Is it bulletproof?


Canada's national sport
London, ON, December 2010
[Click here for more letter-themed goodness. It won't hurt. Promise.]

If you're a sports fan, today's a big day, as the National Hockey League draft deadline is today. So I thought I'd mark the occasion with this snippet from London's John Labatt Centre. Because I'm Canadian. And I'm pretty sure hockey fandom is baked into my DNA.

As we took our seats in this showpiece of a facility, the NHL logo stood out in my mind because the closest NHL teams play two hours away. It's nice to know our minor-league London Knights merit NHL-approved glass, even if they "only" play in the Ontario Hockey League.

Memo to folks in Toronto who pay a week's salary to watch their team extend their 40-plus-year losing streak by another game: You'd have a lot more fun here. There's just something about teenagers and early-twentysomethings building a future in the sport that they love that resonates more deeply than millionaire free agents. I'm thankful to live in a place where the love of the game still means something.

Your turn: Do you love a sport? Any sport? Why? Why not?

One more thing: I know that Canada's official national sport is actually lacrosse. But that's on paper. Deep in our souls, it's hockey.

Signs of Judgment - Christchurch Earthquakes and the National Christmas Tree (USA)

You haven't seen many posts of late because I've been otherwise engaged plus a bit under the weather. Your continued prayers are appreciated, as ever. One of the efforts I've been engaged in resulted in a new writing on The Open Scroll, titled Grinding at The Mill - A Miller's Testimony. The timeliness of that work will be evident to some of you as it relates to judgement and a role or ministry appointed to me.

Other items with which I've been occupied involve personal responsibilities with regard to individual relationships. Some of these engagements began with the offering of apologies that were due as mentioned in the Jezebel vs Sarah series. As follow up to those and with regard to several other relationships, I've been walking in the greater light I've been receiving and necessarily approaching some people in challenging ways, including some with words hard to give and get. I've never been a fan of confrontation but I'm getting over that, because when the Lord asks a thing I'm increasingly willing to do it. Yes, I'm changing.

Some aren't liking the changes. Maybe you, _______. Fill your name in the blank as appropriate. If this means you don't want to be my friend anymore, I can accept that. You weren't a very true friend to me anyhow and I'm just now finding that out. There's no particular person or people that's particularly intended for, but I'm communicating some important points here. If this matter isn't personal, what's the point? It's critical to put the right kind of value on the right kinds of friendships. I'm learning that I really do want to be found as a friend of the Lord, and He really doesn't have many friends. Popularity that involves being friends with the worldly is HIGHLY overrated.

If the Lord has been leading you in such a way as I have described and you haven't been following through, let me encourage you to begin without delay. There's no need to be harsh or abrasive in your manner but don't neglect hard dealings because love makes demands on us as we look after each other. Accept what responsibility is yours for those to whom we do genuinely owe a debt of love. This debt must be paid, and you can put it on the Lord's account but you've got to write that check, so to speak.

The church is being judged at the present time. That's us, you and I, right? We need to get this and stop deferring to others. Imagine that in all-caps, if it helps. This present judgment has been announced and confirmed through the words of many saints, prophetic dreams and visions, signs in the heavens and signs in the earth. One of the most obvious scriptures testifying of this season is in 1 Peter 4.

16) Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.
17) For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?
18) And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?
1 Peter 4:16-18

The nature of this judgment is that it begins gently and escalates. It must be so to accomplish the Lord's purposes, maximizing the harvest and bringing forth a purified people. I've been engaged in this judgment on a number of levels. Those of us who resist what must be seen as the diminishing extension of mercy are finding ourselves moving backwards, in a sense, being estranged from the Lord and more dull of hearing. Those of us who resist this work are by nature not perceiving it that way. Those who are being convicted in this hour and subsequently repent are perceiving how there is an immediate and striking widening gulf in the ranks. Seasons of judgment have most certainly been visited upon the church in numerous cycles over the course of the past several years, but make no mistake; today is different. The "luxury" of second chances is now passing. When this season has passed, where we have not responded with obedience we will forfeit reward. Many who even read here will wager that I'm wrong about that - and lose big! I pray it's not you. I pray it's not you.

Mark Baker/AP -- guardian.co.ukConsider some recent signs. The earthquakes in Christchurch, NZ have been recognized by many watchful saints as signs to the church. The notable one of September 2010 was widely acknowledged as miraculous for the magnitude of the quake relative to the cost in human life. The cost then was zero - it was a "no charge" freebie. As a parable, this reveals how the judgment began with a gentle warning. I was led to write about that quake here: The Twelfth Orbit of Neptune and the Earthquake under Christchurch

Since that time, the city has experienced many, many more quakes (upwards of 4000 "aftershocks"). The one that struck at lunchtime on February 22 was considered an aftershock of the big one that struck on September 3rd last year. See these as being directly related, one to the other. Even though the magnitude of the quake on the 22nd was "roughly 11 times weaker" than the one last September, the loss of life and damage to the city was notable! In a parable, the nature of this judgment is that it begins gently and escalates.

Recognizing some signal features underscores to the watchful that this is surely another warning and testimony of escalation in the consequences of failing to quickly embrace the One who washes with water by the Word (Ephesians 5), even submitting to a bit of rough scrubbing behind the ears, if you will. The 11 and 22 numeric combination mentioned above call out numbers that others have identified and emphasized, knowing these signal a flesh cutting or dividing among men.

I was led to write about bells and bell towers not long ago, and personally given two signs to assure that this matter was highlighted for special attention. Bells have long been leveraged by Satan in a pharmakeia scheme that intends through spells to bring forth an army of transhuman rebels in the earth. It will succeed! It has been noted (The Church Bells All Were Broken) that the bell towers of the institutions of Mystery Babylon seem to have been targeted in this action that would not very many years ago have been freely termed an act of God.

Here's something that speaks to me and I hope it does to you, too. Brother Herrin referenced a song called American Pie in that blog post titled, The Church Bells All Were Broken. He makes a number of observations about it in that post and I'll add one more, that the incident at The Mill happened when this song was released, as best I can recall. It was an instance of judgment within the church. It was a prophetic parable. It happened 40 years ago - the number of trial and testing. Now, the Christchurch quakes are a sign of present judgment, and this is my testimony. What it looks like is that we have arrived in the appointed season of judgment on the church and it warrants our full attention.

Here's one of the lines in the song lyrics. "February made me shiver/with every paper I'd deliver"

It's February and folks are shivering in the cold. It snowed here in Los Gatos a couple days ago - a VERY rare occurrence. Have you been reading the paper, the headline news? Does it make you shiver? The world is shaking, and the church is really at the center of it.

