Joe Black

 In Green Mile the scene were the Chief talks to Paul about going back to the time/place where you were happiest, what Heaven is like, and Paul agrees he believes That Very Thing 

Joe showed the Sista a glimpse of that

That Next Place, for those who have earned it, is peaceful, warm, loving, and with no Pain 

It's where Buffy went 

Swamp Thing - there are no strangers in Heaven it's too small 

Heaven - Nirvana - Eden - Elyssia 

Joe showed the Sista a glimpse of what was waiting 

Where Sam went at the end of Ghost

 Unlike Drew, facing Eternity in a Place With No Doors 

Just like Carl and Willie 

Joe to Bill in answer Should I Be Afraid - Not a man like you 

Same answer to Sam, Maximus, 

The answer to Drew, Willie, Carl, Commodus - Yes, Be Afraid, Be VERY VERY Afraid

Smith Cypher

 

A lot of discussion around would the Machines honour the deal with Cypher 

Cypher wants to go back to the Matrix - he wants to remember nothing - he wants to be given a life where he can enjoy the things he covets - be someone rich, like an actor 

It would not cost the Machines anything to give him whatever life he wanted in the Matrix program so no logical reason why they would not 

Cypher wanted to get out and they want people to choose to stay in the Matrix 

Once out Cypher realised he wanted to be back - would he subconsciously look for the exit again or would he be content, especially if he had a really good life 

The Machines would maybe not want to put someone back who may want to escape again so killing him would be easier 

Though why waste a fully grown adult battery 

Like the end of Spartacus - the Roman leader announces the intention is not to kill them, but make them slaves again - why waste all those slaves - especially the battle experienced one who would make good gladiators 

He asks for his memory to be wiped, but they would logically do that anyway as they wouldn't want someone in there who was aware 

Would they need to honour the request to give him his great life - there is no reason they have to - would they use logic - or do they have some kind of "honour", similar to what we saw in Second Renaissance - as this was a deal, honouring their end balances the equation 

Does Smith actually have the authority to make a deal like that anyway - a different "department" would set up the lifestyles, part of the architecture

 Smith is an Agent program and an unstable one at that 

The opportunity would be to give him a life where he suffered - this could be for Smith's sadistic satisfaction, which he may well have developed as part of his character dealing with the human red pills in his job 

The Machines may decide because of what he escaping and being an enemy he deserves a punishment life where he suffers, the opposite of what he requested 

Consider people in our world who are born disabled, without sight, without limbs - in the Matrix, there are people who have been chosen to live those kind of lives, some sort of logical program selection process and a certain percentage who have to be that way 

If Cypher is going back at the same age, with his request to be an actor, why not send him back as someone who had an illness or an accident victim 

Paralysed, in a wheelchair, ALS, an illness like Helen Keller, what happened to the soldier in Johnny Got His Gun - they could put him into any one of those scenarios and make him live a life of Hell - a punishment he wouldn't know why he was suffering 

How many people condemned to live that way do the "God, why has this happened to me" at many points in their life 

And after watching him kill Dozer, Apoch and Switch that way, how many might agree he deserved it 

And wouldn't that have some logic, balancing the equation

Some of them are Vulcans ...

 

Mirror Spock warning Mirror Sulu "Some of them are Vulcans" 

This hadn't been explored that much back then but the look on Sulus face told us everything

 For a human facing revenge torture is frightening enough 

It would be terrifying to have it done by a Vulcan

War Doctor

 

What I pick up, what I feel and think, is that each of us has a "War Doctor" who breaks the promise that we made to ourself 

Do we turn our back on this version, do we embrace as just part of us, or do we forgive

 At the end of the 50 year episode, John playing War says "I can be The Doctor again" 

Do we break the promise we make to ourselves 

Can we then be forgiven

Who remember watching this that night Matt 11 literally turns his back on him 

Who is this Who? 

