Friday, August 18, 2023

Dan, I Allegedly, "Do You Have Any Money Left?"

Full screen recommended.
Dan, I Allegedly 8/18/23
"Do You Have Any Money Left?"
"In 2021 we had record savings of over $2 trillion. I believe that this was just stimulus checks that haven’t been unloaded yet. All of this money is now gone. They’re telling us that the savings rate is at an all time low and that people only have $500 million left."
Comments here:

"Grocery Shopping Adventure At Target! Thinking Outside The Box!"

Full screen recommended.
Adventures With Danno, 8/18/23
"Grocery Shopping Adventure At Target!
 Thinking Outside The Box!"
"As inflation and many other factors continue to raise prices at the grocery stores, we are at Target to check out all of their store brand grocery options. Some of these items we show are not only a cheaper option, but good quality as well!"
Comments here:

Thursday, August 17, 2023

"Alert! State Of Emergency; Ukraine Collapse; Markets In Free Fall; NATO's Nuclear Signal"

Full screen recommended.
Canadian Prepper, 8/17/23
"Alert! State Of Emergency; Ukraine Collapse;
 Markets In Free Fall; NATO's Nuclear Signal"
Comments here:

"Markets In Panic Mode; Feds Will Crash Stocks; You Can't Buy A House; Target Store Danger"

Jeremiah Babe, 8/17/23
"Markets In Panic Mode; Feds Will Crash Stocks; 
You Can't Buy A House; Target Store Danger"
Comments here:

"Starbucks Report Massive Price Increases As Major Restaurant Chains Get Ready For Hard Times"

Full screen recommended.
"Starbucks Report Massive Price Increases As 
Major Restaurant Chains Get Ready For Hard Times"
by Epic Economist

"Restaurant prices are still rising all across the United States, and even your regular coffee order at Starbucks is going to get more expensive in the coming weeks. According to a new report, this is the fifth time Starbucks is raising menu prices in two years. The coffee house chain is also implementing “additional pricing actions” that can result in extra fees for some beverages as it attempts to boost its bottom line in the second half of 2023. Many consumers have already started to notice price changes in their area recently, and while some complain about yet another spike in menu costs, the company is seeing profits go through the roof. The controversial pricing strategy is being followed by multiple fast food and restaurant chains right now as they prepare for a consumer recession and introduce their final price hikes before the economy starts to crater again.

Food industry analysts with NBS revealed that over the past couple of years, Starbucks products faced price hikes of 20% to 30%. And according to the international company's second-quarter financial report, it looks like lattes aren't going to cost less any time soon. The last price increase announced by Starbucks dates to May 6, when it passed along a 20-cent hike on the cost of several beverages. So far this year, it raised prices by an average of 70 cents. In a recent interview, new CEO Laxman Narashiman said Starbucks price increases will moderate from now on. Thankfully, this means that they may not be as high as before. But the bad news is that they’re still happening.

Its latest earnings report cited higher operating expenses such as the rising cost of food, labor, and packaging as a reason why it will raise prices once more in 2023. However, the company’s announcement was met with criticism after people pointed out the decline in global coffee bean prices and other commodities in the past few months.

The company’s earnings report reveals that price increases drove net revenues up 15% year-over-year to a record $8.1 billion in 2022. The coffee house chain reported a 31% increase in profits in the past three months. According to historian Andy Lewis, Starbucks' explanation for the impending price increases amounts to nothing more than "word salad to hide corporate greed." On a similar note, the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen responded with outrage to Starbucks increasing prices for the fifth time after giving its CEO a nearly 40% raise last year. "Corporations are jacking up prices on consumers and using concerns about a recession as cover to do so," he wrote.

At this moment, many big names in the restaurant industry are doing the same as Starbucks.Part of those added costs may indeed be unnecessary considering how much these companies are making. But the reality is that they can feel that much harder times are ahead of us and they’re trying to better position themselves to fight the recession that is starting to unfold. The restaurant business is the first to go down when a major economic downturn hits. That’s what happened during the pandemic when thousands of locations were shut down due to collapsing sales. A similar fate seems to approaching us, and those who didn’t come up with a plan won’t survive the storm."
Comments here:

Musical Interlude: 2002, "Another Answer Came"

Full screen recommended.
2002, "Another Answer Came"
"In "Savitri" by Sri Aurobindo, Savitri discovers that her love, Satyavan has only one year left to live. She must decide whether or not she will stay with him in the emerald forest or search for a new love. But another answer came, and she outwitted death itself." 
o
"Savitri"

