Have a safe, flawed, but enjoyable time with those nearest and dearest to you. Merry Christmas, and here's to a Happy New Year for everyone.

Long time no type. I don't think this will be as useful to experienced furries, but I did a write up on the commission process on sites like FA and Deviantart, because I think it's an interesting model that other art and craft communities aren't aware of. Anyhow, here it is: http://the-jade-dragon.blogspot.com.....agination.html

I covered two FA artists,  Shalinka and  bibanan, both super awesome artists.

I just finished an article about FA on my Jade Dragon blog. Since I work in the craft field, I thought many of my audience there, especially craft artists, would be interested in how FA works. It's an effective setup for an art marketplace, even if it isn't completely refined. So, the article is more towards non-furries than furries... but you can check out some of the artists whose work I like!

http://the-jade-dragon.blogspot.com.....-visit-to.html

Hope the article is thought-provoking. It felt good to write it.

Alright, so for everyone who's sharing a room at FC, here's the basic info:

Hotel: Hilton San Jose
Dates: 1/17 through 1/21 (checkout)
Room Size: Two Double Beds
Total Cost: $594.08

I'm planning on leaving around noon on 1/21, that's when checkout time is. If you've got any questions/things to plan, shoot!

Alright, since there's a group of us who're headed to FC, I'm just making a post for organizing stuff for rooms. There's up to nine people max who I know would be going, and possibly less. I've been looking at the room options for the Hilton, Ramada and Marriott, and basically we can do this:

1. Get Queen size rooms at the Ramada, one bed. (2 People). $99. We could fit four to five people in, have two rooms. Floor sleeping required.
TOTAL FOR 1/17 - 1/21: $451.44.

2. Go to different hotels throughout the week. Why? BECAUSE:
RIGHT NOW, there is a 2 Kings bed room at the Ramada from 1/20 to 1/21, for $109.
There is also 2 Double bed room at the Hilton from 1/17 to 1/19, for $128.
So, going Hilton 1/17 to 1/19, and Ramada from 1/20 to 1/21, means we get 2 bed rooms. Two people can get beds, 4 people can share the two beds, etc.
TOTAL FOR 1/17 – 1/21: $569.82.

I'll be buying a room soon just to make sure we have *one* room, but if the gestalt collective thinks the second option is appealing, I'd like to know so it can be booked!

Considering I've been back for two weeks, about time I said so!

Well, tomorrow I'm off on my way to Colorado for backpacking, then I get to drive back, have one day at home, then take a flight to South Korea, Seoul, for a textile conference that'll keep me until the end of the month. It's a pretty full line-up, although it'll be worth it! Hope everyone's well and having their own good times while I'm out. Peace.

So our house got broken into, as well as some neighbors up the street. My mother lost the bulk of things, a laptop, an ipad, and several thousand in five dollar bills (her travel fund). I've got a lot of conflicting thoughts. I do have some fear and anger, but I also don't think there's much use in indulging in either, and I don't really want anything bad to happen to the robbers. I'm trying to remain calm, but everyone else is stressing out, reasonably of course, and that stresses me out too. Well, the year of the Dragon's been a pretty crazy year. I think of myself as a worm often, and I kind of wish it was the year of the Worm and super peaceful and boring. Hah!

I kind of wonder if this event signifies anything in the greater scheme of things, as I feel life events can reflect the surrounding world's state. That's part of the reason I'm just trying to deal with it as calmly as I can, without riling up my emotions. It is a bit hard though, I must admit ^^;;. However, I remember a Calvin and Hobbes comic where Calvin's house was broken into, and it just sums up how we feel. Bless you Bill Watterson.

So, looking more and more into electro-swing. After I downloaded like 8 sets from electro-swing.com, I got into this Croatian DJ, Mr woox. Okay, is this not the best fucking swing set ever?

http://soundcloud.com/mr-woox/radio.....6-2012-with-mr

... don't answer that. Because the right answer is EVERY ELECTRO-SWING SET IS THE BEST EVER. derp XD

Also. ARGH CALIFUR I HATE YOU YOU HAD A 1920S THEME AND THERE WAS NOT ONE GODDAMN SWING SONG PLAYING AT THE DANCE, NOT EVEN ELECTRO-SWING ARGGGHGHHHHGHGHGJAHGSADHGA;SDHFAS;FJASDL;KFJASD;LF

<goes rage-super-saiyan>

Back in the US of A. Gah, there's so many things to do! And Califur the next weekend! Blargh!