Look at the picture of the statue honoring the founder of Christchurch lying face down in the dirt. This is in Cathedral Square. Are you seeing what it means? It's not my Lord but one who compares to Nimrod and Nebuchadnezzar.

The loss in New Zealand is genuine and I don't want to discount it. I am not numb to the very real pain felt by those whose lives were and are touched by the quake. Yet, what's imperative is that you hear the message that the pain and loss it portends will be just as real and on a far greater scale with consequences extending beyond this mortal life.

Another sign with similar meaning had occurred in Washington DC a few days prior to the earthquake in Christchurch. See Strong winds topple National Christmas Tree. The National Christmas Tree has a national identity. It also is a Christmas Tree, which is in most people's minds the object linked to the Christian church that is perhaps second only to the cross. Today, it has become a wider symbol around the globe of a season of gift exchanges and feasting, mammon and carnality. Really, few things say "Mystery Babylon" quite like the National Christmas Tree. That it has fallen over is a picture of the judgment that has come on the "Babylon" church and on this national Babylon.

7) Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.
8) And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.
9) And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,
Revelation 14:7-9

This is not the first time a National Christmas Tree has fallen, but when some numbers are considered the witness is plain enough. This tree that many connect with the birth of Christ fell in its 33rd year, the age of the Lord when he gave His life for a sacrifice. It represents the church of His body. Remember the recent sign of the Chilean mine incident and its 33 men who were trapped? This tree was set in place at the White House in 1978. It lasted for 22 years to the end of the millennium, then another 11 years, presenting a set of 22 and 11 features. After it fell, it was quickly cleared, within seven hours. When the church is judged, and it is being judged, it will not survive its pagan form but will be turned into mulch. Those with eyes that see will note the destiny of the wild olive branches in Romans 11:21-22, which we are assured will be broken off. Mulch is useful, but it will be far better an end for those who heed the call to come out from among those who will become as mulch.

And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
Revelation 18:4

Forget the Oscars...the Impala's the thing


Red hoodie
Delray Beach, FL, December 2010
Click all photos to enlarge
About this photo: We're sharing letters this week as part of our latest Thematic theme. You can get involved, too, by following your mouse this way.
The scene: My wife had taken the kids into the pharmacy to get the stuff kids always need when they're on vacation. For reasons that still make no sense to me, I lagged beyond for a few minutes so I could take pictures in the darkened parking lot. In retrospect, it may not have been the smartest move, but at the time it seemed like a good call.

And why was I shooting alone in a nearly deserted South Florida parking lot that was barely lit by the fluorescent light spilling out of the adjacent pharmacy? Because I somehow got it into my head that I could make our rental car - a bright red Chevrolet Impala that anyone's fedora-wearing grandpa would have been proud to own and drive - look sexy. I've done this before - indeed, the first Thematic ever featured a Toyota Yaris - and I wanted to give it a shot here, too. I'm ridiculous that way.

I grabbed a few reflective snaps before I packed the camera away and rejoined my brood inside the Walgreens. Where I promptly cracked the camera back out and resumed shooting. But that's a story for another day.

Your turn: How do you make the ordinary - in photography as well as in life - seem extraordinary?

Grinding at The Mill - A Personal Testimony

Blessings, grace and peace in Y'shua the Lord! This post is an announcement of the posting of a new page to TheOpenScroll.com titled Grinding at The Mill - A Miller's Testimony. It's a bit of personal testimony that some of you will find very personally relevant.

It is the telling of a story that may be seen as a parable. It's my testimony of what happened 40 years ago in the burned-over district of Upstate NY, a strange and dramatic incident that I have only very recently begun to understand.

Autographical


John Hancock was here
London, ON, June 2010
[Click here to share your own letters for this week's Thematic]

We normally don't allow complete strangers to sign our children's forearms. But we were willing to make an exception when members of the London Majors - our city's minor-league baseball team - held a workout with their school.

The team plays who in Labatt Park, the oldest continuously operating baseball stadium on the surface of the earth (sorry, it sounded more dramatic that way) and it was quite a kick for our kids to spend some time with them, just playing ball. Because enjoying the experience is what sports should be about.

Your turn: Do you have an autograph story to share?

Forgotten web


Temporary address
London, ON, October 2010
About this photo: Thematic is sharing letter-themed scenes all week long, and we'd love for you to share your own, too. Just go here to get the lettered party started.
You can't talk - or argue - about the fate of London's downtown core without including at least some mention of Dundas Street. This east-west artery is the backbone of the central retail district, and it runs from there clear through - and beyond - the east end of town.

Time has not been kind to this road, and a walk down its worn-down sidewalks can be more than a little depressing if you let it. But I've never much felt comfortable allowing a street to dictate my mood. And I'm a big fan of perspective.

I think that's because I grew up in a much bigger city, with a much bigger downtown, whose problems to this day seem to dwarf those of my adopted hometown. Indeed, when I went to school in Montreal, some of the crumbling streets there made London's Dundas Street on its worst day seem positively quaint in comparison.

Which is my way of saying even after a late-night stroll down a particularly sad stretch of Dundas, I remain convinced that this burg has nowhere to go but up. That it's only a matter of time before the planets align and folks with money and dreams return to this neighborhood and turn it back into the magnet it once was. I guess that makes me a dreamer. So be it.

For now, however, this now-abandoned URL stands as evidence of a future that once was.

Your turn: What does it take to return a neglected area back to what it once was?

Thematic Photographic 135 - Letters


A night at the movies
London, ON, February 2010
[Click here for more background on Thematic]

You read the title correctly, folks: Thematic is back! I took a bit of time off from our weekly photographic sharing activity (see here if this is all Swahili to you) because I think I needed a slight change of pace. But after being away from it for a couple of weeks, I realize I've missed it. I guess this crazy little photo-thing of ours has grown on me.

I'm going to make things easy for this week's theme: Anything with letters! That's it. If it's got something resembling an alphabet, in any language, in any form, in any order, then I hope you'll share it over the next week.

Your turn: Post a letter-themed pic on your site - or find something you've already posted online. Then leave a comment here telling folks where to find it. Repeat. Visit others. Drag your friends into the fray. Enjoy the highly cooperative, absolutely non-competitive process. Because it's all about finding new ways to view the world through a lens.

Imperfect


Shaky landing
London, ON, November 2010
About this photo: I've enjoyed my freeform photographic week, but it's time to get back to Thematic. New theme launches tomorrow (Thursday) night at 7:00 p.m. Suggestions welcome.
The scene: It's a bitterly cold night (10:18 p.m., if we're being precise) and I'm driving back from a day in Toronto. As I often do when I make the 200 km trip home, I get off the highway in Woodstock and drive the last 60 or so km on a regional road. I enjoy the slower pace, the occasional cruises through real small towns along the way, the feeling that I'm not just passing through at some ungodly speed. These little detours of mine remind me to slow down when I'm outside the car, too.