"A Look to the Heavens"

“About 70 million light-years distant, gorgeous spiral galaxy NGC 289 is larger than our own Milky Way. Seen nearly face-on, its bright core and colorful central disk give way to remarkably faint, bluish spiral arms. The extensive arms sweep well over 100 thousand light-years from the galaxy's center.
At the lower right in this sharp, telescopic galaxy portrait the main spiral arm seems to encounter a small, fuzzy elliptical companion galaxy interacting with enormous NGC 289. Of course spiky stars are in the foreground of the scene. They lie within the Milky Way toward the southern constellation Sculptor.”

Chet Raymo, “Take My Arm”

“Take My Arm”
by Chet Raymo

“I’m sure I have referenced here before the poems of Grace Schulman, she who inhabits that sweet melancholy place between “the necessity and impossibility of belief.” Between, too, the necessity and impossibility of love.

Belief and love. They have so much in common, yet are as distinct as self and other. How strange that two people can hitch their lives together, on a whim, say, or wild intuition, knowing little if nothing about the other’s hiddenness, about things that even the other does not fully understand and couldn’t articulate even if he did. Blind, deaf, dumb, they leap into the future, hoping to fly, and, for a moment, soaring, like Icarus, sunward. The necessity of wax. The impossibility of wax. We “fall” in love, they say. Schulman: “We slog. We tramp the road of possibility. Give me your arm.”

The Poet: Wendell Berry, “Leavings”

“Leavings”

“In time a man disappears
from his lifelong fields, from
the streams he has walked beside,
from the woods where he sat and waited.
Thinking of this, he seems to
miss himself in those places
as if always he has been there.
But first he must disappear,
and this he foresees with hope,
with thanks. Let others come.”

- Wendell Berry
“Perhaps as he was lying awake then, his life may have passed before him – his early hopeful struggles, his manly successes and prosperity, his downfall in his declining years, and his present helpless condition – no chance of revenge against Fortune, which had had the better of him - neither name nor money to bequeath – a spent-out, bootless life of defeat and disappointment, and the end here! Which, I wonder, brother reader, is the better lot, to die prosperous and famous, or poor and disappointed? To have, and to be forced to yield; or to sink out of life, having played and lost the game? That must be a strange feeling, when a day of our life comes and we say, “Tomorrow, success or failure won’t matter much, and the sun will rise, and all the myriads of mankind go to their work or their pleasure as usual, but I shall be out of the turmoil.”
- William Makepeace Thackeray, “Vanity Fair”

"My Task..."

“My task, which I am trying to achieve, is by the power of the written word, to make you hear, to make you feel; it is, before all, to make you see. That and no more, and it is everything. If I succeed, you shall find there, according to your deserts, encouragement, consolation, fear, charm, all you demand – and, perhaps, also that glimpse of truth for which you have forgotten to ask.”
- Joseph Conrad

"We Need To Stop China"

Full screen recommended.
Dan, I Allegedly 8/17/23
"We Need To Stop China"
"Nebraska congressman, Don Bacon was just informed that the CCP had infiltrated his office. They were spying on his telephone and his emails. This needs to stop. We can’t have China doing this anymore."
Comments here:

The Daily "Near You?"

Leesburg, Florida, USA. Thanks for stopping by!

"The Essence Of Human Existence..."

"Curiosity is the essence of human existence.
'Who are we? Where are we? Where do we come from? Where are we going?'
I don't know. I don't have any answers to those questions.
I don't know what's over there around the corner. But I want to find out."
- Eugene Cernan

Oriah Mountain Dreamer, "The Invitation"

"The Invitation"

"It doesn't interest me what you do for a living.
I want to know what you ache for,
and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart's longing.

It doesn't interest me how old you are.
I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love,
for your dream, for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your moon.
I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow,
if you have been opened by life's betrayals or have
become shriveled and closed from fear of further pain!

I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own,
without moving to hide it or fade it, or fix it.
I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own,
if you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill you
to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful,
to be realistic, to remember the limitations of being human.

It doesn't interest me if the story you are telling me is true.
I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself;
if you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul;
if you can be faithless and therefore trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see beauty even when it's not pretty,
every day, and if you can source your own life from its presence.

I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine,
and still stand on the edge of the lake and shout to the silver of the full moon, "Yes!"