I'll post up some photos of my trip soon, but right now I've got a lot of work combined with a lot of wanting to sleep.

Well, I got my visa today finally, so that means I'll be going to China to teach English for a month, from April 23 through May 21. (Almost a month, for those who are picky.) I was invited through some friends I made at the East China Normal University in Shanghai. These professors and students boarded at my aunt's house in Los Angeles. We'll see how it goes. I'll be teaching primary school, meaning 3 - 6 grade students. I'm planning on using Avatar the Last Airbender, the series, as a teaching tool. Hope I'll do a good, or at least not boring, job. Catch you furries in late May!

What I'm about to write may seem incomprehensible to many of you, but it is true. I will do my best to explain the situation using a variety of viewpoints, but the basic summary is still the same. In its essence, it is how war was co-opted as a tool by the financial class, and then underwent a final corruption to where those who now remain as the heads of the financial class are opposed to life itself. This process did not occur through conscious intent, but a slow degenerative descent marked by mankind's baser desires of greed, lust, hatred and fear. Though it may not have started with malicious intent, remember the old missive, that the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

Originally in human history, war was the purview of the aristocracy. Wealth and the merchant class did not exist as it does now, and the only actors capable of initiating conflict were those in charge of tribes and kingdoms. In a sense, the aristocracy was the combination of both the martial class and the merchant class. They were the only ones with both wealth and military power.

As humankind evolved, there was a slow division, where an independent merchant class came into existence. Though for many millennia and centuries they remained less powerful than the aristocracy, eventually the power of the aristocracy, based on a traditional power structure of heredity or religious validation, waned, while the merchant class ascended in power, not only gaining the ability to influence the aristocracy, but also able to garner military and political power themselves. The waning of the aristocracy was partially due to overexpenditure of its own power, inability to recognize the ascendance of the merchant class, and inability to project its power through religious or hereditary mandate more effectively than the power projected through the purchasing power of wealth, which continued to transfer increasingly to the merchant class.

Neither the aristocracy nor the merchant class can be said to be composed of saints. Despite trying desperately to appear as servants, or even anointed representatives of an almighty God and morality, the fact is that both groups had many examples of evil, selfish, and cruel individuals. The aristocracy, during its reign, pursued goals that served their self-enrichment, earthly glory, and personal desires. Evil however does not necessarily cooperate with evil; when there exists two groups of selfish individuals, the result is conflict. The result is war.

At a certain point, the merchant class learned that it could engage in war just as the aristocracy had. In fact, it learned that it could engage in war more effectively than the aristocracy, because it could wage war on another level; via financial methods, the merchant class could conquer territory through influencing the aristocracy, through buying out the political class, and even directly through using their purchasing power to obtain resources, industries, and territory. Because this method of warfare was not recognized as warfare, it could be done without encountering direct resistance, and without having to engage in military conflict in many cases.

Eventually, the merchant class split again, yielding a new arm that is both subset and distinct; the financial class. Engaged directly with the acquisition and distribution of money, the financial class did not have to deal even as the merchant class in obtaining and subverting markets. They could simply buy out the merchant class, which like them, operated on the currency of money.

By the time of the Twentieth Century, the financial class and the merchant class were able to affect more aspects of human life than any previous time in human history. Business was in human health, military industry, transportation, politics, food, water, communication, housing, education, and entertainment. This meant that all these aspects of human existence could be purchased, and thus control could be consolidated under a single source. Although no one individual could, in the beginning of the century, control every aspect, each category was fought over by an increasingly small and consolidated group. This was monopoly.