Introducing John Hurt as The Doctor 

I can't think of a more powerful piece of Television between now and then 

Except maybe "All Thirteen"

Superman Hulk

 While Hulk could argue come close to Superman in terms of strength, physical muscle exertion, when Superman is flying he is defying Gravity, so there is no limit to his propulsion ability 

In the first Superman film, Jor El tells him he can propel himself at "almost limitless speeds"

 In Superman Returns we see him lift a continent - this is possible because the continent weighs nothing when there is no gravity 

Despite Hulk's strength, Superman has his speed, as fast as Flash or Whizzer, faster than Hulk could see, his heat vision, and his flight 

Perhaps the only Marvel hero who could match Superman would be Thor 

So yes, flying Hulk to the upper stratosphere, or whatever it should be called. where he can't breath - and where there is extreme cold of course 

Hulk has awesome strength, but no match for Superman

Ghost

 Sam at the hospital saw the old man and watched one person being taken up 

Sam had already seen the light come for him on the street that night

 The old man mentions The Other Ones 

When Willie dies Sam sees The Other Ones drag him screaming to Hell 

As this is the man who killed him Sam knows its deserved though seeing it is chilling 

With Carl he did not mean for Sam to die, he sent Willy to steal the book 

Sam still remembered Carl as his friend despite Carl choosing the wrong path

 So we see that sympathy as he knows what coming and then as he watches it

Easter Sunday

 

Easter Poem - Fox On A Barn Door

I had gone on Easter Day

early and alone

to be beyond insidious bells

(that any other Sunday I’d not hear) 

up to the hills

where are winds 

to blow away commination. 

In the frail first light I saw him, 

unreal and sudden 

through lifting mist,

a fox on a barn door, 

nailed 

like a coloured plaster Christ

in a Spanish shrine, 

his tail coiled around his loins.

Sideways his head hung limply, 

his ears snagged with burdock, 

his dry nose plugged with black blood. 

For two days he’d held the orthodox pose.

The endemic English noise of Easter Sunday morning

was mixed with the mist swirling

and might have moved his stiff head.

Under the hill 

the ringing had begun. 

As the sun rose red 

on the stains of his bleeding

to press on seemed the best thing.

I walked the length of the day’s obsession.

At dusk I was swallowed by the misted barn,

sucked by the peristalsis of my fear that he had gone,

leaving nails for souvenirs.

But he was there still. 

I saw no sign. 

He hung as before.

Only the wind had risen

to comb the thorns from his fur.

I left my superstition 

stretched on the banging barn door.

Easter Sunday

 

The Easter Sunday is celebrated for the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It marks his return from the dead, which is the cornerstone of the Christian faith. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is prominent to the Christian belief that salvation and eternal life are possible by having faith in him

Jesus came to earth to save humanity by dying on the cross on Good Friday and resurrecting on Easter Sunday. By enduring and defeating death sacrificially for people, He swung open the gates of heaven making a way for sins to be forgiven and usher Christians into the presence of God 

Easter Sunday is a religious Christian holiday that is observed globally to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ and while holidays like Christmas have fixed dates, the date for Easter changes from year to year. According to the Bible, it marks the third day after Jesus was crucified when he rose from the dead.

The resurrection narratives in the Gospels portray Jesus as raised to life on the third day in his crucified body, leaving behind him an empty tomb.

Jesus referenced Jonah's three days in the belly of the great fish as a metaphor for his resurrection. Hosea spoke of God's resurrecting work for Israel as occurring on the third day

The early church believed that after his death Christ descended into hell in order to rescue the souls of the righteous, such as Adam and Eve. Jesus descends and breaks down the doors of hell, unbinds the prisoners and leads the just to heaven.

Based on the wording in 1 Peter, there's an argument that Jesus spent the weekend between His death and Resurrection in Hell preaching to the souls who were already there, giving them a chance at the forgiveness available through His sacrifice not previously available before His death.