It doesn't interest me to know where you live or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up, after the night of grief and despair,
weary and bruised to the bone,
and do what needs to be done to feed the children.

It doesn't interest me who you know or how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand in the center of the fire with me
and not shrink back.

It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom you have studied.
I want to know what sustains you, from the inside, when all else falls away.

I want to know if you can be alone with yourself and if you truly like
the company you keep in the empty moments."

- Oriah Mountain Dreamer

"Nothing Happens..."

"Nothing happens to anyone that he is not fitted by nature to bear."
- Marcus Aurelius

"One Can Make People Believe..."

“One could make people believe the most fantastic statements one day, and trust that if the next day they were given irrefutable proof of their falsehood, they would take refuge in cynicism; instead of deserting the leaders who had lied to them, they would protest that they had known all along that the statement was a lie and would admire the leaders for their superior tactical cleverness."
- Hannah Arendt, "The Origins of Totalitarianism"

Of course, we know very well what to expect...

Gerald Celente, "Brace Yourself For A Market Crash & Bank Bust"

Strong language alert!
Full screen recommended.
Gerald Celente, 8/17/23
"Brace Yourself For A Market Crash & Bank Bust"
"In this  video, renowned trend forecaster Gerald Celente shares his invaluable insights on the current economic landscape. Brace yourself for an eye-opening discussion as Celente delves into his predictions on an impending market crash and bank bust. As the founder of Trends Research Institute, Celente has a proven track record of anticipating major economic shifts. His analyses have been sought after by leading corporations and financial institutions worldwide. With his expertise, he provides an intriguing glimpse into the future of global markets. During this captivating interview, Celente reveals the underlying factors that contribute to the potential market crash and bank bust."
Comments here:
o
o
"$2.5 Quadrillion Disaster Waiting to Happen – 
Egon von Greyerz"
By Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com

"There is sufficiency in the world 
for Man's need but not for his greed." 
Mahatma Gandhi

"Egon von Greyerz (EvG) stores gold for clients at the biggest private gold vault in the world buried deep in the Swiss Alps. EvG is a financial and precious metals expert. EvG is a former Swiss banker and an expert in risk. He says the risk in the global markets has never been this high.

EvG explains, “Credit has increased dramatically through derivatives. All instruments being issued now by banks, pension funds, stock funds, it’s all synthetic. There is no real underlying payments in anything almost. Therefore, my estimate for derivatives would be at least $2 quadrillion, and I think that is probably conservative. Then, we have debt on top of that of $300 trillion, and we also have a couple hundred trillion dollars of unfunded liabilities. So, we are talking about $2.5 quadrillion, and that’s with a global GDP of $80 trillion. So, there is a disaster waiting to happen, and especially because all this created money has created no value whatsoever. I always knew this would collapse, and it’s taken longer than I expected, but I think we are at the end of a major era. 

These derivatives, at some point in the coming few years, will actually turn into debt. Central banks will have to cover all the outstanding liabilities of the commercial banks as we are seeing now with Credit Suisse, Bank of England and etc. This is going to happen across the board. Whether it’s called derivatives or called debt, as far as I am concerned, it’s the same thing. It will have the same effect on the world financial system, which will be disastrous, of course.”

EvG says the derivative markets were simply a way for financial institutions to carry debt and not show it on their balance sheets. In the end, everything will balance out. EvG goes on to say, “Nobody can repay the debt, and they can’t even pay interest. So, therefore, when the debt implodes, so will the assets that were financed by this debt. So, both sides of the balance sheet have to come down. Whether it comes down by 50%, 75% or 90%, I don’t know. All I think about is risk, and the financial system will not survive in its present form. Central banks only use one kind of medicine, and that is more printed money. Now, you are getting negative returns on printed money. So, that is not going to save anything. 

Sadly we are looking at a situation when this system will start to implode. The rich are still rich, but the poor are really poor. Overall in the UK, Germany and most European countries, people don’t have enough money to live. This is a human disaster already. With food costs going up 25% and energy going up the same and gasoline, interest rates and rents, people don’t have enough money, and that is happening now. It’s a human disaster of mega proportions. It’s so sad, and governments will have no chance of doing anything about it.”

In closing, EvG says, “This is why it is getting closer for implosion because the whole system can’t take this. The risk is increasing exponentially. So, I think people should be prepared. Most asset markets have lost money, and it is going to get worse.” There is much more in the 43-minute interview.