On the eastern fringe of London, the road passes pretty close to the end of one of the runways at London International Airport. And as luck would have it on this night, I saw lights in the distance as I approached the now-familiar spot. So I pulled over, grabbed my pocketcam and stepped into the finger-numbing darkness.

It quickly became apparent to me that I had brought a butter knife to a gunfight. The little camera, as much as I love it for its lovely and flexible lens and light weight, just wasn't built for all-manual, night-time shooting. From metering to composition to focusing, it just doesn't have the do-it-all ease of an SLR.

So the pictures didn't just suck. They Sucked. Big time. Blurry, badly exposed, horridly composed (visualization through an electronic viewfinder when your eyes are tearing from the cold and the tears are freezing on your eyelashes: bad idea.) I was tempted to dump them all off of the memory card.

Instead, I left them there to gather virtual dust for a few months. When I looked at them again earlier this week, I realized the perfection I originally envisioned when I saw the lights in the sky wasn't all it was cut out to be. Sometimes, the less-than-perfect result is the one that sticks with you long after the initial disappointment fades.

Besides, perfection's overrated.

Your turn: Is it? Why? Why not?

The train has left the station


A visit ends. A journey begins.
London, ON, September 2010

There's a mournful moment when you drop someone off at the train station, then hang around trackside as the cars pull away and slowly clickety clack into the distance. There's no one left behind but you because, let's face it, nobody except you hangs around train stations to wave goodbye to friends and family who, by this point, can't even see you standing there.

But still, you stand there. Because before you turn around and walk back into the rest of the world, you realize it's good for the soul to pause in this now-quiet place. Because you don't always have to be in a rush to get somewhere when you find yourself in between chapters of your day, or your life. And even if you are, whatever it is that's waiting for you can wait just a little longer.

Because it can take a while for the train to completely disappear and for the clickety clack to fade from your ears. And how often do you get back here to enjoy the moment?

Your turn: Do you ever stop and think?

This old man...

You can't rush art
Laval, QC
August 2009

This painting graced the living room of my parents' old house when I was growing up. Like so many other choices they made in interior decoration, I often wondered about this one. Mind you, I'm not one to judge, as I'm sure my own home isn't going to be featured on the cover of any magazine anytime soon, and I'm sure our kids have already come to their own conclusions about my decidedly limited sense of design.

Still, this particular work always haunted me, especially if I happened to glance up just before bedtime. I'm not sure what it was about him that gave me pause, but he always seemed to be watching me as I trundled around the big room.

The old man survived the move to my parents' condo and now casts glances on an entirely new generation of Levys. Whoever the artist is, I wish he/she knew how deeply ingrained this one work has become in the fabric of my life, and that of my family.

Funny how that works, isn't it?

This just in: My mom confirms that this painting was/is by an artist named David Pelbam (1932-2004). He was originally from Rhode Island, and specialized in paintings of sea captains, dockworkers and rabbis. According to his very sparse biography on AskArt.com, he did most of his work between 1950 and 1960.

Some items of note

Of all the news, what is being accomplished in the wake of Egypt's coup seems of the greatest import. The rise of apparent anarchy seems to have been in the plans for those who pull strings behind the scenes.

Here's some miscellaneous items of interest.

I Am a Cyborg and I Want My Google Implant Already (9/30/2010 - The Atlantic)

Brain Coprocessors - The need for operating systems to help brains and machines work together. (9/23/2010 Technology Review - MIT)

Don’t Be Evil? 10 Ways In Which Google Runs The World (2/18/2011 - Alex Jones' site)

Romania may get even tougher on witches (2/8/11 - Myway.com)

Does Gates funding of media taint objectivity? (2/19/11 - The Seattle Times)

Russia poised to breach mysterious Antarctic lake (2/4/11 - Reuters)

Stonehenge on a tree


Ancient bark
Laval, QC, August 2009
[Click photo to enlarge]

I like to repeatedly walk the same paths I've walked since I was a child, returning to places that have become so familiar that I could probably traverse them with my eyes closed.

For obvious reasons, I keep my eyes wide open. Aside from avoiding unplanned dunks in less-than-clean rivers and streams, it helps me see things that I probably missed beforehand. I guess I never learned to cross a place off my list simply because I had already "been there".

After all, you don't exhaust the potential of something - place, book, song, person, whatever - simply because you've only experienced it once. If that were the case, we'd never get past the first date.

And so it was on this walk along a path I'd been on countless times since I was a kid, I saw some bark that reminded me of this. Not sure how I missed seeing it before. No matter, as I'm sure I'll find something else on my next visit, too.

Your turn: Finding something new in the tried and true. Please discuss.

Let your kids play with fire


Mr. Sparkle
Deerfield Beach, FL, January 2011
[Click photo to embiggen]

There's a conventional wisdom that compels parents to keep their children from contacting, thinking about, initiating or even being in the room as anything remotely combustible. If my parents taught me one thing, it was to not play with fire.

So I had to ask myself if putting sparklers into my kids' hands just after the year ticked over from 2010 to 2011 was my smartest move as a parent. Sure, sparklers are supposedly considered the safest form of fireworks (at least according to the guy on the street corner who sold them to us.) But as I coached them to wave the burning sticks around in front of them while I stood there with my lens open, a couple of things dawned on me:
  1. These things burn hotter than the surface of the sun. Or at least they seem to.
  2. My children had absolutely no training in the use of hotter-than-the-sun combustibles.
  3. Neither did I.
  4. Neither did any of the other adults gathered around for this impromptu celebration of orbital mechanics.
Did that compel me to slam on the brakes? To grab these things out of their hands and stomp them out before they turned our kids into charcoal briquettes?

Nah. At some point, the parent-nanny-state needs to stop. So I quietly let them go about the business of being kids, minor risks and all. Because eventually they'll need to learn how to navigate the planet. And if they run into some sparklers - or worse - along the way, it'll be handy to know what it feels like to get a few stray sparks on their skin.

Your turn: The difference between being protective and being smothering. Please discuss.

Grammatically challenged

I'm not sure why stuff like this bothers me as much as it does. After all, I'm not sure how relevant a phenomenal command of the English language is when a runaway sewage pipe is in the midst of turning your beautifully finished basement into the second coming of the East River. If my plumber manages to stop the carnage, I'm perfectly willing to ignore his/her literacy skills.

