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May 1st, 2008
07:21 pm - Catching up on mail
I got a ton of great mail in the last couple of weeks, and I thought I'd respond to a few emails that really caught my eye here on my blog.
To the person or persons evidently masquerading behind the handle “Ciaran”;
I would delete my bookmarks to your works were it not for the singular thread of the failed romance between your story’s protagonists. Aliens? Robots? I couldn’t care the least. I would admonish you to return to the core of your story and leave off with these hobby horses.
-- Jean M.
PS: I am astonished by your appalling and inexcusable behavior.
Dear Jean;
Thank you so much for writing. I love hearing from fans, and will do everything in my power to continue the story of the romance between Feb and April.
You were talking about Feb and April, weren't you?
Because if you were thinking of some other couple in the story, well, it might not go as you're hoping, and I'd just feel terrible about disappointing you.
Fondest wishes, and thank you again for reading,
Ci.
Hey Ci,
Good to see you writing and posting again.
I hate to say hello and then launch into a complaint, but you know, there are twelve spheres, not nine. If not, then why twelve Lhakan on the council? It's always been twelve, not nine. I have a piece of paper that you drew that proves it. Or would prove it, if I could find it.
Blessed Beltane,
Jess.
Hi Jessy,
Thank you for writing - I love hearing from you. I hope you and Sarah are doing great ^_^
How many spheres there are is purely a matter of perspective, and from the perspective of anyone living during the Fourth Darkness there are exactly twelve spheres, no more no less. There's simply no room in the alchemy at that point for there to be any question in the matter. So, from that perspective I have to completely agree with you. You are, as always, absolutely right.
However, that perspective was unique to that era. From the perspective of Mintaka's era (the Third darkness), the known spheres and paths were:
These are the nine that I believe should be the basis for the Circle Tale, given it's most likely age.
Please note that Coedea and Takhav are one of the paths and spheres, interrupting both Lakhan and Numal on the paths to Alakhea - the source of Mintaka's unusual connection with the Aeolean sea. So, as you have probably already guessed, from the perspective of the people living before Mintaka was born there were only eight known spheres, and the ninth never really contributed in any meaningful way until ... well ... you know.
Going back to the Second Darkness we know that Ghaekh appeared for all intents and purposes as if it was Lakhan, so there were only 7.
From the perspective of the Lakhan (the people, not the sphere), the choir is a fog of pre- and post- manifest spheres and the number of spheres relative to where you stand are purely a coincidence of how are looking, so if the Circle Tale is truly from an earlier age, then there's a good chance the twelve spheres were actually an entirely different set than we are familiar with, and work with, today.
Its an interesting question, and I look forward to talking about it more with you. Especially over some scotch. Will you be at SGMS this year?
Thank you again for writing, and Blessed Be,
Ci.
Dear Mr. Benson,
Satan has a counterfeit for every truth in the Bible. He even counterfeits our Saviour Himself (Mathew 24:24). Worship is a fitting issue upon which one's faith is put to test, especially as the crisis in the last days will be over the issue of worship. Worship reveals who or what is number one in a person's life. There are dire consequences for the choices one makes.
Your perverse creation continues to forth worshippers conforming to the likeness of the objects they worship (Rom 1:24-25; 2 Cor 3:18). You have been warned against the beast and his image, and prophecy declares, "Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus" (Rev 14:12; cf. 12:17; 19:10), but still you worship the beast, his image, and receive his mark.
Would not your talent be better turned to the praise of the Almighty? "Sing aloud unto God our strength; make a joyful noise unto The God of Jacob. Take a psalm and bring hither the timbrel, the pleasant harp with the psaltery." (Psalms 81: 1-2)
We continue to pray for you every Thursday night for the deliverance of your soul and the deliverance of those you lead astray. Our door is open and you may join us next Thursday [date, time, location].
The Prayer Warriors.
"To uphold and defend the one is to attack and overthrow the other" (The Great Controversy, p. 126).
Dear Prayer Warriors,
Shit. You guys again?
Well, at least you're not as bad as the Thomas Covenant cult, and your copy-pasta is more legible than those Canadian mothers united against indecency or whatever they called themselves.
As always, thanks for writing and for praying for me - that's always nice. Plus, thanks for just contacting me via email and phone. Much nicer than finding a car in the driveway or kids hiding in the woods with wands and staffs any day, know what I mean?
Pleasantries aside though, and I assure you it's nothing personal, but I'm gonna have to show you an Elder Sign now;
And wave my arms like a madman while I say unto you:
Ateh, malkuth, ve geburah, ve gedulah, le olam
Have a nice afterlife,
Ci.
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April 30th, 2008
April 29th, 2008
11:45 pm - Rikon update - the Circle Tale
I've decided to start updating my writing website, starting with Coyote and Blackbird, the first of twelve fairy-tales that make up the Circle Tale from the Third Darkness of Rikon.
The Circle Tale is an animistic expression of The Choir, normally told in the form of a children's fairytale.
There are twelve very brief stories, each focusing on a magically endowed animal whose strengths and weaknesses express the attributes of a pre- or post- manifest sphere of The Choir relative to Rikon. In turn each animal encounters the next and is undone or rendered inert by the encounter. In the end, the twelveth animal encounters the first and is itself undone, in an endless cycle.
You can read more about the history of the Circle Tale or the first of the twelve stories - an encounter between a restless coyote and a very determined redwing blackbird.