Join Greg Hunter on Rumble as he goes One-on-One with Egon von Greyerz of Matterhorn Asset Management, which can be found on GoldSwitzerland.com
o
Related:

"How It Really Is, And Will Be"

 

Oh, you ain't seen nuthin' yet...

"Ukraine/Russia War Update 8/17/23"

Col. Douglas Macgregor, Straight Calls 8/17/23
"Ukraine: The Regime Is About To Collapse 
And May Disintegrate At Any Moment"
"Analysis of breaking news and in-depth discussion of current geopolitical events in the United States of America and the world."
Comments here:
o
Judge Napolitano - Judging Freedom, 8/17/23
"How Will this Ukraine Russia War End? 
w/Larry Johnson fmr CIA"
Comments here:
o
Judge Napolitano - Judging Freedom, 8/17/23
"Ukraine Offensive's NEW Strategy - HOPE? w/Scott Ritter"
Comments here:

"You Don’t Need Savings"

Full screen recommended.
Dan, I Allegedly 8/17/23
"You Don’t Need Savings"
"There are two great financial gurus out there. One is Grant Cardone. He’s a brilliant salesman and a real estate guru. The other is Dave Ramsey. Dave Ramsey believes that you should save and build wealth, slow and steady. Grant Cardone steps forward and says “you don’t need  savings.“
Comments here:

Bill Bonner, "The Democracy Trap"

"The Democracy Trap"
Politics, geopolitics, megapolitics...
 and election time in the land of the gauchos.
by Bill Bonner

“A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the majority discovers it can vote itself largess out of the public treasury. After that, the majority always votes for the candidate promising the most benefits with the result the democracy collapses because of the loose fiscal policy ensuing, always to be followed by a dictatorship, then a monarchy."
~ Alexander Fraser Tyler (15 October 1747 – 5 January 1813)

Youghal, Ireland - "Politics…geopolitics…megapolitics…B.S., theft and murder. But now, they come at us hard and fast. In Argentina politics is front and center – along with an historic test of democracy itself. In Ukraine, the geo-political ‘game’ brings joy to a few…profits to some…and misery to many. And in the US itself, megapolitics sink the empire. Today, we look at politics…in the land of the gauchos. We admit a prejudice. We have a special affection for Argentina and live there part of the year. And what a learning experience! Every dopey policy…every jackass program – the Argentines have tried them all.

Democracy: Testing, Testing…Yesterday came news that the peso is plummeting again, the dollar is soaring, and the central bank raised its lending rate to 118%! But it is still behind the actual inflation rate, believed to be around 120%. What’s new? Inflation is a very old story. It’s how the elite transfer power and money to themselves – beyond what they can get from taxation and borrowing. But since inflation so obviously harms the common man…and since it is the common man who ultimately prevails in an election…democracy requires a level of fraud not normally seen in a monarchy or an autocracy. And now, in Argentina, we are witnessing an important test.

We know inflation can be stopped. Paul Volcker did it in 1980. But Volcker was not elected. Inflation peaked at only at 13%. And the national debt was less than $1 trillion. Even then, it was a close call. Volcker pushed the key Fed rate up to 20%. Politicians and activists howled. They called for his head and burned an effigy of him on the Capitol steps. They said he was ruining the economy. Ronald Reagan had just been elected; he had a few years before he had to face the voters again. He stuck with Volcker and the job got done.

Today, that scenario is almost unimaginable. The national debt is almost $33 trillion. Households, businesses, investors, and the government itself – all are hooked on cheap money. And neither major candidate for president – Biden nor Trump – favors a return to balanced budgets or ‘hard’ money. Thank God, the masses are so easy to bamboozle. They think inflation is caused by capitalist ‘greed’ or ‘supply chain disruptions’ or foreign suppliers – the Chinese!

Burning Down the Bank: But after many years, these miscues lose their appeal…and voters begin to suspect that it is the politicians themselves who are to blame. Then, a ‘vote the bums out’ movement takes hold…and enterprising politicians promise reform. Usually, the ‘reform’ candidate is just another bamboozler. But the voters can’t tell the difference. Donald J. Trump, for example, is no real reformer. But he plays one on TV and that is enough for many voters.

Real reformers, on the other hand, pose a threat to the Elite Establishment. In Niger, the elected president seems to have threatened the power of the military. So, the generals locked him up. And in Pakistan, here’s the latest. The Cradle:

"In a striking judicial development on 5 August, a court in Islamabad handed down a significant verdict against former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan. The court found him guilty of a serious lapse in his responsibilities, specifically his failure to report the sale of state gifts on his income tax and asset declaration forms. Consequently, the popular politician and former cricket star was sentenced to three years in prison and, notably, was further disqualified from seeking public office for a minimum period of five years."

