Category Archives: …and other stuff

miscellaneous postings by Lawrence R. Spencer

...and other stuff, ART, INSIDE THE BOOK, PAN-GOD OF THE WOODS, READING MATTER, THE OZ FACTORS, UNIVERSES

READ WITHOUT EYES

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As lovers of learning and literature know all of the best fantasy, science fiction, history, romance, imagery, imagination and revelation are contained in books.  The content of movies and TV shows are often spewed from minds who pander the prurient interests to the lowest common denominators of money and mayhem.  The finest thoughts, the highest aspirations and the flightiest heights of imagination are dreamed and written by artists who write books.

Unfortunately, as my body grows older, I find that it is increasingly difficult to read books.  Diminishing eye sight, arthritis in my neck, bad back and insufficient time makes reading books more difficult.  Thank the gods, and technology for the wonderful inventions of MP 3 players and AUDIO BOOKS!

Now I can download and listen / read a vast array of literature on audio books, read to me by the some of the most talented actors:  it’s better than a bed-time story!  And I can listen to books while driving, waiting in the dentist office, walking around, sitting in the park and muti-tasking in general.  Personally, I’ve listened to more books during the past two years than I read in the previous five years.

Thanks to audio books I’ve been able to read books that I probably wouldn’t have read previously due to the sheer size and expense of the books, some of which are several thousand pages in length! Free audio books, in the public domain, are available from www.Librivox.org.   And, a vast library of books read by professional actors is available from www.Audible.com.   The most important (FREE) source of audio books is your local public library.  More and more books are available of CDs and cassette tapes every day.  I use and recommend all of these.

As for subject matter, here are some of the books I listened to recently that are my personal favourites:

All 7 books of THE LENSMAN SERIES, written by E.E. “Doc” Smith  (I consider these to be the finest science and science fiction books ever written). I listened to most of them twice!

All of the Sherlock Holmes books written by Arthur Conan Doyle  (most of these I read previously, but audio books make them more fun)

American Gods and The Anansi Boys by the magical Neill Gaimon.

Enders Game by the marvellous science fiction writer, Orson Scott Card

The Autobiography of Mark Twain, a compilation of his autobiographical writings and commentary.

Any of the legion of electrifyingly frightening books by the fantastic fiction writer, Dean Koontz.

Under the Dome by Stephen King.

The Decline and Fall of The Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon.  One of the finest works of historical commentary ever produced.

The Republic by Plato is the pre-eminent discussion of the philosophy and culture of Western Civilization, written in 368 B.C.E.

Mien Kamph by Adolph Hitler.  This is a ‘must’ read if you care to understand the demented ‘logic’ of a demonic Germanic mind.

The Confession by John Grisham.  This is a damning diatribe, written as fiction, on the subject of capital punishment.

The Story of Philosophy by Will Durant. This is a marvelous perusal of the entire subject of Western philosophers.

The complete writings of the Father of the American Revolution,  Thomas Paine.

The Tao Te Ching by Lao-Tze.  (The new English translation)

At the moment I’m listening to Fall of Giants by Ken Follett.

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Good listening!  Lawrence R. Spencer

...and other stuff, ART, MOVING PICTURES, POETIC NONSENSE, SOUNDS, UNIVERSES

INFLATABLE THOUGHT

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Morbidus: an inflatable thought about the weight of creativity on individuals…..

Morbidus

 

Morbidus for IdN / Animation from Dvein on Vimeo.

Dvein together with Marc Teitler have created a colourful drama to celebrate the 100th issue of IdN magazine (http://idnworld.com/100/).

CREDITS
Direction & Animation: Dvein (www.dvein.com)
Music & Sound Design: Marc Teitler (http://www.marcteitlermusic.com)

...and other stuff, ART, LIVES, PICTURE POEMS, READING MATTER, The Real Johannes Vermeer, THE VERMEER WOMEN, UNIVERSES, VERMEER REVEALED

MY PERSONAL MONA LISA

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“Much like Leonardo da Vinci, I worked intermittently on this single painting over a period of many years, never satisfied that it was finished, and continually improving upon the original.  This painting is my personal Mona Lisa, my daughter, Maria.