Plumbers plumb, grammar wizards do their grammar-wizardry thing, and the two core comptetencies don't necessarily need to overlap. Still, things like this raise my blood pressure. You?

Angry bird


Low level flight
Delray Beach, FL, December 2010
[Click photo to embiggen]

I haven't posted the new Thematic theme because life's been getting in the way. Nothing onerous, mind you. Just a trip to a semi-faraway place and the inevitable upset to life's routine that results. I had pre-posted a bunch of stuff before I left, but in retrospect I probably should have had a few more days worth of content in the pipeline. I guess I'll get to Thematic by the weekend. New theme suggestions welcome.

I've chosen to share a bird photo because flying on planes always makes me wish I had the ability to take to the sky without Air Canada's help. After my flight home last night, where our friendly Dash-8 captain had to reject takeoff after misconfiguring a switch in the cockpit (I tweeted it here, here and here...it was quite the adventure), that wish to be more bird-like became that much stronger in me.

I've chosen this particular bird because he has such a focused look on his face. And in this era of Angry Birds - seriously, everyone was playing it on their phones at the airport - I thought it might be nice to see a real angry bird instead.

Your turn: Should we give him (her?) a name? Are you getting tired of my bird pics yet?

Who's playing Jeopardy? Hey, That's not just a game!

Jeopardy. Risk of loss or injury; peril or danger. This has never really been a very fitting name for the TV game show - until now! Last night, a special final round of Jeopardy was played, the third in a set of three rounds of a contest that matched two former champions with a newcomer named Watson. Watson won by a wide margin. This would be extraordinary - but what's really extraordinary is that Watson is a computer system!

'Jeopardy' III: Watson HALs his way with the humans (2/16/2011)

What this feat reveals is that man has already arrived at the place where we (IBM) can beat ourselves (the best of us) at our own game. By focusing and leveraging strengths in data management, many diverse kinds of applications can now be enhanced beyond what individual men may offer in the way of reliable speed and accuracy. Watson wasn't displaying perfection, but perfection wasn't required. The ability to harness artificial intelligence (AI) in the real world to exceed the capabilities of men has been proven in a fair arena. The testimony of the game winning Watson is that you are in JEOPARDY, human. Your days of having the illusion of dominion in the earth are numbered.

As this article reveals (IBM, Nuance Envision Watson Helping Doctors), "solutions" are already being sought in the health sector. I put the word in quotes because the only solution in sight is how to control mankind in such a way that there is no escape. I'll elaborate on the connection shortly, but I will note here how this compares to the Nazi "Final Solution." Some will escape as from that earlier version of the trap, but only with the Lord's intervention. Where Hitler had some success moving the devil's agenda forward, the next up will be assured the short term victory accorded the Beast in the book of Revelation.

Sentient machines and those that approach such a level are very familiar in popular culture, featuring heavily in the plots of the Matrix, Terminator, TRON, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Star Trek episode: The Ultimate Computer and many others. The fictional plot devices and doomsday scenarios should give us pause because there is a very real threat posed by trusting in technology with superior decision making abilities that is networked to weapons and/or vital services. What motivates men to continue in that direction is what compels us to rebel against our Creator and serve another, one who deceives us in our arrogance with the grand delusion that we are actually in control.

Some little known history and the meaning of the imagery involved should speak loudly about what Watson's game show victory really means. This comes not as a fearful reaction to fictional works but with the courage to look at the real world with faith in the Creator.

11) And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.
12) And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.
13) And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,
14) And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
15) And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.
Revelation 13:11-15

What kind of image of the beast is it that will be given power? A golem, a creature of clay? Son of Watson? The false prophet beast will have power from the dragon to give life to the image. Will the spirit of Nimrod, Apollo and Horus incarnate into such a form as networked circuitry? Will the advances in knowledge about sub-atomic particle physics and time-space and space-time portals being sought through the unprecedented CERN LHC effort ultimately result in weaponizing man in a war against his creator? It seems likely to me. Ray Kurzweil's projection for what he calls singularity is in view, is it not? If he knows what it really means, he's not letting on. If he doesn't make the supernatural connection, he, too, is in for a big surprise!

Since I brought up the connection, I'll take the opportunity to note how IBM and CERN both identify themselves with Eye of Horus logos.

The name of IBM's champion honors Thomas J. Watson Sr. and not Doyle's character of Sherlock Holmes fame. IBM is playing off that association, but the real world reference is to the famed Freemason from the Burned-Over District in NY. His leadership of IBM and strong support of Hitler's activity may be taken as a clue to where this Jeopardy stunt will lead. The image displayed on Watson's monitor during the show hearkens back to IBM's logo during the rise and rule of Hitler. That's the one where SIN may be seen over the globe of the Earth!

Here are some links and some video that present some relevant historical background. Connect the dots.

Probing IBM's Nazi connection (June 28, 2001)


One Mainframe To Rule Them All (1 of 5)




One Mainframe To Rule Them All (2 of 5)




One Mainframe To Rule Them All (3 of 5)




One Mainframe To Rule Them All (4 of 5)




One Mainframe To Rule Them All (5 of 5) (Credits)




Those of you who watch and take note of the significance of when signal events happen, today's date marking Watson's victory on the third day sums to thirteen.
2/16/2011 2+1+6+2+0+1+1 = 13
This is a primary BEAST number.



On a related note, Bill Clinton is coming to the University of Rochester in NY in October, 2011.
As you may have gleaned from The Open Scroll blog or Web site, he’s the stand-out candidate for 2 Thes 2’s lawless one in my mind because the Lord has been highlighting him for many years. He does the right things on the right days, according to a prescribed biblical pattern. The date of his planned engagement sums to 9, an important occult signal for the mark of the Beast transformation.

10/22/2011 1+0+2+2+2+0+1+1 = 9

By the way, the U of R is mostly about training the medical professionals through whom the mark of the Beast will be brought forth. See this blog series for more insight into why this is a noteworthy event. Rochester, NY and the gateway to High Falls

Former President Bill Clinton To Visit Rochester
President Bill Clinton to Deliver Keynote at Meliora Weekend 2011



One final item, concerning Apple. Snapshot of an Apple flash crash (2/10 - Apple 2.0 - Mac news from outside the reality distortion field)

About This Author - Philip Elmer-DeWitt - "Steve Jobs, goes the old joke at Apple, is surrounded by a reality distortion field; get too close and you might believe what he's saying. Apple has made believers out of millions of customers -- and made a lot of investors rich -- but Elmer-DeWitt believes that an ounce of skepticism never hurts when writing about the company. He should know. He's been covering Apple - and watching Steve Jobs operate -- since 1982."

