Countdown...to 2012


A fascinating piece on the 2012 flap...at perhaps the strangest and most mindboggling website of them all...

http://fusionanomaly.net/2012.html

...together with a reminder from the late renegade philosopher and "guerilla ontologist" Robert Anton Wilson, regarding the fallacies of "fundamentalist futurism":

http://www.rawilson.com/chaos.shtml
(See "The Future of the Future")

Hummingbird...back again...

Detail from "Attracting the Hummingbird" (C) 2008 T.S. Minton, all rights reserved.

Comments from the Peanut Gallery (Letters to the Editor)

"Steve,

You rascal! Your site looks just GREAT!!"

Thanks so much,
Jim Nichols
www.jimnicholsufo.com

Sneak preview...of new German saucer art series by Jim Nichols

Just scoot on over to...
ufoazandofftherecord.blogspot.com

Comments from the Peanut Gallery (Letters to the Editor)

"Great to see more of your work from the archives. The Water Goddess one reminds me of the C.S. Lewis book I`m reading right now, "Perelandra" about the green goddess on the floating island. You are very expressive, glad to see you blogging again! "

- Mary Alice Bennett, Tucson Arizona
www.myspace.com/mjastudio
www.mjastudio.com

Divine Astrologer and Astropsychologist Dr. Luis Turi - back in Tucson.

See http://ufoazandofftherecord.blogspot.com/ ...includes photos by Charla Gene.

"Attracting the Hummingbird"

(C) 2007 T.S. Minton, all rights reserved.

- Thanks to Charla Genet for the digital photography.

- Previously displayed at Solar Culture Gallery, Tucson, Arizona.

Back with a bang after a long hiatus: more original art from the dusty archives of T.S. Minton

"Film of blood: the pre-resurrection" (circa fall 1991

"Jamming in a ring of fire"



"Father and son commiseration" - 1994

"Leaping from the ramparts"




"Life amid the machinery" - circa 1994



"Parturient urge"

"The woven mysteries of sleep"

"When the water goddess discovered land"

All artwork (C) Thodal S. Minton. All rights reserved.

"Faerie girl" - by Jasmine Ennis

Check out "The Music Maven"...

http://soundzlikemusic.blogspot.com

...editor T.S. Minton's freewheeling yet concise journey through rock and roll history. Youtube videos free (while they're available).

Wire side Sculptures Artist: Laure Marie Capsuto


- Dog made from car parts

- Cow head

- Gear horse

- Celtic inspired rendering of Bullwinkle's death.

"My sculptures and painting are a reflection of what I believe to be true and the spirit they reflect is that of unconditional love and hope that we can all be safe and able to live the way God intended us to live, with unconditional love and acceptance. I graduated from the Art Center of Tucson with a degree in Advertising art and have worked as a freelance professional fine artist since I was 16. My goal is to pursue a Bachelors degree in Art Therapy and to work with emotionally disabled children. I have 3 children of my own who are thriving in one of the best school districts in Tucson and I also have 3 horses, 2 of which I use for animal therapy. I currently still work as a freelance artist and have my work on display and for sale throughout the southwest. Please feel free to contact me if you know someone who would benefit from some animal therapy work or who would like a sculpture or painting."

Peace and unconditional love,

LaureLaureMC@comcast.net

http://www.myspace.com/ashedangel

Get new course on blogging for fun and profit - for free!

I'm evaluating a multi-media course on blogging from the folks at Simpleology. For a while, they're letting you snag it for free if you post about it on your blog.

It covers:

• The best blogging techniques.
• How to get traffic to your blog.
• How to turn your blog into money.

I'll let you know what I think once I've had a chance to check it out. Meanwhile, go grab yours while it's still free.

OSHO: Absolutely Free to Be Funny
Osho...a.k.a. Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, born December 11, 1931


"They have starved thinking for centuries...I'm not going to console anybody, because the more you console them the more retarded they remain...I am not your savior, I am not going to help you in any way to enter into the kingdom of God. But I can explain to you how we can live here in the kingdom of beauty, love, joy. To me God is a dead word."

"A chimpanzee could do better than that!"
- Actually this is by "Congo (1954-1964), a chimpanzee who painted pictures at the age of two to four years under the aegis of Desmond Morris." So it's pretty damned good, considering.


Source: Wikimedia Commons

John Lennon: Genius, Revolutionary, Surrealist...Hypocrite

Today is the anniversary of the murder of John Lennon, on December 8, 1980. I remember I was quite shocked and affected by it when I came home from school (I was in 6th grade or so) and heard the news from my mom, then from the constant television coverage. I had just finished a big school report on Lennon, so I was quite the little expert on the irreverent Liverpoolian. Or maybe I wrote the report after his death. Whatever, I was steeped in his mythos at an early age.

I always had a natural love for the Beatles, and regarded John's brilliant, acerbic, surrealist take on things a necessary counterpoint to Paul's dapper, whimsical outlook. Together their unique chemistry made the greatest songwriting team in rock and roll history. In their solo careers, after the break-up inspired by entropy, the insufferable Yoko, and many other factors, Paul was often overly sentimental, sappy, and irrelevant. John on his own was too often strident, self-righteous, and smug.

