The future is already here –

 it's just not evenly distributed 

 

The future is there... looking back at us. 

Trying to make sense of the fiction we will have become.

 

Man has no automatic code of survival. 

His particular distinction from all other living species is the necessity to act in the face of alternatives by means of volitional choice. 

He has no automatic knowledge of what is good for him or evil, 

what values his life depends on,

 what course of action it requires...

Man must obtain his knowledge and choose his actions by a process of thinking, 

which nature will not force him to perform.

 

There is no conflict of interests among men, 

neither in business nor in trade nor in their most personal desires—

if they omit the irrational from their view of the possible and destruction from their view of the practical?

 

Sweep aside those hatred-eaten mystics, who pose as friends of humanity and preach that the highest virtue man can practice is to hold his own life as of no value. 

Do they tell you that the purpose of morality is to curb man’s instinct of self-preservation? 

It is for the purpose of self-preservation that man needs a code of morality. 

The only man who desires to be moral

 is the man who desires to live.

 

Yes, this is an age of moral crisis.

Yes, you are bearing punishment for your evil. 

But it is not man who is now on trial and it is not human nature that will take the blame.

 It is your moral code that’s through, this time.

 Your moral code has reached its climax, 

the blind alley at the end of its course. 

And if you wish to go on living, 

what you now need is not to return to morality—

you who have never known any—

but to discover it.

 

A being of volitional consciousness has no automatic course of behaviour. 

He needs a code of values to guide his actions. 

‘Value’ is that which one acts to gain and keep, 

'virtue’ is the action by which one gains and keeps it.

 ‘Value’ presupposes an answer to the question:

 of value to whom and for what?

 'Value’ presupposes a standard, 

a purpose and the necessity of action in the face of an alternative. 

Where there are no alternatives, no values are possible.

 

Neither life nor happiness can be achieved by the pursuit of irrational whims. 

Just as man is free to attempt to survive in any random manner, 

but will perish unless he lives as his nature requires,

 so he is free to seek his happiness in any mindless fraud,

 but the torture of frustration is all he will find,

 unless he seeks the happiness proper to man.

 The purpose of morality is to teach you, 

not to suffer and die,

 but to enjoy yourself and live.

 

No, you do not have to live as a man; 

it is an act of moral choice. 

But you cannot live as anything else—

and the alternative is that state of living death 

which you now see within you and around you,

 the state of a thing unfit for existence, 

no longer human and less than animal, 

a thing that knows nothing but pain 

and drags itself through its span of years 

in the agony of unthinking self-destruction.

 

Whatever the degree of your knowledge, 

these two—existence and consciousness—

are axioms you cannot escape, 

these two are the irreducible primaries implied in any action you undertake,

 in any part of your knowledge and in its sum,

 from the first ray of light you perceive at the start of your life

 to the widest erudition you might acquire at its end.

 

There is no conflict, and no call for sacrifice, and no man is a threat to the aims of another—

if men understand that reality is an absolute not to be faked, 

that lies do not work,

 that the unearned cannot be had, 

that the undeserved cannot be given,

 that the destruction of a value which is,

 will not bring value to that which isn’t.

 

It’s not that I don’t suffer, 

it’s that I know the unimportance of suffering, 

I know that pain is to be fought and thrown aside, 

not to be accepted as part of one’s soul 

and as a permanent scar across one’s view of existence.

 

Life is a process of self-sustaining and self-generated action. 

If an organism fails in that action, it dies...

It is only the concept of ‘Life’ that makes the concept of 'Value’ possible.

 It is only to a living entity that things can be good or evil.

 

 "It's better to ask for forgiveness than for permission"

 It's not always possible to seek permission before making decisions 

and you won't get it right every time.

In those cases, you'll need to seek forgiveness. 

You hope your friend, your family member will understand you tried your best. 

You hope they'll show you grace. 

Asking yourself for forgiveness can be even harder. 

We carry the burden of our past mistakes. 

But if you let them go, you can soar.

 

Pain, 

you just have to fight through, 

because the truth is 

you can't outrun it, 

and life always makes more.

 

To think is an act of choice. 

The key to what you so recklessly call ‘human nature,’

 the open secret you live with, yet dread to name, is the fact that man is a being of volitional consciousness.

 Reason does not work automatically;

 thinking is not a mechanical process;

 the connections of logic are not made by instinct.

 

Happiness is the successful state of life, pain is an agent of death. 

Happiness is that state of consciousness which proceeds from the achievement of one’s values. 

A morality that dares to tell you to find happiness in the renunciation of your happiness—

to value the failure of your values is an insolent negation of morality

 

You have sacrificed justice to mercy. 

You have sacrificed independence to unity.

 You have sacrificed reason to faith. 

You have sacrificed wealth to need. 

You have sacrificed self-esteem to self-denial.

 You have sacrificed happiness to duty.

 

they have taught man that he is a hopeless misfit made of two elements, both symbols of death. 