A lost soul


Man of the streets
London, ON, October 2009
[Click here for more stranger-themed imagery]

I struck a bit of a nerve with my street-level observation, Mumbling strangers in our midst, the other day. I didn't have a picture then, as it was icy outside and holding a camera in my hand just didn't seem like the smartest thing. But that moment got me thinking, and I thought back to this picture, shot a year ago October, when I was walking the comparatively dry streets of downtown London with a camera in hand, deliberately looking for scenes to capture.

I remembered this man because I'd seen him many times before. He's a fixture in and around the core, seemingly spending his days covering the same streets, over and over. He never seems to go anywhere specific - at least not that I can see - but I'm guessing that isn't the point for him. Rather, the goal seems to be to fill the time, to make the days go by, to get to another nightfall still standing.

When I took this picture, he seemed undecided about where to go next. This man who likely knew the streets better than anyone had just spent at least five minutes standing at the intersection, walking a few steps in various directions before stopping and reconsidering. He said nothing and approached no one as he worked the plan out in his head.

As I stood quietly far away and watched the moment, I for some reason found myself wanting to know what he was thinking. I don't think the picture gave me any more insight, but I'm glad I took it all the same.

Your turn: So what was he thinking?

You looking at me?


Oops
Deerfield Beach, FL, December 2008
[Please click here to share your own pictures of strangers]

I'll likely never know if the woman in this shot knew I was taking her picture. I think she made eye contact with me, but beyond the furtive glance pictured here, she didn't respond more overtly. No screaming. No jumping out of her chair. No chasing me down the beach or trying to rip the memory card from my camera.

Still, I thought it was sweet that these two were having such a relaxing day at the beach, and I didn't want to forget what it felt like to stumble across a moment like this. You see all sorts of people at the beach, and some of them, even if they're total strangers, deserve more than just a passing glance.

Your turn: What makes a stranger worth remembering?

One more thing: I'm back in the air again today...heading to Minneapolis for a couple of days. Never been there. Don't know what to expect. Likely won't have a whole lot of time to explore, anyway, but I'll probably find a quick moment or two to snag some images on a memory card. As ever, I'll use the Internet to connect with home. I can't imagine being far from home and not being able to reach out with such ease.

Valentine's Day sucks. If you let it.

Pardon the link bait-ish headline. I have a rocky relationship with modern holidays designed to sell stuff, and this one's no different.



Be that as it may, it's never a bad thing when folks take the time to let each other know how they feel. We all need to feel loved and connected. It is, after all, a key ingredient of feeling whole.



As I tap away with my thumbs while getting ready for work, I can hear the house filling with V-day references. Even the dog is getting extra love. It's a smiley day, and heaven knows we all need as many of these as we can possibly get.



The sad thing about holidays like today is they are but one day. They're over so quickly that it's easy to lose the script until another year passes. We build up to this unsustainable moment. Then it's done. And so many of us forget the in-between, the other 364 days of the year when a kind word or paused moment would also make such a difference to those around us.



So, here's what I'm going to do. Today, I'll share the joy with the most important people in my life. Tomorrow morning, I'll do it again. And the next day. And the next and beyond. I won't wait until next February 14th to let them know how much they mean to me. I hope you won't wait, either.



Your turn: Thoughts?

Watching Snowbirds fly


Taxiing past
St. Thomas, ON, June 2009
[Click here to share your own view of the strangers among us.]

My favorite moment at any airshow is when a featured aircraft slowly taxis past the crowd. People's heads turn slowly toward the lumbering sound, as they hold their collective breath in a silent realization that something extraordinary is about to happen. The moment seems to take forever, as taxiing from an apron slot to the end of the runway can be a miles-long process. In today's instant-gratification world, where no one seems impressed by anything anymore, it's nice to see that some things can still captivate.

In the case of Canada's national aerobatic team, the Snowbirds (wiki, home page), multiply the anticipation by 9, as that's how many planes the team flies during the typical show. The Snowbirds were last here, just south of London, in 2009, and the kids are already talking about their next scheduled visit later this year.

On this afternoon, we found ourselves behind a fairly dense crowd of onlookers, and since we're polite Canadians, decided to hang back a bit and see what things looked like from the back. As it turns out, a little additional context sometimes adds a little something, I don't know, human, to the story.

Your turn: Ever get stuck at the back when you're shooting something? How do you work around it?

One more thing: More airshow/Snowbirds stuff here, here and here.

Oops, two: The Wings & Wheels Air Show that we attended in 2007 and 2009 has been renamed the Great Lakes International Air Show. If you're anywhere near southwestern Ontario June 24-26, drop us a line if you can make it down.

Part 22: Jezebel vs Sarah - "Shoe Leather" Status

I knew at the outset of this blog series that it would quickly become very personally challenging. I chose to engage even knowing how this would assure some very "awkward moments" and put many relationships at risk. Those of you whom the Lord has brought here to be engaged by this challenging series will find this very relevant. Such a venture can only end one way. Division must be brought forth.

32) Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven.
33) But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.
34) Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.
35) For I came to SET A MAN AGAINST HIS FATHER, AND A DAUGHTER AGAINST HER MOTHER, AND A DAUGHTER-IN-LAW AGAINST HER MOTHER-IN-LAW;
36) and A MAN'S ENEMIES WILL BE THE MEMBERS OF HIS HOUSEHOLD.
37) He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.
Matthew 10:32-37

The only reason anyone with a sane mind and in a healthy emotional state could be willing to put even these very precious relationships at risk is for love's sake. One is required to trust in the nature and character of the One who brings that sword.

He is worthy of our love. Do you believe that? I'd like to think I do, and when I look at what I say and actually do I have an answer that can be recognized when I'm willing. I'm still a hypocrite. Ouch. I'm still holding back. How about you? But, what has been brought forth in my life recently encourages me because I've been pulled out of a rut as one changed and still in the midst of this changing - and I'm very encouraged! The Lord has allowed me such vast mercy to see this day, when passing even this love test is in sight.

If you can't personally relate to what I'm writing, I want to invite and encourage you to join me in this way of love. Lift up your eyes to see past the loss and gaze upon the One who is truly calling out to you with this challenging invitation. I'm going to ask a question I've asked myself. When would you rather learn that you have been given a love test and failed? Sooner, or later? Later, when, like, after it's too late? Sorry, "Never" is not an option.

The passage continues.

38) And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.
39) He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it.
Matthew 10:32-39

Should we picture ourselves there if we can't pass the previous test? No. Not honestly.