Although this stranglehold was temporarily dispersed after the Gilded Age and the Great Depression, those of the financial and merchant class quickly continued their attempts at domination, for the simple human motive of greed and desire. Nothing more complicated need to be impugned at them, nor conspiracy leveled. However, by this time the extent of businesses control over the basics of human existence had simply increased. Simply put, more facets of human life were available for sale than ever before, and thus the financial and merchant classes were able to achieve control over even more of the populace through their efforts at consolidation. These are the basics of capitalism.

The problem is by this time, almost every aspect of human existence, including the supposed safeguards of the judicial system and the political system, could be purchased, and the financial class had amassed wealth beyond that which could have been comprehended in previous centuries. Additionally, those who were best at gaming the system, to wit, cheating, to wit, committing crimes, had grown even better at doing so, and had even more tools at their disposal to do so. And ultimately, those best at committing crimes were unapprehendable, and because they could "cheat" while their rivals who were more lawbound were unable to, they could cut down their rivals using extralegal methods. Indeed, through influencing the political class and judiciary, they could write laws that favored themselves, and be immune to laws that otherwise would constrain them. Thus, those at the top became even more criminal, and even more powerful. They could distribute propaganda through entertainment to affect and alter popular opinion and perspective, they could purchase news outlets to influence coverage, they could indirectly and directly control the political class, through either supporting those they favored or blocking the rise of those they did not, they could inject themselves into religion and education through monetary influence, thus affecting the ensuing generations of humanity in their formative stages. They could stifle communities, buy out land, purchase key industries, gain control of vital resources. All without being recognized for what they were in fact doing; conquering the world.

In the process of doing this, they became even more estranged from the common people. The financial and merchant class could live beyond the means of the mightiest of ancient rulers, and this gave them a similar inflated self-worth only achievable through not having to interact with the world as most of the world's population was required to. Living in modern-day palaces, waited upon hand and foot by hired servants, they were easily able to see themselves as superior to the common people.

No one can claim these individuals to be stupid, although we like to denigrate those we see as opposed to us. Given the rate of consumption in their own lives, and of the system they'd created to empower them, they realized the world could not continue at this rate and still supply them with the lifestyle they felt their due. Capitalism, the very system of their empowerment, also had created its reflection in their captive populace; the American people. This was, and is their method of control. In providing some dregs of their lifestyle to the American people, in encouraging their consumption above a rate seen in any other country of the world, they had seduced and drugged them into being their willing accomplices. However, the resources of the world were finite, as they themselves had realized, and this system could not be maintained forever. When their chosen people could no longer be distracted nor supplied with the lifestyle to which they were accustomed, there would be a mighty blowback. And so they understood, and so they prepared, to complete the enslavement of the world. By now, they could influence every aspect of society, from the prisons and police to the highest politicians, to every major media conglomerate. Thus, a prison was planned for everyone else, guarded by the paid enforcers of the financial class, devoid of resources, thus ensuring conflict among the majority population, scrabbling over what was left for the very basics of survival.

You may ask, why and how could these individuals plan such a thing? The answer is simple, and based on game theory.

If one sees the entire world as finite, as short-game theory, inevitably the only two results is being the winner, or the losers. Philosophically, it comes down to seeing the world as a place where everything will eventually come to an end, and thus all one can do is get to a position of highest power, and enjoy the remainder of existence with every comfort and vice available through one's domination of all things, until the end comes. In a place devoid of higher purpose, of eternal existence, where life is short and ugly and devoid of beauty, what else is one to do but to screw over everyone else, and live the last of your finite existence indulging in every pleasure?

To express this perspective in another manner, it's seeing the world's totality as a temporary journey from 0 to 1. Nothing exists beyond the 1. Therefore, all one can do, to be "the winner", is be the person at the top. Also, all value is placed therefore on how high on the ladder one is. Everything else, every laudable aspect of humanity, from love to faith to art, music and beauty, to spirituality, kindness, compassion, empathy, is merely as dust, to be swept under the efficacy of brutality, greed, and the short-term physical and emotional rewards of vice.