Acts 1:1-3? First, it indicates that Christ's ascension occurred fully 40 days after Easter. In other words, he was on earth, at least intermittently, for substantially more than a mont

In His revelations to St. Faustina, Our Lord asked for a special prayer and meditation on His Passion each afternoon at the three o'clock hour, the hour that recalls His death on the cross.

 

Where would Jesus be if no one had written the gospels?

 

What ever you do,
dont congratulate yourself too much
or berate yourself either.

Your choices are half chance.
So are everybody elses.

 

Working in jobs they hate 

To earn money 

To buy things they don't need 

To impress people they don't like 

 

One door away from Heaven,
But, oh, the entry dues

The Missing Pound

 

Three men go for a meal in a restaurant. At the end of the meal the waiter brings them the bill and it comes to £30. Each man puts in a ten pound note. The waiter rings it up and then realizes he made a mistake and the bill was actually for £25.

The waiter brings back five pound coins. As five doesn’t divide into three very well, the men take one pound each and leave two pounds as a tip which the waiter pockets.

Each man has now paid 9 pounds, which adds up to £27. The waiter has 2 pounds in his pocket. That adds up to £29.

What happened to the extra pound from the original £30?

Try as hard as you like to make the formula for that work and there will always be one pound missing.

The answer is that there never was an extra pound.

The three men paid £27 and the waiter took two leaving £25.

The way the conundrum is worded leads you to believe that there was £27 with £2 added to give £29, and therefore one pound short of £30, with £1 missing.

It is a good example of how easy it is to mislead somebody’s thinking so they mathematically “prove" something to be other than it is.

Easter - Good Friday

 

The three things Jesus said on the cross

"Great way to spend Easter"

"John I can see your house from here"

"Judas, you fucking grass!"

Good Friday

 

Commemorating Jesus' crucifixion, Good Friday is a solemn day of mourning and reflection for Christians, who often attend special church services and prayer vigils. Good Friday is a part of Holy Week, which includes Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday or Holy Thursday, and Good Friday, leading up to Easter Sunday.

That terrible Friday has been called Good Friday because it led to the Resurrection of Jesus and his victory over death and sin and the celebration of Easter, the very pinnacle of Christian celebrations

Christians believe that when Jesus was executed he sacrificed his own life so that everyone can be forgiven for their sins. Because of this Good Friday is one of the most important dates in the Christian calendar.

As such, special Good Friday services are held in churches in which the suffering Jesus experienced in his death is remembered and mourned.

On the morning of Good Friday, Jesus was taken to the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate. The governor didn't like the fact that people called Jesus a king, but he didn't think Jesus deserved to be killed.

Because of this he told the large crowd of people outside his palace that they could decide whether Jesus should be freed. Nonetheless, the crowd called for Jesus to be crucified.

Jesus was then beaten by the Roman soldiers and made to carry a heavy wooden cross on his back all the way through the city to the place he was to be killed. The soldiers mocked him and made him wear a crown made of thorns which made his head bleed.

Jesus's terrible journey through Jerusalem with the cross is known as the Stations of the Cross. On the journey he met many people, including his mother, Mary.

Finally, Jesus was nailed to the cross he had carried, and placed between two thieves who were also being crucified. At noon the sky turned black and the Earth shook. Eventually Jesus died.

Eostre

 

Eostre

 

Eostre is the Germanic goddess of dawn who is celebrated during the Spring Equinox. On the old Germanic calendar, the equivalent month to April was called “Ōstarmānod” – or Easter-month. As a holiday, Easter predates Christianity and was originally the name for Spring Equinox celebrations.

The date of the Christian celebration of Easter changes each year and the reason the date changes is because it is based on a ‘Pagan’ solar calendar. Easter occurs on the Sunday after the first full moon occurring after the Spring Equinox.

“Esotre seems therefore to have been the divinity of the radiant dawn, of upspringing light, a spectacle that brings joy and blessing, whose meaning could be easily adapted by the resurrection-day of the Christian's God."