"Power to the people"? A little too overtly agit-prop from the man who a few years earlier had astutely sung: "If you go carrying pictures of chairman Mao/You ain't going to make it with anyone anyhow." And how about "Imagine no possessions, I wonder if you can." Something tells me John was not about to sign over the deed to his unit at the Dakota Apartments anytime soon.

And it's a damn shame, although par for the course, that one of the greatest artists of the 20th century was such a shitty father, at least to his son Julian ("Hey Jude..."). Watch the movie Pop and Me (1999), where the director, when traveling the world with his dad and interviewing fathers and sons about their relationship, encounters Julian at a poolside. Julian nails his famous father for abandoning him as a child, and for the hypocrisy of espousing his great message of peace and love in his music, while verbally abusing his own son in his early years.

For John at his best, see the You Tube videos below...spiritually prophetic, tender and affectioniate (towards his son Sean at least), beyond the wheels of Samsara just before a madman took his life in a senseless murder...


"Instant Karma"


"Watching the Wheels"


"Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)"

Contemporary poetry: "Thumbs down!"
by T.S. Minton

"I no longer feel compelled, or even impelled, to write poetry these days, and possibly will not for years to come. Number one, that muse has closed down. When I do get the urge to go on a creative jag, in the midst of the skull-splitting caffeinated stress and frantic pursuit of business endeavors which presently dominates my daily life, I plan on going back ot my original love: visual art, especially cartooning. Number two, although I have no interest in actively following it, what I have heard of contemporary poetry bores me silly. I find most of it insular, cryptic, pseudo-intellectual, full of annoying cadences and overly wedded to the dogmatic concept that art should be a platform for anarcho-leftist political screeds (to wit: Lawrence Ferlinghetti's wrong-headed little manifesto "Poetry as Insurgent Art"). I'll pass. Anyway, the greatest poet of our time, in an opinion I share with my former B.U. professor Christopher Ricks, is a rock and roller, not a self-conscious academic: Bob Dylan. Dylan, almost always, has dealt in riddles, rhymes, and metaphorical symbol-systems - NOT polemics. His concerns are the universal truths of the human heart - NOT promoting the passing ideologies of the day."
- From Squidoo.com/tsminton

Do you , uh, Squidoo? I do...

"Steve Minton is..."
See http://www.squidoo.com/tsminton

Create your own Squidoo Lens now! - Why not? It's free, and they'll break you off 50% of all ad revenue. ..plus submit your Lens to Google.

The Tony Redhouse Show...a new friend of T.S. Minton Blogs.

I've appeared several times on a new show on Access Tucson..."The Tony Redhouse Show"... a fascinating showcase for the aformentioned hoop dancer and Navajo teacher, and the always unexpected happenings that he brings about by his encouragement, nay insistence on audience participation.

- TSM



Access Tucson - Program guide
http://accesstucson.org/whatsontv/channel/12/

"Tony Redhouse, Navajo, is an articulate Professional Speaker and talented Hoop Dancer who infuses light-hearted humor and fun into every performance. Tony Redhouse is not just your ordinary speaker. Imagine colorful and mesmerizing Native American Dance, Stories, Music and audience participation in a dynamic speaking program. This is not a stoic history lesson or a worn out lecture on the plight of the American Indian. What you will get with Tony Redhouse is something personal, positive, thought provoking and even magical. Tony is one of the few Native entertainers today, who has successfully bridged the gap between cultures, social groups, races and ages. Tony has also founded his own style of yoga, Native American Yoga along with new spiritual interactive workshops, talking circles and meditative music. Mr. Redhouse has several music CD's out, and is a Grammy nominated artist. Mr. Redhouse brings healing in the form of Dance, Storytelling, Music and motivational speaking. Tony Redhouse has served as a Native American Traditional Consultant for HIV/AIDS, substance abuse recovery and Red Road Youth Groups. He is the recipient of several Native American Music Awards, and is a Kennedy Center Approved Artist. Tony has acted as Keynote Speaker for U.S. Governmental Conferences in Washington D.C. and for organizations Nationwide. "
http://www.myspace.com/tonyredhouse

"In Native American tradition, ceremony is practiced to restore personal balance in our lives. When the mental, physical, spiritual and emotional aspects of our being are each healthy and united, we experience healing and wholeness. We can then live in a state of peaceful bliss and open our hearts to "Soar like an eagle" to our highest good. Tony Redhouse creates a personal ceremony, eloquently using the most ancient forms of human expression: the voice, the drum and flute, to guide you on a meditative journey around the Sacred Circle of your life.
Tony Redhouse has served as a traditional Native American practitioner & consultant to Native American communities and behavioral health organizations. He is a visual artist, Grammy nominated recording artist, inspirational speaker, spiritual teacher, hoop and eagle dancer. He uses Native American art, dance and music to inspire and heal lives."
http://www.tonyredhouse.net/

Photos by Fred Willie, used with permission.
http://regulus2.azstarnet.com/blogs/bunnyblog/5193/