I speak to you now, to cry out that another world is possible. It requires us rejecting these darker aspects, not in their entirety, for they are essential to our human nature, but as the governors of our lives. It is the world above the 1, to where infinity stretches. For through human cooperation and compassion, we can see all that we are capable of, and that is surmounting the problems we face as the human race. It is not through rejecting our individual identity, as these monsters would have us believe and fear, but through celebrating it, and understanding that we can in fact co-exist, through education, interaction, discussion, and finally through much effort, through facing our misplaced fears and terrors, to comprehension of the wonder and validity of our differences, and the recognizing of our common spirit. Those who would seek to enslave us are the source of the whispers of our fears and doubts, the magnifiers of terror in order to submit ourselves to their designs. It is the difference between night and day. It is breaking through their imposed isolation of all of us, to reaching across that short, terrifying divide, to touch another human heart. Franklin Roosevelt told us that all we have to fear is fear itself. We are still governed by fear, by terror, and it is only by these tools that those above can keep us enslaved. The world to come will be determined by our bravery in facing the darkness together.

This is a theory I've been working on for a while. The basic idea is this; everything in the universe can be rendered down into binary concepts. Black and White, Night and Day, Moon and Sun, Gray and Color, Even and Odd, etc. Without both of these concepts, our reality doesn't exist. You can't have one without the other.

However, nearly the entirety of our populace has been engrained with a different perspective; Good vs Evil. It's a monopolar, rather than bipolar, viewpoint, that ensures anything sufficiently different to you is ultimately an enemy, rather than possibly being neutral or a friend. It locks down dialogue and discussion, and inevitably leads to conflict and destruction, because the only way you can see the world is in destroying Evil, those who are different from you. If everyone in the world engaged in this, we'd all kill each other, because there is no middle ground.

The binary nature of the universe has led me to believe all of reality is mathematically based. At the very least, as a thought exercise, one can see how existence is basically information, and numbers more or less are basically just information.

So, with that in mind, consider this; All animals are simply varying numbers along a continuous scale, with humans being the "average" of them all. It can be represented like this:

Basic Life Forms_________Simple Life Forms_______Complex Life Forms
(Bacteria,Fungi)________(Plants)______(Insects)_______(Amphibians)____(Reptiles)____(Mammalians)_____(Human)
_______0___.05____.1____.15____.2____.25____.3________.4________.5________.6________.7________.8________.96

Now, consider that every human fills an ecological (economic) and societal niche of sorts, that defines them. This leads to diversification. Each of these niches can be said to replicate the niche animals in nature fill. We already anthropomorphize animals, accurately in many cases. Foxes are cunning and clever; Bears are strong and mighty, Wolves are social and fierce in a group. Therefore, one can say, even just metaphorically, that people are like certain animals.

I believe this model goes deeper than mere fancy, though. I've been categorizing people's voices and faces, and similar appearances extend across both ethnic and national lines. I've been matching these faces to animal faces, and the similarity is remarkable. Basically, the second part of the theory is this:

Each human has an additional data code, let's say the digits after .96, that represent their animal inclination/background. This is both decided by genetics at birth and environment during development. If, just for an example, a .734 was a Wolf, a .96734 would be a human who's physiological, ecological and/or societal niche is like that of a wolf.

However, through observation of friends and family, I found out that a Wolf may not have Wolf parents, and a Coyote may not have Coyote parents. Why was this?

At its most basic, if one does accept this mathematical structure of existence, one has to "add" certain animals together to produce new animals. This is the second-part of evolution, beyond Darwin's famous natural selection. Binary concepts; one of creation, one of destruction, that leads to existence. From my friends, I've identified these combinations:

Rooster + Bobcat = Wolf
Snake + Bobcat = Bear
Snake + Hare/Rabbit = Fox
Fox + Hare = Coyote
Snake + Cat = Rat or Dog
Rooster + Cat = Mouse or Dog

If you're confused on how Rooster and Bobcat make a wolf, it's helpful to see all animals as elementary shapes, which when added together produce the new animal. A rooster has a pointed beak/face: a bobcat has a flat face, but has four legs and fur. Combining the facial structure of the rooster with the main body of the bobcat creates the wolf, and also explains the pack structure of the animal. Chickens are pack animals, while snakes operate alone.