The price is the same, either way.
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April 28th, 2008
09:13 pm - He's not really gonna, is he?
I'm not really going to just appear back online after a two week walkabout and just start posting comics again without saying even a single word about the drama du-jour, am I?
Yup.
I'll post pics of our trip as soon as we get them off the cameras.
Tonight, I've fixed and reposted a couple of comics - the gigantic 2x2 layouts I was experimenting with lead me to some great discoveries and I'm glad I tried it, but frankly I think the strips read better as, well, strips, so I've done them as 1x4's and re-uploaded them, and will post the next in line before heading to bed.
Tomorrow, I'll work on getting caught up with all the email and very kind comments that everyone has sent me ^_^
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April 11th, 2008
08:47 pm - Too hot, gone to lake
Ely's gotten, like, a billion feet of snow in the last week, so on a lark we've decided to pack up and head to the BWCA
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for some of this
| and this
| and, who knows ...
| maybe a little of this
| and this
| and this
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Cuz we really need a lot more of this
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April 10th, 2008
April 7th, 2008
04:39 pm - Remind me again why I wanted roommates?
http://www.ubercybercats.com/archive/ucc_0015.html
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April 3rd, 2008
10:19 pm - Back online
Woo! My websites are finally all working and propagated. I've even gotten email working with the new host ^_^
Feels good to be able to start updating again.
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April 1st, 2008
05:58 pm - Rehomed on my new webserver!
Woo! I've got a bunch of sites rehomed to my new webhost; Heeking Cat (who, basically, is me).They might not show up for you yet, but the name services have updated everywhere and now it's just a matter of time before they all resolve to the new server.
Due to the shear size of some of the sites it will take awhile to get them rebuilt all the way. For example, UberCyberCats alone has 1.8 gigabytes of content in 3,500 pages, and there's no way I can get all that set up and working on the new server right away, so I'll keep on uploading three UberCyberCats a week to the new server as soon as I can see and get connected to the domains from my house. When time permits, I'll do Rikon and PervyToons on days that I'm not doing UberCyberCats.
BTW - none of this has ANYTHING to do with the level of service I was getting from my old webhost. Those guys hosted me for free for a decade, and I owe them big. It was just time for me to find my own server.
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10:54 am - April Foolz
Try going to any video on the YouTube front page.
OMG I love them SO MUCH.
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March 31st, 2008
09:14 am - still moving my websites
I'm still in the process of migrating my domains and websites to my new webhost. I got a good start on it this weekend (read: I *found* a new webhost) but will probably have to finish the migration next weekend.
"It's a Long Way to Tipperary"
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March 27th, 2008
08:46 am - Best. Episode. Ever.
Major Boobage. Even surpassing the World of Warcraft episode.
April actually stood up and applauded during the B-17 homage.
So - did they rotoscope new actors?
Or did they rotoscope over the rotoscoped movie?
The guy getting the spear in the chest looks a lot [EXACTLY FRAME FOR FRAME] like a scene from the Taarna sequence during the raid on the city except instead of a spear it was a lance from one of the guns. We rewatched that individual scene three times - it was so eerie to see something from our past played out over and over like that.
Awesome.
But still, even if the South Park guys rotoscoped over the movie itself that's still an awesome achievement.
Watching them blend their renderings and modern techniques with the movie's techniques was incredible.
A Tour de Force.
Best. Episode. Ever.
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/niaha/kitty/ankhappyp.gif) impressed
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March 26th, 2008
06:27 am - I'm working on it ...
My web server is having problems. I won't be able to post until I get it fixed, but we're in crunch mode at work so I will probably have to wait until this weekend to work on it.
Bummage.
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/niaha/kitty/anksadp.gif) sad
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March 24th, 2008
March 23rd, 2008
12:00 pm - Helping Lhasa and Tibet
If you are wondering what you can do to help with the current situation in Tibet, here are two charities that I and April like, and trust.
 International Campaign for Tibet
ICT has a 20-year record of achievement advancing the Tibetan cause - and the vision and leadership of the Dalai Lama - in the halls of Congress and in international forums. We strive to mobilize international goodwill in support of the Tibetan people. Our focus today is centered on working with governments to demonstrate meaningful support for Tibet, reaching out to Chinese all over the world, and monitoring conditions inside Tibet.
|  Tibet Fund
The Tibet Fund is dedicated to helping Tibetans improve their lives and preserve their distinct cultural, religious and national identity. The Tibet Fund brings urgently needed resources to the educational, cultural, health and socio-economic institutions that sustain the Tibetan way of life, language, and traditions. The Tibet Fund's support helps to sustain the Tibetan refugee settlements in India, Nepal and Bhutan and provide rehabilitation services for the thousands of new refugees who continue to arrive from Tibet every year. |
Additional information (and awesome Buddhist geegaws) are available from the Dharmashop and it's donations page.
And here are a couple things you can do to let your representatives in the US government know your opinion (if you're a US citizen).
-- Feb & April.
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March 22nd, 2008
12:35 pm - Blessed Ostara!
It's Caturday in the beautiful Land of Erik so I'm going to get back to posting. Gotta kink in my witcherfibbits that I gotta photoshop around then I'll be uploading. Let's see how long it takes, shall we?
Current Music: Fat Bottom Girls -- Queen
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ciaranbenson's journal