Cometh Javier Milei in Argentina. He has 5 dogs named after economists. He used to play guitar in a rock ‘n’ roll band. And now he delivers fiery speeches, proposing to burn down the central bank and do away with the peso altogether.

A Fruitful Alliance: We have a financial research business in Buenos Aires. There, as here, we publish ideas and opinions that are out of step with the mainstream press. When he was just beginning his long-shot campaign, Milei contacted us. We – our local CEO – introduced him to former Argentine president, Mauricio Macri. It now looks like a fruitful alliance.

Milei proposes to do away with welfare, streamline the military and cut government spending to an affordable level – the very opposite of what the masses generally favor. And yet, in the primary election on Sunday, he stunned observers with a victory. TIME: "Far-right populist Javier Milei rocked Argentina’s political establishment Sunday by emerging as the biggest vote-getter in primary elections to choose presidential candidates for the October general election in a nation battered by economic woes.

Milei, an admirer of former U.S. President Donald Trump, says Argentina’s Central Bank should be abolished, thinks climate change is a lie, characterizes sex education as a ploy to destroy the family, believes the sale of human organs should be legal and wants to make it easier to own handguns.

With around 92% of polling locations reporting, Milei had around 30% of the total vote, according to official results. The candidates in the main opposition coalition, United for Change, were at 28% and the current governing coalition, Union for the Homeland, had 27%. Celebrating in his election headquarters, Milei vowed to bring “an end to the parasitic, corrupt and useless political caste that exists in this country.” “Today we took the first step toward the reconstruction of Argentina,” he said. “A different Argentina is impossible with the same people as always.” Whoa!

It was just a primary. And veteran politicians, their pet reporters and their hit men have ways of sidelining real reformers. But the election is worth watching. The masses usually want something-for-nothing. Politicians who promise to deliver it get elected. Those who tell the truth are defeated. Or worse. Can a popular democracy ever escape the trap described by Mr. Tyler, above? We’ll find out."

"Stocking Up On Sales At Kroger! More Price Increases! What's Coming?"

Full screen recommended.
Adventures With Danno, 8/17/23
"Stocking Up On Sales At Kroger!
 More Price Increases! What's Coming?"
"In today's vlog, we are at Kroger and are noticing that even the sales prices on items are getting much higher than they have ever been. Prices on groceries are getting so expensive that many families are struggling to put food on the table."
Comments here:

Wednesday, August 16, 2023

"People Will Freak Out When Gas Stations Run Dry And Prices Hit Astronomical Levels In The Next Weeks"

Full screen recommended.
"People Will Freak Out When Gas Stations Run Dry 
And Prices Hit Astronomical Levels In The Next Weeks"
by Epic Economist

"An alarming trend has emerged this month: Gasoline prices are creeping toward $4 again. Fuel stockpiles have dropped for six weeks in a row and that may create a huge headache for U.S. motorists getting ready to hit the road on Labor Day. With refineries closing down for maintenance during a critical moment of the U.S. driving season, many stations can run out of supplies and prices are likely to hit the highest levels in over a year, according to experts’ forecasts. The situation is reaching such extreme proportions that now even the U.S. Energy Information Administration is revising its forecast for gas and oil prices upwards, and expecting the trend to last until 2024. On top of all that, one major energy provider is warning about an impending nationwide energy crisis in the coming months, Shortages and outages can cause more stress at the pump and for millions of families this fall and winter.

In the past few weeks, drivers have been feeling a pinch when filling up their tanks, with the average price for a gallon of regular gasoline jumping to $3.87 today, an increase of almost 40 cents from a month ago. AAA data shows that since July 16, the average cost of a gallon of gas climbed nearly 15%, surpassing $4 in 12 states, including Arizona, Illinois, Utah, Colorado, and Michigan. In California, the state with the highest gas prices, an average gallon costs more than $5 right now.

Exacerbating the supply crunch, a spike in demand ahead of Labor Day will keep prices expensive in August and September. "Globally, August is the peak [demand]," adds Richard Joswick, head of global oil at S&P Global Commodity Insights. He forecasts that the national average could climb above $4 by August 30.