To simplify it further, one can condense everything down into these basic forms:
-1 = Snake
1 = Rooster/Chicken
0 = Cat

At this point, things become fiendishly simple. If everything can be mathematically represented in numerals, everything is renderable down to binary. You can see how adding either Snake or Rooster based animals together will cause certain parts of the code to collapse, as 1 and -1 cancel each other out. This is how these three elementary forms can produce all of life.

The reason for one animal pairing producing two different animals is simple as well; it's genetic dominance of the parent. I'm still not sure on which parental dominance leads to which animal, but as an example, for a Snake and Cat couple, if the snake is dominant, we would get a dog, while if the cat is dominant, we would get a rat. Both have similar forms, just at different scales.

As you can see, though, this implicitly makes opposition inevitable. We're all divided down into Snake-based, Rooster-based, or Cat-based animals. Snake and Rooster have different base behavioral patterns, which means... Snake people and Rooster people often can have miscommunications and problems with each other! That said, there's just as much strife between people of the same elementary type.

---

I first posted this on my WoW guild's forums, and thought it was well written enough that I could transplant it to here. This should help explain better my animal charts. I'm very honest about thinking that overall, this theory is true. If anyone can help assist me in corroborating and or additional research on this, I'd appreciate it! I'd say the furry community is the best place for this theory to be explored.

Basic Rules: Make a character of who you'd want to be, in a world where the global corporatocracy has been vanquished, and anything is possible due to peace on earth.

Advanced Rules: Base the character on yourself, and start making that world around you!

Well, I'll be going up to FC next week! Really looking forward to cruising the dealers room and doing some dancing. I'm planning to hand out some of our magazine, too; sent an e-mail to the FC folks about it. It was cool last year, so here's hoping. Hey, we may have only two furry articles, but that's something at least! ^_^

Anyhow, besides a few good friends I've picked up over the year, I tend to be a furry hermit. I'll be hanging solo unless I run into someone I know. Looking to meet some new folk who I jive with this year though; it's a blessed thing when that happens.

Hotel: San Jose Hilton

Arrival/Departure: Late Thursday/Late Sunday (unless I can get a room *and* change my mind for Sunday!)

Mode of Transportation: Gold Honda Accord

Major Plans at the Con: Chill most of the time, Panic occasionally. Get on the dance floor. See some friends, make some new acquaintances.

Gender: Male

Status: Not Interested

How old are you: 26

How many Fursuits are you going to bring/wear: None =(

Attending parties: If they find me.

Do you drink: Very seldom.

Do you smoke: Not tobacco. Yes Herb.

Can I buy you a drink: No thanks, but I appreciate the sentiment

Are you attending any panels: Yes!

Rules of engagement (physical Contact out of Suit): If you're my friend, hugs are acceptable!

What's the best way to find you: Wandering around the dealers room or panels

Do you do trades: I don't draw!

Can I hug or snuggle with you: I'm a bit cold-blooded. Unless I know you I'll probably be a bit standoffish physically, depending on the vibes!

How tall are you: 5' 11"

If I see you, how should i get your attention: Just say "Hi!".

Can I take a picture of ya: Of course.

Anything to add: Year of the Dragon incoming, bitches. IT'S TIME TO CUT LOOSE!

Hey, if anyone wants to split room costs and share a room for Antheria, let me know. I'm going to book a room before September.

So, since I'm not an artist, I've decided to start putting up the only creative work I have (writing) of articles I've written for my parent's magazine, Ornament. Call it my own little PR effort, hehe. I'll try to post an article up every other week. Only the two I've posted so far has anything directly to do with furries, but hopefully people will enjoy the eye candy at least!

The following is a posting from my new blog, http://thedragonofsanmarcos.blogspot.com! A friend suggested I make a blog to talk about subjects I feel strongly about. Since I'd been thinking about doing so anyway, that was the kick in the pants to get me going! Anyway, my write-up below is the second part of http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/1780619/. I'm very interested in Daoism, and I hope to talk more about my thoughts and opinions on Daoism in future posts. Whenever I write something which relates to furries I'll put it up as a journal post, but I'll keep my posts on politics and the like mainly on my blog:

Continuing on from finding your roots. Finding yourself is another important goal. In many ways, finding yourself is actually defining yourself. It is important to be honest with yourself; acknowledge plainly the good and the bad that you have done. However, that is not the whole story. Where will you go from here? Let's say acknowledging the good and the bad is accepting it as yours. That is only the starting point (and in itself, a long process! Neverending, in fact...), as now you can decide to progress or regress. Regressive action is amplifying the bad acts you have previously done, or committing new ones. Progressive action is amplifying the good acts, which is always doing something that benefits another, along with or even instead of yourself.