“Bonfires were lit at Easter and water drawn on the Easter morning is, like that at Christmas, holy and healing - here also heathen notions seems to have grafted themselves on great Christian festivals. Maidens clothed in white, who at Easter, at the season of returning spring, show themselves in clefts of the rock and on mountains, are suggestive of the ancient goddess.”

Eostre, also called Ostara or Eastre, is a Germanic goddess associated with spring and the dawn. She is particularly known in Anglo-Saxon and Old High German traditions and is believed to be the namesake for the Christian holiday of Easter.

 Eostre as the name of a month corresponding to April and suggests that the festival of Easter may have been named after this goddess.

Eostre is generally associated with themes of fertility, renewal, and the changing of the seasons, as her name is etymologically linked to words related to dawn and the east, where the sun rises. She is often depicted with symbols of spring, such as eggs and hares, which have become integral elements of the modern Easter celebration.

 

you're alive by recognizing beauty 

-- seeing truth because when you discover truth you discover what love is.

.. we're all saying the same thing. 

It's "love me and I'll love you."

 

you're alive by confronting death 

-- by experiencing pain.

Pink Moon

 

Saturday April 12 2025 : Pink Moon

 

April's full, "Pink Moon" is known as the Paschal Full Moon, which sets the date for Easter. According to Starwalk, the Paschal full moon is the first full moon after the March equinox, which in 2025 fell on March 20

The 'Pink Moon' will rise over London on the evening of Sunday, April 12, 2025. It will rise just after 9pm, and should be bold and bright in the sky.

Each full Moon of the year has an informal nickname that relates to the calendar month in question. The Pink Moon is so-called because it's the April full Moon, and the onset of springtime is heralded by a bloom in pink flowers

For the best view of the pink moon, find an unobstructed vantage point facing the eastern horizon. Elevated locations or open fields are ideal for catching the moon as it rises. All that's necessary is the naked eye fine, though binoculars or a telescope can reveal details on the lunar surface.

 the name is derived from the early spring bloom of a North American wildflower called "Phlox subulata," commonly known moss phlox.

A Moon usually appears reddish when it's close to the horizon because the light rays must pass through the densest layers of the atmosphere

 

In some remote corner of the universe, poured out and glittering in innumerable solar systems, there once was a star on which clever animals invented knowledge. 

That was the haughtiest and most mendacious minute of "world history"- yet only a minute.

 After nature had drawn a few breaths the star grew cold, and the clever animals had to die

 

Every man knows that he will die: 

and nobody believes it. 

On that paradox stand not only a host of religions 

but the entity of a sane being

Four Thirty

 

the shadow of a giant hand. . .

 at exactly four-thirty the hand was perfect. 

The giant shadow hand was perfect for one minute, 

and for one perfect minute 

 sat in the palm of a perfection he'd created himself.

 One minute was enough, 

, a person had to work hard for it,

 but a minute of perfection was worth the effort

. A moment was the most you could ever expect from perfection.

 

• • Flowers bloom and die
  • Wind brings butterflies or snow
  • A stone won't notice
• • 
    
• 
  

 

You want fantasy? 

Here's one... 

There's this species that lives on a planet a few miles above molten rock and a few miles below a vacuum that'd suck the air right out of them. 

They live in a brief geological period between ice ages, when giant asteroids have temporarily stopped smacking into the surface. 

As far as they can tell, there's nowhere else in the universe where they could stay alive for ten seconds.

And what do they call their fragile little slice of space and time? 

They call it real life.

 

 two firemen go into a forest to put out a small fire.

Afterwards, when they emerge and go over to a stream, the face of one is all smeared with black, while the other man’s face is completely clean. 

My question is this: which of the two will wash his face?

That’s a silly question. The one with the dirty face of course.’

No, the one with the dirty face will look at the other man and assume that he looks like him. 

And, vice versa, the man with the clean face will see his colleague covered in grime and say to himself: I must be dirty too. I’d better have a wash.’

 

        Your children are not your children.

        They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself.

        They come through you but not from you,

        And though they are with you yet

they belong not to you.

April