Earlier this month, Goldman Sachs forecasted oil could reach $100 a barrel in the fourth quarter, bringing the average price of a gallon of gas to the highest level in a year. Patrick De Haan, the head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, notes that the cost of gasoline is currently at the highest point since October 2022, and it could climb to $4.12 by September 2 due to dwindling inventories.

Any disruptive event, such as a major storm that damages infrastructure, could make things exponentially worse. "The wild card is a hurricane threat," AAA said. "If a hurricane comes barreling in and hits the U.S. gulf coast, prices will spike."

The skyrocketing price of energy supplies, especially gasoline, is likely to cause inflation to rise through August, experts said. The US Energy Information Administration dimmed its estimate of global oil production through 2024 because of an agreement by OPEC+ to extend its output cuts in the fourth quarter. Citing those supply cuts, the EIA said it expects more “upward pressure” on oil prices, “notably in late-2023 and early-2024.”

Unfortunately, gasoline and fuels aren’t the only energy supplies at risk of shortages and outages during this fall and winter. A major cooperative of electric grid operators in Utah just approved a declaration of what it says is an “impending U.S. energy crisis,” fueled by the accelerated retirement of coal-fired power plants without ensuring an alternative base load energy supply can take their place.

We’re about to face the worst of gasoline inflation, and our homes are at risk of losing power during the period we will need it the most. The disruptions that occurred last year will be considered mild compared to what’s going to happen this winter, that’s why the time to prepare is now."
Comments here:

"Gerald Celente, Trends Journal 8/16/23"

Gerald Celente, Trends Journal 8/16/23
"Judge Andrew Napolitano,
 America: Freedom Dying By A Thousand Cuts"
Comments here:
"The Trends Journal is a weekly magazine analyzing global current events forming future trends. Our mission is to present facts and truth over fear and propaganda to help subscribers prepare for what’s next in these increasingly turbulent times."

Musical Interlude: 2002, "Remember Now"

Full screen recommended.
2002, "Remember Now"
"The inspiration for this song was a "Star Trek: The Next Generation" episode called "The Offspring". Data (an android) creates a "child" for himself which he names Lal (in the Hindi language, Lal means "Beloved"). Lal eventually dies in Data's arms, remembering and retelling the precious moments she has lived. Data transferred Lal's thoughts into his own neural net, so that she would not be forgotten."

"A Look to the Heavens"

This rock structure is not only surreal - it's real. The reason it's not more famous is that it is, perhaps, smaller than one might guess: the capstone rock overhangs only a few meters. Even so, the King of Wings outcrop, located in New Mexico, USA, is a fascinating example of an unusual type of rock structure called a hoodoo. Hoodoos may form when a layer of hard rock overlays a layer of eroding softer rock.
Figuring out the details of incorporating this hoodoo into a night-sky photoshoot took over a year. Besides waiting for a suitably picturesque night behind a sky with few clouds, the foreground had to be artificially lit just right relative to the natural glow of the background. After much planning and waiting, the final shot, featured here, was taken in May 2016. Mimicking the horizontal bar, the background sky features the band of our Milky Way Galaxy stretching overhead.”

“Requiem for a Ladybug”

“Requiem for a Ladybug”
by Frankly Francis

“You lie still less than a foot away on top of the soft mouse pad that protects me from carpal tunnel syndrome. I noticed this morning, through eyes not yet clarified by my first coffee of the day, your presence in my study. Odd, I thought, that you would even be present now. It is certainly past your time of the year in these parts.

I had the presence of mind to reckon that your life must be short. Rather than remove you from my space, both physical and mental, I decided that if these were your final moments then my study could be your Hospice and I your companion.

Your flight and movement were a little chaotic, seemingly random. You nestled in the heat of the light in the globe of my desk lamp, you circled my cranium, you landed in various spots, and in and on various objects on my desk while I got about the business of the day.

Sometimes I could see you, other times I did not know where you were. Then you would rise again to a new location. I wondered if you had any purpose in this, if there was more going on than my conscious programming allowed me to realize.

Perhaps it was, in your reality, some last business to be done? Or perhaps a ritual of your species’ existence? I hoped that if there is any pleasure in being a Ladybug that it was satisfying in some way, even so far from your natural habitat. Then you landed on your final resting spot and moved no more.

For me, my study is a place of many good things. I hope in your last moments it was to you as well. Rest in Peace my little Ladybug. And thanks for reminding me of the preciousness and fragility of life.”