Tony Redhouse Four Winds, East Wind



Tony Redhouse Soul Blessings

"Our life is a beautiful tapestry of the many blessings carefully woven together for us by the Master Weaver of life.
In Native American Music tradition, music like art and dance tells a story. These songs reflect our human experience and express the memories, emotions and prayers of life. Soul Blessings is a rich mix of Native American, Afro-Cuban and original music which goes direct to the heart
Find your Soul Blessings with these rich layered rhythms, authentic yet soothing Native American chants, flute, guitar and fretless bass. Percussion sounds and bird whistles are from Tony's extensive collection of rare instruments. Tony is a known and internationally respected Navajo teacher, musician and healer. The production style of Liv Singh Khalsa (Crimson Series) adds powerful arrangements and beautiful sonic textures. Go to http://www.Tonyredhouse.net to hear music and see other videos by Tony Redhouse. "

Yuletide cheer...to one and all.

Myspace Christmas Graphics

Thanks also to
http://christmas-clipart.net

Music break...

Don't Look Back (You gotta walk) - Peter Tosh & Mick Jagger

Recently I was invited to blog at Idea tango.com, by technology guru and VP of Technology Pablo Bley of Tucson's The 3rd Party Media Alliance. Idea Tango is "a catalyst for innovation...providing our users with collaborative tools that help them learn, grow, share, and bring new products to market." Here are a few of my thoughts on the nature of creativity and invention:

A few morsels for thought: Where do ideas come from? No, not from "an idea factory in Schenectady," as a certain bellicose and aging science fiction/fantasy writer has been known to quip. Closer to the truth is that ideas bubble up from strange subterranean depths of the unconscious, maybe from contact with some "Mysterious Ray From Another Dimension" (referred to by some as the Jungian "collective unconscious"), from snippets of conversation lodged into our subconscious that emerge at moments of "coincidence," from shadows of dreams, maybe from the haphazard juxtaposition of disparate objects and the synergistic combinations with other, pre-existing ideas, i.e. Chocolate running into Peanut Butter or like the surrealist artists would have it, say, a giant pear sitting atop a feather, by the seaside.

What matters is not so much where ideas come from, but that we figure out how to tap these latent powers for the urgent matters facing our planet and its ticking time table. I would urge inventors of all stripes to keep in mind premises similar to what internet marketing pioneer and philanthropist Mark Joyner puts forth in his "Unifying Social Dynamics - Mark Joyner Construct Zero (version 1.0)":

"The attainment of the following will resolve much of the non-productive fixation of the world:

Universal Food and Water

Freedom From Disease

Universal Energy

Universal Education

Stabilization of Natural Resource Consumption

Imagine a world where the basic human needs are met for all and one would not have to live with the constant threat of impending starvation or disease. Note that I am not proposing an equal distribution of wealth, but technological automation that guarantees these rights to all regardless of their social position."
http://www.markjoyner.name/logs/mj_constructs0.php

The man I consider the second, yes second greatest inventor of modern times -- certainly the greatest American-born inventor ever -- was Thomas Edison. His methodology is familiar, and simple though not easy to replicate: relentless and exhaustively detailed written goal-setting and planning for Murphy's Law, ruthless persistence and a high percentage of perspiration, precious little sleep, and the like. Edison's greatest rival in the vaunted "War of the Currents" at the turn of the century, who attained victory over him in this war and was vanquished in the public imagination through the thwarting of J.P. Morgan and the eccentricities of his own imagination, was Nikola Tesla. You know, the guy who brought us the alternating current and polyphase distribution systems and AC motor, and contributed immensely to robotics, wireless communication, remote control, and other rather useful utilities. "The Wizard of Electricity" had a very different methodology than "The Wizard of Menlo Park," but one which I believe is complementary and as equally necessary as Edison's Calvinist-influenced work ethic ethos. Tesla was said to be able to envision blue-prints in his mind's eye, to vividly visualize the problems and solutions of his world-shaking, industry-spawning inventions, before he ever set his hand in motion to bring his gadgets into manifestation.

I believe we can learn much from the approaches of both of these great inventors; and I ultimately conclude that it was the tension and competition between these men which lead to the lighting and wiring of the world...in other words it was not either/or...rather it was "both"...their animosity fueled our gain...and we best produce new Edisons and Teslas to clean up the environment, feed the masses, unleash new forms of clean energy, etc. etc...before our little planetary experiment goes belly-up. The clock is ticking.

T.S. "Steve" Minton
Editor and publisher, T.S. Minton Blogs - "The Mind-Boggling Blog That's Guaranteed To Keep On Boggling"
http://tsmintonblog.blogspot.com/

Nikola Tesla: "The Man Out of Time"

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The Mark Joyner Constructs - "Learn about the purpose of The Constructs, the Spread the Meme license model, and how you can use The Constructs in your projects."
http://www.markjoyner.name/logs/mj_constructs.php

The 3rd Party Media Alliance Group
http://www.3rdpartynetworks.com/

More about Nikola Tesla from Fusion Anomaly

http://fusionanomaly.net/nikolatesla.html