Oh, did I fool you? Did you think there were only two options? Things aren't so black and white.

There's also a neutral option; although true neutrality may be impossible to achieve, one can approach it. Because good and bad are often relative, or at least used relatively by most people; "those people are bad" never takes into account "those people"'s experiences and environment. Indeed, "good" and "bad" are usually used by one group to label another group as an antagonist, initiate conflict with said group with the intent to diminish it, and if possible eliminate or subordinate it.

All of existence can be broken down into several categories; matter and energy are some of the terms science utilizes. Chinese Daoism uses its own categories in tripartate configurations. There are three levels, with three further steps to each primary level. The first level is composed of people, events and things. The second level is composed of heaven, earth, and humanity. The third level is time, space, and the universe.

There is a further dualistic concept central to Daoist philosophy; the yin-yang.

My belief is that Daoist doctrine is fundamentally based on the assumption of a binary nature to the universe. My own personal experience leads me to believe that the nature of reality is mathematical, and that reality can be explained within the terms of ones and zeros. The trick to understanding this comes from Daoist philosophy. Let us take the yin-yang, and align it with 0 being yin, and 1 being yang.

yin yang
0 1
black white
dark light
cool warm
night day
moon sun
earth heaven

even odd

The principle is escalating pairs of co-existing opposites. The observer does not exist without the observed... but what happens when the observed is also an observer?

Infinite recursivity of steadily larger and more complex ideas is my view of reality's nature. Each idea required a pre-existing idea to come into existence itself; let us say that dark required black before it could exist, and night required dark before it could exist. Black to zero; all these are yin.

One could make some arguments about the order of the above list, but let us imagine it in the correct order of ascending complexity. Eventually, we get to the level of concepts required to construct our reality.

I would like to explore this further in another post, but for now would like to come back to the three levels. Note that Heaven and Earth are listed as Yang and Yin; I believe the other two levels also correspond in a similar manner, with Time being Yang and Space being Yin. The first level I am not certain about the order; my postulation is that People would most likely be Yang while Things would be Yin. The logic in this lies in the other two levels; Heaven and Earth are separate entities connected by Humanity. Time and Space are separate concepts which combined form the Universe. People and Things are separate forms which when juxtaposed create Events. That is my interpretation.

It should be noted that Christianity seems to have a similar foundation, at least the Catholic church; with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. What would be the third in the Mother, Daughter trinity?

While yin and yang are the elemental building blocks of reality, there is something required to connect them which produces change. These are the third element in each of the three levels; Events, Humanity, and the Universe.

Thus two is required for existence, while three is required for creation; one, the other, and the product, all in mutual co-existence.

Coming back to defining yourself. In the my previous essay on roots, I said I am a Serbo-Croatian-Czech-Chinese Dragon, son of a Siberian Tigress and Snake. How can I use this knowledge to define myself?

There are nine levels in total; People, Events and Things, Heaven, Earth and Humanity, Time, Space and the Universe. Two out of three of each level are a yin-yang pair, while the third is the fusion between them. One can practice this exercise as a method of defining yourself.

You have a yin part and a yang part, with yourself being the combination between the two of them. Languages can be paired off in yin-yang combinations as well; for most North Americans, English is the fusion language, particularly in the United States. Take your yin part and yang part; in my case, tiger and snake. Name your yin part in each of your yin and yang languages, as well as your fusion language; in my case, Serbo-Croatian, Chinese and English. Name your yang part in each of your languages. Finally, name yourself in each of your languages. For me, I am the Dragon.