"Memento Mori"

"Memento Mori"
by Ryan Holiday

"Were all the geniuses of history to focus on this single theme, they could never fully express their bafflement at the darkness of the human mind. No person hands out their money to passersby, but to how many do each of us hand out our lives! We're tight-fisted with property and money, yet think too little of wasting time, the one thing about which we should all be the toughest misers."  - Seneca

Born with a chronic illness that loomed large throughout his life, Seneca was constantly thinking about and writing about the final act of life. "Let us prepare our minds as if we'd come to the very end of life," he said. "Let us postpone nothing. Let us balance life's books each day. The one who puts the finishing touches on their life each day is never short of time."

Most interestingly, he quibbled with the idea that death was something that lay ahead of us in the uncertain future. "This is our big mistake," Seneca wrote, "to think we look forward to death. Most of death is already gone. Whatever time has passed is owned by death." That was Seneca's great insight - that we are dying every day and no day, once dead, can be revived.

So we should listen to the command that Marcus gave himself. He wrote,"Concentrate every minute like a Roman on doing what's in front of you with precise and genuine seriousness, tenderly, willingly, with justice. And on freeing yourself from all other distractions." The key to this kind of concentration? "Do everything as if it were the last thing you were doing in your life."

That's the power of Memento Mori - of meditating on your mortality. It isn't about being morbid or making you scared. It's about giving you power. It's to inspire, to motivate, to clarify, to concentrate like a Roman on the thing in front of you. Because it may well be the last thing you do in your life.

The Stoics were philosophers, but more than that they were doers. They didn't have room for big words or big ideas, just stuff that made you better right here, right now. As Marcus Aurelius said: "Justice, honesty, self-control, courage, don't make room for anything but it - for anything that might lead you astray, tempt you off the road, and leave you unable to devote yourself completely to achieving the goodness that is uniquely yours."

"All I Wanna Do..."

"Angel: Well, I guess I kinda worked it out. If there's no great glorious end to all this, if nothing we do matters... then all that matters is what we do. 'Cause that's all there is. What we do. Now. Today. I fought for so long, for redemption, for a reward, and finally just to beat the other guy, but I never got it.
Kate Lockley: And now you do?
Angel: Not all of it. All I wanna do is help. I wanna help because, I don't think people should suffer as they do. Because, if there's no bigger meaning, then the smallest act of kindness is the greatest thing in the world.
Kate Lockley: Yikes. It sounds like you've had an epiphany.
Angel: I keep saying that, but nobody's listening."
"Angel", 2001

"Isochronic Tones: Cognition Enhancer For Clearer and Faster Thinking"

"Isochronic Tones:
Cognition Enhancer For Clearer and Faster Thinking"
by Jason Lewis

“Headphones Recommended – Note: As this session stimulates each ear with different frequencies, you will need to use headphones to experience the full effect. Alternative background sounds available on Mp3 here: Orchestral, Hybrid, World Music, Rain, Brown Noise.

What does this track do? This session stimulates Beta, SMR and Alpha, alternating in 2 minute increments to help keep the user relaxed and engaged. Note: SMR (sensorimotor rhythm) relates to the frequency range between 12 – 15Hz. It’s associated with sensory processing and motor control. Stimulating this can result in relaxed focus and improved attention. This session is meant to speed up the brain while keeping the left hemisphere dominant (good for attention, concentration and reducing emotional response and hyperactivity). ADD and similar disorders are often characterized by “slow-wave” EEG patterns, particularly in the left frontal region. As such, this session stimulates the left brain hemisphere with Beta frequencies and the right with SMR.

Can it be used to help with studying and if so, when should you listen to it? Yes, it can be helpful to use while studying, and if you read through the many comments about this track, you’ll see that many people have successfully used it for studying. You can either listen to it while you are studying, to get your brain into a good mental state when you need it. Or if you are someone that gets a bit distracted by music while studying, listen to it just before you begin.

How Loud Should The Volume Be? There is varying advice and opinions on the impact of volume with brainwave entrainment, with some saying the louder it is the more impact it has. From my own experience, my advice is to play it at a volume level you feel comfortable with. The main thing to consider is that it should be loud enough to hear the repetitive isochronic tones, so you don’t want it so quiet you can hardly hear them. But you also don’t want it so loud that its uncomfortable for you. Somewhere in the middle is my recommendation.

Use this session in the morning or afternoon, to train your brain for better cognition, such as clearer and faster thinking. You can either sit somewhere quiet and comfortable with your eyes closed and give your brain a nice workout, or you can also listen to this while doing an activity that requires a boost in concentration, like studying.