With greater light comes greater discernment - and judgment. Unto whom much is given, much is required. Judgment comes upon me particularly as I am a teacher, and too it comes upon each of you as the Lord brings you to it. Now, judgment isn't bad, really, it's just necessary so the holy can be separated from the profane. Refining fire is required to separate the dross from the gold. Things get shaken so they can be sifted and the valuable separated from the common. I knew I needed it and know I still do. The Lord is not done with me yet. I also knew the Lord would use this work to bring it to others. As some of you are testifying, He has been faithful!

There were a number of situations that I perceive as precipitating this series when I consider it on a personal level. Now having reached the anticipated milestone and high water mark in this series, the Lord has prompted me to begin to follow up on some of those situations where relationships are involved, and to engage in similar ways with others, too. There may be more detail forthcoming about this very engaging activity, we shall see. For now, I'm just going to tell you that the walking out of these matters relating to Jezebel vs Sarah "in shoe leather" is what this is about. There is no cheating - there are no short cuts or discounts offered. The Lord is preparing a Bride, and perhaps some among us will be found worthy.

I can tell you that what has already been required of me hasn't been easy, but neither has it been too hard. I've reviewed what's in my home with the ability to inspect things as in the light of a brighter light bulb and made yet another trip to the trash bin. If something is not good enough for me, it's not good enough for anyone else I care about, so there's no passing things off to a friend or neighbor, thrift store or Craigslist shopper. I've reviewed links on my blog and Web site as in a brighter light and identified a few that had to go. No regrets. I've reviewed comments left on the blog and comment settings. Many comments didn't pass inspection, and neither did my comments settings.

I had configured the blog so anonymous comments could be submitted, but really, since a blog is a public forum and this blog in particular is about preaching and teaching, allowing anonymous comments encourages what would become speaking in church if the comment were posted. Sometimes, even distinguishing the gender of those who are not anonymous is difficult. It should go without saying but I'll say it because it's so important: If you have a profile online that relates to interaction on the basis of christian fellowship, you have a responsibility to correctly identify your gender.

If judgment in these actions had been done on the basis of perceived value, no changes would have been made and nothing tossed out or deleted. It's very liberating to come to the place where I can accept that I'm not being asked to make such a judgment. The basis for my action was simple obedience, doing what I know is the right thing to do. The only "perceived value" decision I had to make was regarding the value of obedience.

While what I just shared isn't an all-encompassing view into the issues of my life, those specific actions were recently taken at the Lord's direction. They were required of me to bring me to the next step. If you haven't followed through in such a way with what the Lord has prompted you about, let me encourage you to do so at this time. You can come back and finish reading here when you're done. I'll wait.

It occurs to me how we sometimes wait on the Lord in a matter where He is waiting on us to act. If you've been waiting on Him for something, it may be the Lord is waiting for you to do what He already directed you to do. When you've done it, then you'll get the next step.

To be continued, Lord willing.

Smile for grandma, dammit!


Peering over her shoulder
Deerfield Beach, FL, December 2008
About this photo: All week long, Thematic sticks its lens where it doesn't belong as we share perspectives on complete strangers. Click here to share your own.
I have no idea who this woman is, and I'm pretty sure I shot this picture-within-a-picture picture so quickly that she never knew I was even there. Which suits me fine, because I'm pretty sure she would have been creeped out if she knew someone had trained a lens on her camera's screen while she was trying to follow her grandchildren around the surf.

Be that as it may, there's an interesting vibe associated with being in an overtly public space because there's no way to fully isolate the private from the public. We don't haul around cubicle-like partitions with us, so it's entirely likely that we'll end up capturing others in the process - and likewise others will end up capturing us. Want to stay completely off the grid? Stay home.

On the plus side, it was a joy to see grandma, indeed any grandma, out and about with her kinderlings. This is, after all, what life is supposed to be about. Stranger or not, it was nice to see.

Your turn: So what's grandma thinking right about now?

Mumbling strangers in our midst

I've spent enough time living and working in relatively large cities to have developed a sixth sense for trouble. I can feel it more than I can see it, often from blocks away, which gives me more than enough time to find another way to get where I need to go. I'm heartless that way, and it disturbs me to no end.

And so it was today, as I walked back to my car at the end of the workday. I spotted him when he was barely a speck. It didn't take long to realize he wasn't all there, as he shuffled oddly from one leg to another, and carried an empty 1.5-litre plastic pop bottle in his right hand. His salt-and-pepper hair was curly, wild and long, backdropped by an equally salt-and-pepper overgrowth of beard. He spoke to himself, then in my direction as he realized our paths were about to cross.

I couldn't make out anything he was saying. I got the sense that merely hearing his own voice was enough to keep him moving down the street.

As he walked toward me, he looked straight at me and for a blink, seemed like he was going to approach me directly. I adjusted my path to stay on the other side of the street. Part of me was thankful the brutal cold of the past few days and nights had eased, so at least he could mumble and wander in relative comfort. The other part of me felt guilty that I had avoided him at all. I had followed my own instincts to avoid potential trouble with a troubled stranger, and in doing so I wondered if my avoidance, slight as it was, had even registered in his mind. I figured he was used to it, but it still gnawed at me as I got into my car, locked the door and headed for home.

Before long, I found myself walking into a house whose front door was crowded with a barking, wiggly dog, huggy kids and a really beautiful wife. I realize the unfairness of a world where some live in warm homes with happy families while others wander the streets, confused and alone. I get that mental illness claims more of us than we dare admit.

I don't have any magical answers to the random cruelties of our planet. I just wish I had a response more elegant than pure avoidance.

Your turn: Thoughts?

[For more thoughts and perspectives on strangers, please click over to this week's Thematic.]

Thematic Photographic 134 - Strangers


Teatime in...Boca?
Boca Raton, FL, December 2010

It's time to break a long-held photographic rule, the one that says you may not shoot strangers without their permission. Because to do so opens up a whole new layer of interpersonal complexity, with release forms and potentially irate mothers-in-law defining the two edges of the spectrum.

Since I began shooting, I've stayed away from pointing my lens at people I don't know. I couldn't be bothered with the hassle of obtaining permission, of explaining why, of being accused, in this litigious age, of being a stalker.

But something, perhaps a none-too-little dose of mischief, came over me while we were down south. Perhaps it was the total lack of structure, or the fact that I was out with the boys and we were in a grand adventure mood. But as we sat on a bench in the middle of the mall, this scene played out in the store before us. Before I knew it, my shutter finger was twitching.

Whether I should or shouldn't have taken the shot is almost immaterial now...I'm rolling the dice and posting it here because I like the result. My non-guilt notwithstanding, I was pleased to see that service still lives in the world of retail.