A body without a soul is a corpse, a soul without a body is a ghost—

 yet search is there image of man’s nature: 

the battleground of a struggle between a corpse and a ghost 

a corpse endowed with some evil volition of its own 

and a ghost endowed with the knowledge that everything known to man is non-existent, 

that only the unknowable exists.

 

What good would it do me, to have your physical presence without any meaning? 

That's the kind of faked reality by which most people cheat themselves of their lives.

 

You have reached the blind alley of the treason you committed when you agreed that you had no right to exist.

 Once, you believed it was "only a compromise": you conceded it was evil to live for yourself, but moral to live for the sake of your children. 

Then you conceded that it was selfish to live for your children, but moral to live for your community. 

Then you conceded that it was selfish to live for your community, but moral to live for your country. 

Now, you are letting this greatest of countries be devoured by any scum from any corner of the earth, 

while you concede that it is selfish to live for your country 

and that your moral duty is to live for the globe.

 

ritual. 

t's a way to shut out the rest of the world and mentally prepare.

 no matter how experienced you are, it's never easy 

no room for self-doubt. 

You have to silence that small voice that says you aren't ready. 

Because if you wait to make a move until you're ready, you might never leave the starting gate.

 You simply have to trust you'll be able to weather the storm. 

Whatever that storm may be.

Mr Olympia

 

1992 

Dorian 

Kevin 2nd 

Shawn 4th 

1993 

Dorian 

Flex 2nd

 Shawn 3rd

 Kevin 5th 

1994 Dorian

 Shawn 2nd 

Kevin 3rd 

no Flex 

1995 

Dorian 

Kevin 2nd

 Nasser 3rd 

Shawn 4th

 Flex 8th 

1996 Dorian 

Shawn 2nd 

Kevin 3rd 

Flex 4th 

Ronnie 5th 

Nasser scored 3rd disqualified 

otherwise 96 would be 

Dorian 

Shawn 2nd 

Nassar 3rd 

Kevin 4th 

Flex 5th 

Ronnie 6th 

a chance to have them all together in a classic lineup

 1997 

Dorian last Olympia

 Nasser 2nd 

Shawn 3rd

 Kevin 4th

Ronnie 9th

------------------------

Kevin came second to Dorian in 92, as said here, Dorian's first win 

Kevin came second again in 95 

He, Shawn, Flex and Nasser were the guys "fighting for second place"

 there were others there of course, Vince Taylor, Chris Cormier, Paul Dillett to name a few, however these were the Big Four who were going to place after Dorian on stage and switching places with each other over those six years T

hen of course in 98 Ronnie overtook them all and stayed there

-----------------------

96 may well have been the best year ever 

Shawn came second for the second time, having done so in 94, and dropped to 4th in 95 

Kevin came second in 95, the second time he had done so after 92

 Nasser, despite being disqualified had placed 3rd again, just as he did in 95 

Shawn and Kevin, were either side of Nasser being 2nd and 4th, and these switched over the three year period (Nassar did not place in 94) 

Ronnie got onto the final six for the first time so we could see him up against the Big Four plus Dorian himself 

Nobody realised that Ronnie would be Dorian's successor, everyone thought it would have been one of the Big Four in 97, Ronnie ended up back down at 9th, and Nasser placed second to Dorian 

Flex came second to Dorian once, in 93, and a lot of people had him as next Mr O, and he came second to Ronnie in 98 

Nasser came 3rd 

Kevin and Shawn switched places yet again

------------------

Superman

 

 "Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound" this was the famous quote from the George Reeves black and white show - and these were Superman's original powers as they were shown in the comics and in the first shows

 These powers were down to gravity - just like John Carter

 Similar to Spiderman's strength being proportional - a spider or an ant can lift 50 times it's body weight

 It is never properly explained how Superman can fly - the yellow sun radiation being stored and used by him is what the later and modern writers rely on - but there is no "scientific" theory behind self powered flight 

Of course lots of superheroes later have flight 

In Man Of Steel Jor El explains about the earth's yellow sun being younger that Kryptons red sun and that his cells absorb the rays he also says "the gravity is lighter but the atmosphere is more nourishing" all these add up to the explanation - at least for this version

In the comics Krypton orbits a red sun while earth orbits a yellow sun 

This has been carried over into the most recent movies 

In Man Of Steel, Jor El says Earth's yellow sun is younger than Krypton's red sun

 In 2025 Superman he uses the machine with yellow sun radiation to heal, and explains that Supergirl can't he drunk under the yellow sun so goes to a red sun planet

 People write about "the sun is white and looks yellow due to the air, etc" 

However, even if the early comic writers got the sun colour thing wrong, DC has decided to keep it to this day 

So in the DC Universe - a FICTIONAL Universe, Earth has a yellow sun, and Krypton has a red sun 

There are different coloured suns, same as there is different coloured Kryptonite, and they have different effects

hypocrisy

 

 We tell our kids to chase their dreams as we constantly question our life choices. 

We love fixing everyone's problems. 

But don't ask us to fix our own. 

Sometimes hypocrisy catches up to us. 

That's when things get interesting. 

Will you stay the course? 

Keep on keeping on? 

Business as usual? 

Or take your own advice and change for the better?

