If...

If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?

Weird question, it's kinda like if I can't brag or post photos online, did I really do it? Isn't it funny that I'm more concerned about taking photos for sharing rather than savouring the atmosphere and feeling the vibe....

The curse of social media I say!

Departure of the Witches (1878) Luis Ricardo Faléro

Better than Norman Lindsay

The Garden of Love

by William Blake 1757 – 1827

I laid me down upon a bank,
Where Love lay sleeping;
I heard among the rushes dank
Weeping, weeping.

Then I went to the heath and the wild,
To the thistles and thorns of the waste;
And they told me how they were beguiled,
Driven out, and compelled to the chaste.

I went to the Garden of Love,
And saw what I never had seen;
A Chapel was built in the midst,
Where I used to play on the green.

And the gates of this Chapel were shut
And "Thou shalt not," writ over the door;
So I turned to the Garden of Love
That so many sweet flowers bore.

And I saw it was filled with graves,
And tombstones where flowers should be;
And priests in black gowns were walking their rounds,
And binding with briars my joys and desires.

A little creepy

... but in the world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.

~ Benjamin Franklin 

Ben was a bright guy right? If that's what he believed in, it's got be a dead certainty. Armed with that knowledge, asked myself, how can I make some money. 

Offer tax avoidance advice? Considered too risky. 

Buy a morgue? Yuck. 

Invest in death? Yes!!!

This is when I discovered a little company called InvoCare. It was little, has grown quite a bit to be Asia-Pacific's largest private funeral, cemetery and crematorium operator. Ben was right after all...

And guess what, if Domino's can do it, InvoCare is going online. Relatives can design 'the event' and preview it online. They've even invested in HeavenAddress an online memorial that gets a million hits every year.

Maybe I'll go invest my allowance....

NB: This Blog does not constitute a recommendation or advice to purchase any investment, product or service listed or mentioned.

I've got a problem...

Serious reservations about the do-gooders that inhabit my world. So often these people who no doubt mean well, have never really suffered, don't know what poverty is, never experienced hunger, nor countries where parents will sell their child into slavery for food. 

They tend to congregate around the inner-city, pay more for green energy and love exerting their version of social justice on any issue that grabs their fancy. 

Let's take Gunns, a forestry company in Tassie, founded in 1875 and employing over 1,200 people. Anti-logging and Green pressure resulted in the appointment of an administrator this week. What about the 1,200 now unemployed?

Another case is Sherrin footballs who use Indian child labour to hand stitch footballs for 12 cents per hour. Sherrin stopped outsourcing work to these families. Unfortunately, this was their only source of income. Is prostitution a better alternative? 

There's no easy answer, saving the environment is a worthwhile objective, eradicating child labour, the right thing to do, but those affected never have a say.


PS... a must read this article in the Daily Mail.

I Try...

Thirteen years ago.... doesn't time fly.

I Try ~ Macy Gray

Faith?

Sometime ago, I went to this quaint trendy church in inner Sydney, one where they still celebrate mass in Latin. The air was thick with incense, congregation starts off chanting the Asperges; during the service, we (yes we!) sing the Kyrie and the choir then joins in with some Gregorian Chant and Renaissance polyphony.   Oh...  and the priests face the altar, not the congregation.

Note the position of the altar

But I digress.... on November 1, All Saints Day, this Church brings out all their relics and display them on the altar. What relics you may ask? Bone fragments of the twelve Apostles, veil of Mary, splinter from the cross Jesus was crucified on and many, many more. I was shocked (and awed !).

Do such things exist? Well, the Crown of Thorns can be found at Notre Dame. 

The Catholic Church keeps bits and pieces of many saints. Once in a while, the Vatican doles out a piece, encased in a monstrance or case, to churches, bishops and priests worldwide. These bits can be 1st class relics, bone, flesh or hair, second class, an item used by the saint or third class, something touched to a first or second class relic.

Monstrance with the bone fragment of each Apostle

Note: I held this!

What happens when a bishop dies, a parish church closes or broken into? Personal possessions of the bishop can be sold and many land up on eBay.

Yes, I've bought a splinter of the True Cross. Call me an idiot, gullible, whatever. But then, it's all about faith eh?