Now, you know each of your nine levels. For me,
Je sam Tigar Je sam Zmija Je sam Zmaj
Wo shi Hu Wo shi Shé Wo shi Lóng
I am Tiger I am Snake I am the Dragon

That is all well and good, you might say, for a hybrid animal like a dragon. What about if I'm a dog or cat? I'm not certain how to answer that; you should have at least three levels to practice, so long as you have two non-English speaking origins. A German-Irish mix, who I know several of, would have one name in German, one in Gaelic, and one in English. Thus, do this exercise with one level:

Ta Me Faolchú
Ich bin Wolf
I am Wolf

Beyond that, I don't know. Perhaps you can concentrate on adjectives or occupations, such as happy or artist or writer. Specific types of your animal species can be helpful; with wolves, famous positions include alpha, omega, and lone. A second level may be:

Ta Me Aonarach Faolchú
Ich bin Einzelgänger
I am a lone Wolf

The goal is to arrive at nine definitions of yourself. Why nine? Well, because it's a lucky number in China, of course!

No, I kid. The tenth is your full name in all of your root languages. The nine preceding definitions are the nine stages of fractions from .1 to .9. Your full name is 1.0. The theory is existence proceeds through ever repeating cycles, as the world traverses time-wise the metaphorical "trip" from 0, the beginning, to 1. At that point, there lies two polar options, with one potential neutral option. The world can reset itself, essentially going backwards from 1 to 0. The world can progress, from 1 to 2. Or it could technically lock itself into infinite repeating cycles gradually approaching the number 1. As the world goes through these cycles, the idea is that you can, by defining yourself in the three level levels manner, fulfill all the steps necessary to reach 1; traversing the worlds of People, Events and Things, Heaven, Earth and Humanity, and finally Time, Space and the Universe.

By reaching an understanding of this recursive cycle and its nature, one can transcend it; it is as simple as understanding that 1 + 1 = 2, 1 - 1 = 0. (Although according to a Hawai'ian kapuna ((elder, and my brother's god uncle) I spoke to, 1 + 1 apparently equals 3! Can you understand why?) There can be no progression if one is constantly undermining one's self. Understanding the additive and subtractive processes of life is necessary in order for one to be able to cope with the pains and travails of Earth, the rules of Heaven, and the nature of Humanity.

By giving myself, or accepting, that these nine words represent a part of myself, I create ground upon which to build. Animals have their own subtleties in each culture, and so in that sense a Tigar is not quite the same as a Tiger, even though they represent the same physical entity. They each have cultural baggage that creates aesthetic differences in the mental concept. They become repositories of your thoughts and emotions, particularly those deemed negative. It's a way of taking your negative qualities and accepting them into yourself, by creating an aspect of yourself that can acceptably negotiate those intense emotions.

For example, I am usually fairly pleasant. I can link that to my Lóng personality, since the Chinese Dragon is a celestial, heavenly creature. I'm not always so serene, though! Sometimes I can barely tolerate all the idiots in the world. That is when I am Zmaj. The Serbo-Croatian dragon, one of two varieties, according to that most eminent of sources, wikipedia, is "considered as extremely intelligent, wise and knowledgeable creature of superhuman strength and proficiency in magic, very rich (usually described as having castles of enormous riches hidden in distant lands) and often lustful for women, with whom it is capable of making offspring. It often breathes fire and is generally accepted as a highly respected being, and while not always being benevolent, never as an entirely evil creature. Legends were spread about many historical and mythical heroes that they were conceived by a dragon."

Well, I'm flattered already! The point is that Lóng is my Yang, Heavenly orientation, while Zmaj is my Yin, Earthly orientation. Dragon is the catchall that binds it all together; Humanity. In Western religious perspective, the world is usually divided into two halves, but these are heaven and hell. Understanding the difference between this western perspective, of heaven versus hell, and the eastern perspective, of heaven and earth, is key to understanding the truth behind Daoist methodology.

Therefore, now one has a place for all that is deemed "negative", but is in fact a necessary component to life. It is when we let these qualities consume us and those around us that harm is done. By creating a place, a creative place, where one can continually adapt to the slings and arrows of daily life, one becomes more capable of dealing with one's dark side. Acceptance of this self is key, because it is only then that one can transcend the cycle of heaven and hell.