We had a live-in servant for many years, named Tanneke Everpoel, hired and paid by Maria Thins.  She did all of the “heavy labor”, as it were: cooking, cleaning, washing clothes, carrying water, tending fires, and a myriad other chores, including helping with the children.  However, the expense of paying her wage and room did not include standing for endless hours, day after day, while I painted this portrait!  My daughter, Maria, was lovelier and much more readily accessible for the task of standing for this portrait.

It is argued, convincingly, that the immortal painting by Leonard was his own self-portrait as his own, feminine  reflection. What man, or woman, regardless of sexual preference in a given lifetime, has not inhabited the flesh of ten thousand bodies, some human, many not, through  a nearly infinite cascade of galaxies, stars and planets come and gone.  Is not survival a nearly infinite game, in which we interchange ourselves as the players of many parts?

Leonard kept his portrait with him all his life.  He never considered that it was complete or perfect.  Nor did he ever intend to sell it.  How could one sell a most cherished reflection of himself?  It is more meaningful than one’s own body, which only disguises the inner self, the essence of spirit that animates the fragile flesh.

In fact, a body hides the reflection of the soul!  How can any substance, especially that as rude and fragile as meat, reveal the inherent qualities an immortal nothingness?  Indeed, it is the fundamental challenge and the most formidable task of an artist to reveal it!

The name given to this painting by others, “The Milkmaid”, is a sacrilege!   It rivals the incomprehension others have for Leonardo’s personal masterpiece.  Yet, how can anyone truly understand that a painting is meant to reflect the  essence of an immortal being, seen through the eyes of another?

She is painted with angelic colors: blue, gold and white, in contrast to the menial nature of her station in life.  From her issues, for me, the Milk and Bread of Life.  Life is embodied in her and through her.  Women, are the source of children, the source of energy, the source of care.  There is no more vital responsibility for any being who plays the game of life, than to confront dreary daily tasks.  To humbly make the daily loaf.  To soak that bread, mix and soften it with milk, make it warm and feed it to a teething child.  Survival is made of such things.

In those days I viewed life as idyllic.  My dreams were more real than reality.  All things were a possibility.  Tragedy could not find me.  Until it did, of course.  Even when we lost a child, which we did with several, my wife, Catharina, remained resolute in her Faith.  God guided us.  He did what was best.  We knew not why and need not question His purpose for us.

I have no such faith in predetermination.  A loaf of grain, clean water and a bed was my fare.  Time and a place to paint, uninterrupted, were necessities.  My love, shared with wife and family, was the staple diet of my life.  I assumed, as a Fool who knows not his own mortality, that they would endure, even when I was gone.”

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Excerpt from the book VERMEER: PORTRAITS OF A LIFETIME, by Lawrence R. Spencer

DOWNLOAD THIS BOOK FROM
http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/vermeer/id443800993?mt=11 

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...and other stuff, ALIEN INTERVIEW BOOK, FREE ADVICE, INSIDE THE BOOK, LIVES, READING MATTER, UNIVERSES

SEXUAL ATTRACTION

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SEXUAL ATTRACTION

“The core concept behind ‘sexual reproduction’ technology was the invention of a chemical/electronic interaction called “cyclical stimulus-response generators”. [i] (Footnote)  This is an programmed genetic mechanism which causes a seemingly spontaneous, recurring impulse to reproduce. The same technique was later adapted and applied to biological flesh bodies, including Homo Sapiens.

Another important mechanism used in the reproductive process, especially with Homo Sapiens type bodies, is the implantation of a “chemical-electrical trigger” mechanism [ii] (Footnote) in the body.  The “trigger” which attracts IS-BEs to inhabit a human body, or any kind of “flesh body”, is the use of an artificially imprinted electronic wave which uses “aesthetic pain” to attract the IS-BE.

Every trap in the universe, including those used to capture IS-BEs who remain free, is “baited” with an aesthetic electronic wave.  The sensations caused by the aesthetic wavelength are more attractive to an IS-BE than any other sensation.  When the electronic waves of pain and beauty are combined together, this causes the IS-BE to get “stuck” in the body.  The “reproductive trigger” used for lesser life forms, such as cattle and other

mammals, is triggered by chemicals emitted from the scent glands, combined with reproductive chemical-electrical impulses stimulated by testosterone, or 

These are also interactive with nutrition levels which cause the life form to reproduce more when deprived of food sources.  Starvation promotes reproductive activity as a means of perpetuating survival through future regenerations, when the current organism fails to survive.  These fundamental principles have been applied throughout all species of life.”estrogen. [iii] (Footnote)

— Excerpt from the Top Secret transcripts published in the book ALIEN INTERVIEW

[i]  “…”cyclical stimulus-response generators”.  