 

Existence is Identity, 

Consciousness is Identification.

 

If any part of your uncertainty 

is a conflict between your heart and your mind

—follow your mind.

 

Man’s life, as required by his nature, is not the life of a mindless brute, 

of a looting thug or a mooching mystic, 

but the life of a thinking being—

not life by means of force or fraud, 

but life by means of achievement—

not survival at any price, 

since there’s only one price that pays for man’s survival: 

reason.

 

Man’s life is the standard of morality, 

but your own life is its purpose . 

If existence on earth is your goal, 

you must choose your actions and values by the standard of that which is proper to man—

for the purpose of preserving, fulfilling and enjoying the irreplaceable value which is your life.

 

It only stands to reason that where there’s sacrifice, there’s someone collecting the sacrificial offerings. 

Where there’s service, there is someone being served. 

The man who speaks to you of sacrifice

 is speaking of slaves and masters,

 and intends to be the master.

 

We will not deal with men on any terms but ours

—and our terms are a moral code which holds that man is an end in himself 

and not the means to any end of others. 

We do not seek to force our code upon them. 

They are free to believe what they please.

 

Through all the ages the mind has been regarded as evil, and every form of insult:

from heretic to materialist to exploiter—

every form of iniquity: 

from exile to disfranchisement to expropriation—

every form of torture: 

from sneers to rack to firing squad—

have been brought down upon those who assumed the responsibility of looking at the world through the eyes of a living consciousness 

and performing the crucial act of a rational connection. 

Yet only to the extent to which—

in chains, in dungeons, in hidden corners, 

in the cells of philosophers, in the shops of traders—

some men continued to think, 

only to that extent was humanity able to survive.

 

 your identity is constantly changing. 

It's your job to keep up. 

It's jarring when your identity shifts, when you're suddenly a boss, a partner, a parent. 

It helps if you focus on the things that haven't changed. 

The comfort of old friends. 

The thrill of trying something new. 

Because even if you may not recognize yourself, 

it's been you all along.

 

A wise man once said

 “You can have anything in life if you’re willing to sacrifice everything else for it.” 

What he meant is nothing comes without a price. 

 

When the risk of a procedure is greater than the possible benefit, we watch and wait.

. In the end, all you can do is hope for the best and trust you're making the right call. The hardest thing about waiting is knowing when to stop. Instinct may tell you one thing, and experience tells you another. All you can do is pay attention. And hope that when the time finally comes, you'll be ready.

 

Logic rests on the axiom that existence exists. 

Logic is the art of non-contradictory identification.

 

You have destroyed all that which you held to be evil and achieved all that which you held to be good. 

Why, then, do you shrink in horror from the sight of the world around you? 

That world is not the product of your sins, it is the product and the image of your virtues. 

It is your moral ideal brought into reality in its full and final perfection.

 You have fought for it,

 you have dreamed of it,

 and you have wished it 

 

The choice is yours, and so are the consequences. 

 "Your actions plus your choices equals your life." 

This is mostly true. 

But what it doesn't account for is luck. 

Sometimes we encounter unexpected twists of fate. 

And the best things in life fall out of thin air. 

All you have to do is catch it.

 

Non-thinking is an act of annihilation, 

a wish to negate existence, 

an attempt to wipe out reality.

 But existence exists; 

reality is not to be wiped out, 

it will merely wipe out the wiper.

 By refusing to say ‘It is,’ 

you are refusing to say ‘I am.’ 

By suspending your judgment, you are negating your person. 

When a man declares: ‘Who am I to know?’- 

he is declaring: ‘Who am I to live?

February : Worm Moon

 

• 
  

This moon comes at beginning of the spring thaw, when earthworms reappear

 and robins soon after them.

Secretly,
by the light of the moon,
a worm bores into a chestnut.

Worm Moon - Full Moon - Lunar Eclipse

 

• March 3: A total lunar eclipse 

• March 3: Full Moon 

The moral is the chosen, not the forced;

 the understood, not the obeyed.

The moral is the rational, 

and reason accepts no commandments

 

No matter how vast your knowledge or how modest, it is your own mind that has to acquire it. 

It is only with your own knowledge that you can deal. 

It is only your own knowledge that you can claim to possess or ask others to consider. 

Your mind is your only judge of truth—

and if others dissent from your verdict, 

reality is the court of final appeal. 

Nothing but a man’s mind can perform that complex, delicate, crucial process of identification which is thinking.

 Nothing can direct the process but his own judgment. 

Nothing can direct his judgment but his moral integrity.

 

I would rather have questions that can't be answered 

than answers that can't be questioned

Jesus

 

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

Do to others as you would have them do to you.

Do not judge, or you too will be judged.

No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. 

You cannot serve both God and money.

do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

 For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off?

 And if he finds it,  he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off.

Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again

What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?

It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.

The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.

Do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Let the day's own trouble be sufficient for the day.

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

Give to everyone who begs from you; and of him who takes away your goods do not ask them again. And as you wish that men would do to you, do so to them.

If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.

Man shall not live by bread alone,

 Ask and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you.

it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.