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/2/.....the_battle_for

The Egyptians can carry out a revolt against their rotten government but we can't?

So I wanted to write up a few thoughts that have been on my mind. My understanding of the world includes the view that every human has a spirit animal and every animal has a spirit human. You can accept this from a simple logical standpoint if you think of humans and animals as concepts rather than just physical entities. Humans anthropomorphized animals because animals exhibit traits that exist in humans, at least roughly. Some animals rely on deception and camouflage, hiding and stalking. These animals might be comparable to human traits of cleverness or being a trickster. Some animals are large and vast, strong and unsubtle; the comparisons here are obvious. Thus the way a human acts and looks has a conceptual counterpart in the form of a spirit animal.

In regards to an animal, their "spirit human" is simply how they act when stripped of all claws, teeth, strong jaws and little whiskers. Are they pleasant? Are they ugly? Are they intelligent? Are they cruel? These are all exhibited by the spirit human's form and behavior.

Essentially the upshot is whether you're an animal or a human, you have something which represents your strengths and weaknesses, your spirit. Your spirit is affected by your body, and vice versa. Thus your spirit does and will change, depending on your actions and that which you have experienced in your life. There are many directions in which these changes can go, but there are two main ones: up or down. Down leads towards the diminishment of your spirit, while up leads to the fulfilling of your spirit. You can go up for as long as you want; indeed, forever. But you can only go so far down, depending on where you started in the first place, before your soul will detach from your body and you die.

Changes happen in millions, billions of different ways, and some of those will be up while others are down. As long as the total sum of those going up is greater than those going down, your life will continue. Once it passes that mark however, you begin to age, descending slowly to death.

The funny thing is we can direct those changes, at least to some extent. There are plenty of things we can't change... but we have plenty of control over one thing if we want to, ourselves. By steering yourself in one direction or another, you can reach certain goals that mean the changes you experience in your life are generally leading you up rather than down. Sometimes it's difficult to do this, and sometimes you don't need to; but if you see yourself continually in bad circumstances, it's worth a try to take control over your life and decide where you want to go. After deciding where, you have to figure out how.

I've found, for myself, that a good way of starting out is considering where you came from. I am part Chinese, part Serbo-Croatian, an often troubled part of Eastern Europe. For those that don't know, Serbia and Croatia came from the former country of Yugoslavia. Serbians and Croatians rarely get along, so it is quite funny that my mother is the result of the two. Her Croatian father was an orphan who managed to create a modest production plant in Michigan, doing a lot of work during World War II and the aftermath. My Serbian grandmother came from a little farm. My father came from wartime China to the United States at a young age. My grandfather, a part of the Nationalist movement, stayed in Taiwan. Only my grandmother and their children came over. An interesting tapestry to say the least.

Having watched my mother and father interact over the years, as well as perhaps just a bit of whimsy, I imagine that my father is probably a snake. His year is that of the Ox, but that's not how I determine spirit animals. My mother, who is quite a woman, I believe to be a Siberian tigress. As I say, whether I am correct or simply dabbling in some fanciful dreaming, I do not know, but I am sure I am a synthesis between the East and the West. That much is true. I have had experiences where I've seen an Eastern dragon, and where I've seen myself as an Asian dragon. I am too thin and spindly to be a normal Western dragon, that much is obvious! But I can legitimately lay claim to Western ancestry. I am part Serbian and part Croatian. Thus I am not solely an Eastern dragon. But much of me comes from the East, from China, and that is how I spell out my heritage.

I am a Chinese-Serbo-Croatian Dragon. I know where I came from, and now I can decide where to go from there.

I was hoping to put up a write-up of Antheria before my trip to D.C., but it wasn't meant to be. I'll be at the American Craft Week (http://americancraftweek.com/) conference doing coverage... since a family friend, believe it or not, helped get this off the ground, I'm interested in seeing how its first year goes. Craft in the states is having its own major issues, at least as far as jewelers and handmade fiber people are concerned, and a dialogue about how to solve these problems is sorely needed. Perhaps that'll happen at the conference. Two first-time events (Antheria and American Craft Week) in two weeks, maybe that's auspicious? <grins>