“Fixed Action Pattern (FAP) is an instinctive behavioral sequence that is indivisible and runs to completion. Fixed action patterns are invariant and are produced by a neural network known as the innate releasing mechanism in response to an external sensory stimulus known as a sign stimulus or releaser.

ALIEN INTERVIEWA mating dance may be used as an example. Many species of birds engage in a specific series of elaborate movements, usually by a brightly colored male. How well they perform the “dance” is then used by females of the species to judge their  fitness as a potential mate. The key stimulus is typically the presence of the female.

Although fixed action patterns are most common in animals with simpler cognitive capabilities, humans also demonstrate fixed action patterns. For example, infants grasp strongly with their hands as a response to tactile stimulus.”

Reference:  Wikipedia.org
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[ii]   “…chemical-electrical trigger” mechanism…”

“A taxis (plural taxes) is an innate behavioural response by an organism to a stimulus. A taxis differs from a tropism (turning response, often growth towards or away from a stimulus) in that the organism has motility and demonstrates guided movement towards or away from the stimulus. It also differs from a kinesis, a non-directional change in activity in response to a stimulus that results in the illusion of directed motion due to different rates of activity depending on stimulus intensity.

For example, flagellate protozoans of the genus Euglena move towards a light source. Here the directional stimulus is light, and the orientation movement is towards the light. This reaction or behaviour is a positive one to light and specifically
termed “positive phototaxis”, since phototaxis is a response to a light stimulus, and the organism is moving towards the stimulus. If the organism moves away from the stimulus, then the taxis is negative. Many types of taxis have been identified and named using prefices to specify the stimulus that elicits the response. These include anemotaxis (stimulation by wind), barotaxis (pressure), chemotaxis (chemicals), galvanotaxis (electrical current), geotaxis (gravity), hydrotaxis (moisture), phototaxis (light), rheotaxis (fluid flow), thermotaxis (temperature changes) and thigmotaxis (physical contact).

Chemotaxis is a migratory response elicited by chemicals. Unicellular (e.g. protozoa) or multicellular (e.g. worms) organisms are targets of the substances. A concentration gradient of chemicals developed in a fluid phase guides the vectorial movement of responder cells or organisms.

Electrotaxis is directional movement of motile cells in response to a electric field. It has been suggested that by detecting and orientating themselves toward the electric fields.  This notion is based on 1) the existence of measurable electric fields that naturally occur during wound healing, development and regeneration; and 2) cells in cultures respond to applied electric fields by directional cell.”

— Reference:  Wikipedia.org

[iii] “… reproductive chemical-electrical impulses stimulated by testosterone or estrogen.”

“Testosterone is a steroid hormone from the androgen group. In mammals, testosterone is primarily secreted in the testes of males and the ovaries of females, although small amounts are also secreted by the adrenal glands. It is the principal male sex hormone and an anabolic steroid.

The period of the early 1930’s to the 1950’s has been called “The Golden Age of Steroid Chemistry”, and work during this period progressed quickly. Research in this golden age proved that this newly synthesized compound — testosterone — or rather family of compounds (for many derivatives were developed in the 1940’s, 50’s and 60’s), was a potent multiplier of muscle, strength, and wellbeing

In both men and women, testosterone plays a key role in health and well-being as well as in sexual functioning.

The human hormone testosterone is produced in greater amounts by males, and less by females. The human hormone estrogen is produced in greater amounts by females, and less by males.  On average, an adult human male body produces about forty to sixty times more testosterone than an adult female body.

Testosterone causes the appearance of masculine traits (i.e deepening voice, pubic and facial hairs, muscular build, etc.) Like men, women rely on testosterone to maintain libido, bone density and muscle mass throughout their lives.”

— Reference:  Wikipedia.org

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VISIT THE WEBSITE and BLOG for the book at www.alieninterview.org and www.alieninterview.org/blog