Your turn: You know the drill (if you don't, click here.) Shoot a stranger - with a lens, please - and post it to your blog. Drop a comment here, and share the joy with other participants by visiting their entries, too. Repeat. Drag your mother-in-law into the fray, because you know she secretly wants to take pictures of total strangers, too. Have fun with it, as we'll be getting ourselves into trouble with this one for the next week.

This old bridge


One span. One man.
London, ON, April 2009
About this photo: We're still taking submissions for this week's Thematic theme, singles. Please click here to share yours. What does this photo have to do with singles? Well, single span, with a single person standing on it, taking in the scene. It made for one (sorry) peaceful moment of reflection.
London's Blackfriars Street Bridge is 136 years old, with a wooden deck that needs replacement every few years. My wife hates when I drive over it, worried this ancient piece of engineering will toss us into the icky Thames River below. By any definition, it's obsolete and should have been replaced with a four-lane slab of concrete decades ago.

But it hasn't. And that's a good thing. In a relatively rare feat of historical sensitivity, the powers-that-be who lead our fair burg have decided that this bridge is worth keeping. Interestingly, despite pressure to reduce its function to a pedestrian bridge, relocate it to a petting zoo on the edge of town or turn it into a backdrop for a water slide park, the city has long insisted on keeping it open to regular vehicular traffic. Despite the challenges associated with keeping a century-plus-old bridge fit for the modern world, it somehow works.

Sadly, another old example of civic engineering, the single-lane Sarnia Road Bridge, is headed for a somewhat less charming fate. It's a mere 121 years old, 102 of those years spent in its current location over some railroad tracks. The road it carries, once a near-deserted country lane, now finds itself in the middle of a rapidly expanding suburb. And that 'burb needs four-lane concrete slabs no matter how charming the bridge may be.

The Sarnia Road Bridge is scheduled for dismantling later this spring in anticipation of a major road widening project. No word on where it'll end up, but talk of using pieces of it to - and I'm not making this up - cover a steam engine makes me wonder if perhaps the petting zoo wouldn't have been a better alternative.

I know that preserving history costs money. For Blackfriars, the numbers always worked out. For Sarnia, not so much. But it still stings. Soon we'll have but one span remaining, and even then I wonder how long that one will last before the city's resolve finally runs out.

Your turn: Why do we preserve history?

Light of the world


Light me up
London, ON, March 2010
About this photo: We continue to share single-themed photos as part of this week's Thematic. We'll be doing the single thing right through Thursday, so if you've been waiting by the sidelines, follow your mouse here. Even if you've already shared, you can always share again. That might turn your single into a double, or even a triple, but it's a chance we're willing to take.
Some photographers travel the world in search of the spectacular, the iconic, the famous. They capture scenes that have graced postcards since postcards were first invented - when were they invented, anyway? - as they continue to find ways to paint the familiar in unfamiliar tones.

I don't travel the world. Not much, anyway. I typically travel much closer to home, on the otherwise unremarkable backstreets of a town that most Canadians tend to forget. I don't shoot Eiffel Towers or Vegas strips. Instead, I shoot whatever I find, wherever I find it, no matter how unspectacular it may seem to anyone else.

I'm good leaving the big stuff to others largely because it's not as easy coaxing a moment out of an otherwise forgettable subject. And I've never been into the easy stuff, anyway.

There's a functional honesty in to the ordinary places, scenes and moments we encounter closer to home. Because while someone walking down the Champs Elysee stands a better-than-even chance of bringing something famous home on his/her memory card, only someone walking down a desolate street near a chicken processing plant has any chance at all of capturing the things that no one else ever would.

Besides, who says the lights that guide us home aren't iconic in their own right?

Your turn: How do you capture the ordinary - photographic or not - in your own life?

Part 16 - See, it's the "i" of Horus! Intel, eyeBM and Micron

This survey of "i" of Horus imagery continues with more examples from big players in the high tech sector. These company's products generally feature integrated circuits. These are known as ICs. Hmmmmmm. Suitable enough! Eye Sees!

The Intel logo features the Eye of Horus in several ways. The dot of the i is part of an orbital trace that signals this as the "i" of Horus. The elliptical trace encircles the company name to form the outline of a large eye. Adding the registered trademark symbol brings the total to three distinct eye of Horus symbols. The ® appears at the same height as the dot in the i, making it a left eye opposite its matching right eye. Since the dot in the i is associated with the big encircling eye, it "sees better" than the little ®, signaling Horus "who rules with two eyes."

The letter "t" is called out by showing only one side of the cross. The other side is there but it's been displaced, appearing as the square that dots the i. The t is in the center of the big eye and is graphically linked to it through the "i." These features identify it as a portal and symbol of genetic transformation. A cross represents the union of the sons of god (vertical) with the daughters of men (horizontal).

The official meaning of Intel's name is Integrated Electronics. Their tagline has long been "Intel Inside" or some close derivative. If we take their identification with the eye of Horus seriously, their name and slogan is recognized as signaling that the mark of the Beast is what they're really about. Their business is microprocessors. An implanted microchip (PositiveID) is based upon this technology, the word "microchip" being an abbreviated form of "microprocessor chip." Microprocessors are one facet of the technology that is becoming the mark of the Beast. If you take the mark, receiving the implant, you'll have what is meant by "Intel Inside." "Integrated Electronics" indeed, on a personal level!

One of the facets of the mark of the Beast facilitated by this microprocessor technology is surveillance, as observing with an all-seeing eye. With GPS tracking capability and the ability to be read remotely without the subject's knowledge or permission (which capabilities are already being leveraged in the marketplace), an "Intel Inside" kind of chip will provide what's referred to by some agencies as intel, betraying the recipient's identity and whereabouts to whomsoever might be authorized to access and monitor data acquired by the connected networks. When I listen to their four note [mp3] mnemonic jingle now, I put some fitting words to it: "Mark of the Beast"!

Now, if you look at a registered trademark or copyright symbol and think, "There's no way that's an eye of Horus," that it's just an innocent little symbol, you should consider whether there really is such a thing as an innocent symbol. Some symbols may be presented in relative ignorance but, even then, that doesn't make them innocent as devoid of meaning and evil influence. Consider how there is no legal requirement to associate a registered trademark symbol with a logo. Visit some big name corporate Web sites; some have it, some don't. Its appearance seems to depend less upon whether it's a registered trademark than whether the eye of Horus enhances or detracts from what the logo is intended to signal.

