists that the "so-called Great Drought," as detractors now call it, simply was not bad enough to be the deciding factor in the sudden evacuation, in which tens of thousands of Anasazi... moved to the Hopi mesas in northeastern Arizona, to the Zuni lands in western New Mexico and to dozens of adobe villages in the watershed of the Rio Grande.

"'There are just too many little discrepancies,' said Dr. Eric Blinman of the Office of Archeological Studies of the Museum of New Mexico in Santa Fe. Recent studies have shown, for example, that the evacuation actually began before the dry spell set in. Even more telling is evidence that the Anasazi had weathered many severe droughts in the past. Why did the one in the late 13th century cause an entire population to abandon the settlements they had worked so hard to build?

"'The Great Drought may have been the last straw,' said Dr. John Ware, another archeologist at the Museum of New Mexico. 'But in and of itself, it just wasn't enough.'

"As they sift the evidence, archeologists are finding surprising new elements that may have conspired with drier weather to bring about the calamitous fall. Belying the popular image of the Anasazi as a peaceable kingdom of farmers and potters, some of the new research puts the blame for the collapse on a bloody internecine war. Other researchers are trying to combine archeological evidence with anthropological studies of the modern pueblo Indians to make the case that the Anasazi were roiled by a religious crisis as divisive as European medieval heresies. In some scenarios, the Anasazi were pulled farther south en masse by an attractive new religion.

The story of the Antelope Canyon flash flood that claimed 11 lives in 1997.

On August 12th 1997 there was a flash flood with only 1 Survivor. Pancho Quintana.

Be careful out there.....

The truth revealed ........

Just in case this little comic strip makes no sense at all.....

“I attributed the incidence to temporary insanity".....

..." and in my own defense, I'd like to say I haven't run over anyone since.”

How the bow and arrow changed the world

The invention of the bow and arrow allowed users to shoot projectiles more rapidly and more accurately than with the traditional spear. A new theory argues that this innovation resulted in more than just a technological revolution. It also had profound social consequences wherever the bow was adopted.

Full Story

"2 lines you should never cross....horizontal and vertical"

To survive in urban combat, the sniper must supplement cover and concealment with camouflage. He must study the surroundings in the area to properly camouflage himself. He must make the firing positions look like the surrounding terrain.

For instance, if there is no damage to buildings, he will not make loopholes for firing and will use only the materials needed. Any excess material can reveal his position. For example, if defending the city park, the sniper will use the entire park for resources; he will not denude a small area near the position for camouflage material.

Buildings provide numerous concealed positions. Thick masonry, stone, or brick walls offer excellent protection from direct fire and provide concealed routes. If the tactical situation permits, the sniper will inspect positions from the enemy’s viewpoint.

He will conduct routine checks to see if the camouflage remains material-looking and actually conceals the position. He should not remove his shirt because exposed skin reflects light and could attract the enemy’s attention

When using urban camouflage techniques, the sniper must consider the following:

wait a minute.......where the fuck did that come from?

Trick Question

Just to set the record straight....

God? . . . who the hell is he ? There is nothing here, at the moment, but me and the desert. And that's the truth. Why confuse the issue by dragging in a superfluous entity? Occam's razor. Beyond atheism, nontheism. I am not an atheist but an earthiest. Be true to the earth.

Two balloon animals dance a deadly tango through a field of cacti

As if life weren't dangerous enough for a balloon animal, this little inflatable finds himself crawling through cacti. When he encounters a partner, however, they decide to laugh in the face of danger and dance their way to safety. But will they make it?

Sunday sermon......

“The real question of life after death isn't whether or not it exists, but even if it does what problem this really solves.”

― Ludwig Wittgenstein

NOISE, n. A stench in the ear. Undomesticated music. The chief product and authenticating sign of civilization.

Is it possible for you to recall the last time you completely lost track of time, and had no desire at all to see how much time had passed by? Although such a question may seem fairly simplistic, it really is a radical idea. It is so easy today, to become wrapped up in civilizations ongoing demand for conformity.

What happened to the old days where it was possible to lose track of time and just enjoy the simplistic and basic beauty that nature has to offer. Due to the progression of civilization society has been deceived, enslaved, corrupted, and most of all detached from our natural and pure origins. Two writers that share these beliefs are Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Edward Abbey. Both writers propose the radical idea of abandoning the developing western civilization, and returning to a simpler form of life where man can once again be pure.

Rousseau represents his idea of the harmful effects that the arts and sciences have had on civilization when he states that, “the sciences, letters, and arts, less despotic and perhaps more powerful [than the government and laws], spread garlands of flowers over the iron chains with which men are burdened, stifle in them sense of that original liberty for which they seemed to have been born, make them love their slavery, and turn them into what is called civilized peoples”

Why does Rousseau condemn the arts, sciences, and modern advancements that have transformed us into the current world that we accept today? It is because such progressions that we have come to seek joy and comfort in are simply illusions distracting us from the fact that we are slaves to society.

We were once simple and pure human beings, but overtime have transformed into automatons. Our conversion began when the concept of ownership was introduced.

The sense of ownership led to greed, which then led to a whole new set of needs. This set of higher demands created a world where man was forced to conform to society,

and this is where we sit today....

If you build it, WE WILL COME!........

Dozens of individuals peacefully disrupted road construction and stopped operations today at the site of a proposed tar sands mine in the Bookcliffs range of southeastern Utah.

"Tar Sands Wrecks Lands”

"Respect Existence, or Expect Resistance!"

"CRASS - Christ The Movie"

Subconscious War

Subconscious War is a video essay exploring the influences of media and the culture of violence on reality, and the cultivation of collective values in society. The film contrasts the writings of Aldous Huxley and Neil Postman’s grim assessments; relating the concepts of works such as ‘Brave New World’ and ‘Amusing Ourselves to Death’ to the current cultural influences that foster today–corporate media and indeed media saturation, video games, television, and a pervasive technoculture, for example.

If you're not on a government watch list by now you should be ashamed of yourself.......

35-foot-tall straw Dalek terrorizes British countryside

It's the superior life form in the universe... and it's made out of straw......

io9

Angry Samoans - Back From Samoa