A bit of eBay fun...

It is the weekend and where else can one find these...

Vatican reliquary 1600s 1st class relic 12 Apostles; Evangelists; Virgin Mary 

for a mere US $3,800.00

 

Authentic official Vatican real first class relic “ex corpore” of the 12 apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, the evangelists and a second class relic of the blessed Virgin Mary, in a stunning reliquary completely handmade and handpainted in 1600s, an actual museum piece and a wonderful work of art. The first class relics are hairs of the apostles and evangelists Saint Paul, Saint Peter, Saint Andrew, Saint James son of Zebedee, Saint James son of Alphaeus, Saint John, Saint Philip, Saint Bartholomew, Saint Thomas, Saint Jude Thaddeus, Saint Simon, Saint Matthias, Saint Barnabas, Saint Matthew, Saint Luke, Saint Mark. The second class relic is part of the veil of the Virgin Mary. The reliquary is covered by an ancient glass, with the original wax seal that assures the integrity of the relics, size approx inches 2x2.4, cm 5x6. Inside the reliquary some gilded paper decorations handwritten in Latin. The reliquary shows its age, but the relics are perfect. Rare and unique item available only to Vatican, lifetime guaranteed. eBay policy prohibits the sale of human remains and requires a disclosure of what the relics are: these relics are a piece of scalp hair or a cloth, which are allowed by eBay policy. They are sacred and devotional relics of the Church.

KIT VAMPIRE !!!! 

Bargain at US $299.00

 

Old Reproduction antique kit  vampires collectible box.the measuring are 35 x 23 . objects inside the box are: bottles, crucified, gun, hammer, chisel, glass syringe, rosary, prayer book, a mirror . fascinating and beautiful gift!

I collect vampire kits from about 20 years, bought in Europe for many years, these kits for sale are old, corroded and not with objects. I do not know the age of the kit, but they are very beautiful.

Climate change and politics

Always thought global warming was that- GLOBAL. Not just an Aussie problem but EVERYONE'S.

But according to the the Climate Change Commission (established by our Green Government to provide all Australians with an independent and reliable source of information about the science of climate change), they state that:

•  Australia is the largest emitter per person of any country in the developed world.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_carbon_dioxide_emissions

• Australia belongs to a group of 20 carbon heavyweights – 20 countries that contribute 75 per cent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions.

 

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_carbon_dioxide_emissions

Yea, right, f***** political mouthpiece, much like saying how well we did to win all those gold medals at the Olympics... (per capita that is).

Canticle of Creation

Could only find the instrumental version of this song. Courtesy of http://www.sixmaddens.org/

Fame and the God Particle

Picture this, three sub-atomic particles walking down the street, Nicole, George and Werther. No mass, no fame.

Suddenly a pack of paparazzi appear, and surround Nicole and George, slowing them down, bunching them together.

The paparazzi form a (Higgs) field round George and Nicole. Roughs them up a little. Nicole and George, they find themselves suddenly famous (and mass-ful). The pair are no longer sub-atomic, but become atomic! They have mass!

One of the paparazzi flashes his camera, his tool of trade. This camera is the God (Higgs) Particle, the small tool that can elevate mere-sub-atomics to the god-like-atomic level in a field of paparazzi.

Makes sense?

Meanwhile, Werther continues down the road, blissfully unaware... an unknown and mass-less.

My Castle Fantasy... Part 2

In October 2011, I wrote about my fantasy, buying this 40 acre plot of land in Cambewarra, the asking price $395,000. 

Well, it's still for sale, now asking $299,000. Talk about financial crisis. Funny thing, the two properties up and down the road are asking $1.275m and $749,000.

Confusing??

Jenna Talackova (Miss Canada) Andrej Pejic (as Miss Australia)

As if life's not tricky enough, discovered that Miss Universe now allows "non-women" to compete. I guess it's nothing too extraordinary as Miss Tiffany's Universe transsexual beauty pageant has been around for quite while. If I were Goldman Sachs, would be recommending a merger, imagine the synergies.

So this year, Canada's offered up Jenna Talackova, and to go one better, we're going to put forward our own Andrej Pejic for Miss Universe 2012.