IBM, eyeBM, I be M and I BM

While this ad and version of IBM branding doesn't have the swirl, I'm including it here because the company has close ties to Intel. Its also fitting because this rather obvious "i" of Horus variation of their more conventional logo leverages the ® to present a second eye. This eye compares to the illuminated (radiant sun rays) globe-eye with eyelashes that dots the big i as the lesser of the pair, signaling Horus "who rules with two eyes." Hello eyeBM!

This ad hints at 9 on the left to balance the opposing stylized "9th letter of the alphabet" i. There are three lines, the first two of which begin with "Three." We subconsciously follow the subliminal lead to infer the third line as another three, completing the nine. The third line prompts us to "Take the interactive tour" that apparently will get us beyond line two's hint at illumination and gnosis ("smarter solutions"). The two lines that suggest the content and purpose of the third appear in the same "Osiris" capstone green as the illuminated globe-eye. Hint. Hint. Check your wallet for a match on that. Hint. Hint.

The usual orientation of the IBM logo is horizontal and its standard is white on black. I puzzled over what the line art construction meant until I recognized them as blinds, Venetian blinds, a window covering. This is how the eye of Horus illumination is pictured, as light coming in through the blinds, actually through an implied window, a portal. There are eight white lines, but 9 in the blinds that frame them, giving the right numerics for occult signaling. The subtle eye of Horus features make the muted registered trademark a complementary eye.

The bars effect also smacks of a bar code, which presents us with myriad connections to such as DNA barcodes, the Hollerith punch card (see below) and similar data logging and tracking technologies that all point to the mark of the Beast network and genetic portal.

If you are familiar with the history of IBM's Thomas Watson Sr. (from the Burned Over District in NY) and the Hollerith punch card you are already aware of his support of Hitler and the Nazi Party. The Nazi data management facilitated by IBM and the Hollerith system should be seen as a precursor to the coming mark of the Beast implementation.

Hitler had the swastika brand, a sun wheel and Apollo or Horus symbol, as you may recall from an earlier series on the Olympic rings logo. Watson, a Freemason, had his comparable branding.

The version you see here represented IBM from 1924 to 1946. It has a swirl, but it's not calling out an i, just an eye. It's supposed to be the globe of the Earth. Can you see SIN exalted over the Earth? A band wraps around the equator, the area through which the sun oscillates to mark off 46 degrees, 23 above and 23 below. This signifies the sun god's rule over his global/international domain. It doesn't take much imagination to "connect the dots," suggesting that "business machines" refers to those of us who dutifully engage in the activities of Mystery Babylon and serve in the pharmakeia of the wand of the god of commerce Hermes, perhaps the chief facilitator of Horus. At the top of the equatorial band is a line that appears to give the graphic depth. This line accentuates the ellipse as a feature and makes the graphic appear as an eye.

The acronym IBM stands for International Business Machines but consider it as a literal declaration of identity: "I be M," or, "I am M." Who or what is M?

The M is leveraged in occult signaling with layers of powerful symbolism. Sometimes the two points on top are used to signify horns as of the devil. Depending on the form, an M might present a central downward pointing delta with adjoining upward deltas to signal the daughters of men with the sons of god. The M is perhaps most notably the 13th letter of the alphabet, and the number thirteen that means "lord" and "rebellion" signals the rebel Beast. Because M is a sideways numeral 3, another key set of elements is imported; the third eye, regeneration or resurrection and the triple helix transformation of the mark of the Beast. By counting all the points on an M, the two on top and three on the bottom present the number 23, signaling through this sex chromosome number the sexual reproduction and genetic transformation aspect of the mark. Also, I believe M is for Man and W is for Woman. "I be M"

Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.
Revelation 13:18

The letter "B" presents a 23 because its the 2nd letter of the alphabet and a numeral 3 is implicit, formed on its right. Its also a 13 as a 1 and 3 stuck together. You can now perceive another declaration of identity, "I BM." Both B and M have 13 and 3 and 23 numeric features in common. If we assign the 23 value to the B and the M it reads, "I 23+23" in a self-reference to man's 46 chromosome body, with a beast transformation in its future. IBM says a lot with very little.

There's more to be seen in the evolution of the IBM logo, but not in this post. I'm not even going to mention how the strict uniformity of the appearance of its personnel (dark pin-striped suit, white shirt, quiet tie, wing-tips) made the IBM corporate culture stand out as something of a collective, or how the "think" motto was ever in view (intellectual enlightenment). Uh, oops. I just did. :)


Micron

In Micron's logo, the i is "dotted" with the orbital trace, calling it out as an "i" of Horus. The invisible satellite is orbiting the stylized letter M, tracing the elliptical outline of an eye. The ® forms another eye that, as with the Intel logo, matches to its opposing partner as a lesser eye to signal Horus "who rules with two eyes."

The letter M is styled with a longer leg that gives the graphic an extra dynamic. Surrounded by the swirling eye, the M is pictured passing through the eye portal. You already know about the M. Micron's logo is signaling the third eye portal!

Micron is the parent company of Crucial, whose c-ing "i" logo and branding has recently been addressed at some length. Hey, Crucial is kind of a chip of the old block. :)

What's not funny is how the eye of Horus branding is so dominant. When the time comes for the mark to be offered, those who have continually bought in to the scheme will have no awareness of the real danger, and no ability to resist. If the eyes of your understanding are being enlightened (Ephesians 1:18) you may want to give some of those around you a chance to see themselves as the prey they truly are in this deadly scheme. It matters.

Single family dwelling

We came across this rather well used Ford Escape in a south Florida parking lot. I was hanging with the kids, zinging them between lunch, beach and family, and enjoying every minute of it. The mood in the car was playful as we figured out our next move, writing the day's script as we went along.



It was about as carefree a day as we'd had in a while, a welcome break from the usual routines of family life back home. On this day, there was no school and no work. There was also no one to visit in hospital, no trips to cemeteries and no unexpected phone calls. They could be kids again.



That all changed after we parked the car near this star-struck SUV. Our daughter noticed it first, wondering aloud at a sight she'd never seen back home. I carefully explained how this seemed to be someone's home, that cars often become homes for those who have no other option.



Our kids paused beside the car, no doubt wondering what separated them from the unseen soul who had filled it beyond the door sills with the leftovers of a challenging life. Needless to say, the inside of this car wasn't as happy as the one we'd just exited. How could it be?



I stopped talking as they watched. They needed to experience the reality without Dad's embellishment. They were - and are - smart enough and sensitive enough to figure out for themselves how lucky they are, and how the lessons they've been learning all their lives - charity, community, empathy among them - often present themselves in jarring ways when they least expect it.



Another life lesson I wish the world didn't have to teach them.



Your turn: How do you explain homelessness to a child?
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