How long should you listen for to get a good effect? It takes around 6 minutes for your brainwaves to fall in step with the tones and become entrained. It then takes time to be guided along the frequency range used in the track. Listening to about half way through is the minimum in my opinion, but 30 minutes is the optimum and preferred length to listen for.

IMPORTANT RECOMMENDATIONS:
• Drink some water – Make sure you are well hydrated before listening to brainwave entrainment.
WHY? Your brain is made up of around 75% water, so it needs plenty of water to function well. When you stimulate your brain in this way, you’re increasing electrical activity and blood flow in the brain and giving your brain a good workout, so it can be a good idea to drink before listening, so that your brain can fire on all cylinders.

• It is not recommended to listen to this while driving or operating machinery.
WHY? Brainwave entrainment involves a process of stimulating your brainwaves and changing your mental state. While this is safe to do and use in normal situations, it can sometimes zone you out during the track, as you focus in on the sound of the tones. This could result in you being distracted temporarily, which is not a good thing while you’re driving or operating machinery. Some people also experience tingling and other sensations from the stimulation. While that might feel quite nice sitting in a comfortable chair at home, it could cause you to be distracted while driving and result in an accident.

• It is not recommended to listen to this while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or any mind altering substance.
WHY? When your brain is under the influence of drugs or alcohol it’s not operating to it’s full capacity, and you react differently to stimulation and situations, compared to when you are sober. So as a precaution and because I don’t know how you will react in that situation, I recommend you do not use it in that situation.

• Who should NOT listen to this audio? Those who should not listen to this video/audio include: Those who are prone to or have had seizures, epilepsy, pregnant or wear a pacemaker should NOT listen to this video/audio.
WHY? There is insufficient research data in this area, so as a precaution, if you are among the categories listed above, I would recommend you consult a doctor or medical professional before listening to this video/audio.”
Comments here:
o
Look folks, this isn't some stupid melodrama. Whether you want to know it or not we're in the fight of our lives, for our lives. Some of you reading this will not survive, and I may not either, so I'll take any edge I can get, and you should too. The more you're aware the better prepared you can be. This works...I strongly suggest it's use...- CP

The Poet: Mary Oliver, “Evidence”

“Evidence”

“Where do I live?
 
If I had no address, as many people do not,
 
I could nevertheless say that I lived in the 
same town as the lilies of the field,
 
and the still waters.


Spring, and all through the neighborhood 
now there are
 strong men tending flowers.
Beauty without purpose is beauty without virtue.

But all beautiful things, inherently, have this function -

to excite the viewers toward sublime thought.

Glory to the world, that good teacher.

Among the swans there is none 
called the least,
 or the greatest.
I believe in kindness. Also in mischief.
 
Also in singing, 
especially when singing is not necessarily prescribed.

As for the body, 
it is solid and strong and curious and full of detail;
 
it wants to polish itself; it wants to love another body;

it is the only vessel in the world that can hold,
 
in a mix of power and sweetness:

words, song, gesture, passion, ideas,
ingenuity, 
devotion, merriment, vanity, and virtue.
Keep some room in your heart for the unimaginable.”

- Mary Oliver
“We don’t read and write poetry because it’s cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for! To quote from Whitman, ‘O me! O life! of the questions of these recurring; of the endless trains of the faithless - of cities filled with the foolish; what good amid these, O me, O life?’ Answer: That you are here - that life exists, and that the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. What will your verse be?”
- “Dead Poets Society”

"We're All Sinking..."

"We're all sinking in the same boat here. We're all bored and desperate and waiting for something to happen. Waiting for life to get better. Waiting for things to change. Waiting for that one person to finally notice us. We're all waiting. But we also need to realize that we all have the power to make those changes for ourselves."
- Susane Colasanti

The Daily "Near You?"

Sinton, Texas, USA. Thanks for stopping by!

"Never Be A Spectator..."

"Beware the irrational, however seductive. Shun the 'transcendent' and all who invite you to subordinate or annihilate yourself. Distrust compassion; prefer dignity for yourself and others. Don't be afraid to be thought arrogant or selfish. Picture all experts as if they were mammals. Never be a spectator of unfairness or stupidity. Seek out argument and disputation for their own sake; the grave will supply plenty of time for silence. Suspect your own motives, and all excuses. Do not live for others any more than you would expect others to live for you."
- Christopher Hitchens