Driving with FaceBook

Driving with FaceBook is dangerous. I realized this my first day free of FaceBook on my phone. During slow traffic times where I perceived it to be safe from all hazards, I found my hand doing what it does commonly while in traffic. That is, reaching for the phone either in my pocket or in the middle console and unlocking it to check FaceBook. The fact that this had become habitual enough for me to do it even when I had already uninstalled the application from my #Android phone was disturbing to me. I wonder how often I FaceBook in my sleep? 

I searched Google.com for some solutions in avoiding FaceBook. I found these handy applications that are easily installed.

This one is a Chrome extension and helps the user limit their activity on specified websites. You can program it to make you solve a puzzle before changing the settings in those desperate fiendish moments of trying to get back on FaceBook. https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/stayfocusd/laankejkbhbdhmipfmgcngdelahlfoji?hl=en

I also found this application that may come in handy for those of you obsessed with television shows. I would utilize this application for other reasons than the one specified in this article, but still, worth looking in to. 

http://www.craveonline.com/tv/tech-and-gadgets-news/677197-this-web-app-will-prevent-you-from-ever-reading-game-of-thrones-spoilers-again

Now allow me to boast about the fact that I abstain from television at great costs. I admit, I will watch PBS every now and then. Once this season I did tune in to the new Cosmos series and was pretty thrilled. When it comes to visual activities that aren’t FaceBook, I prefer Charlie Chaplin on YouTube.com 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTt2f-DReYY Listen to that piano.

 

Here is a helpful hint I added to WikiHow today while not browsing FaceBook 

 

 

Also, cool wolf shirt. http://www.blackcraftcult.com/product/wolf-star

Abstaining From FaceBook

For me, only after 12 hours, this abstinence has proven to be somewhat difficult. I have discovered that the main reason for this and my extreme FaceBook usage is due to the fact that I am taking many hybrid classes. Having the distraction of my FaceBook network conveniently located in a tab next to the Blackboard internet learning service is what fuels my desire to impulsively check, refresh, and post.

About a week ago, I challenged myself on my free day from work and school. I decided I would abstain for the entire day. This failed within 8 hours. As I was flipping through tabs and reading various articles, my fingers automatically pressed CTRL+T and typed facebook.com faster than my awareness and in a moment my palm was on my face and I just indulged. The posting went out of control, I was liking everything I possibly could, and decided, “fuck it”. It took me hours to get school work done, house chores were left on the back burner, and by the end of the day, although I had completed every task I had scheduled, I still felt like lulling over my timeline had consumed a large portion of my daily activity. What else could I be doing if I scheduled my internet activity in a more precise way? What would I miss out on? Pictures of my friends children, information about local musical events that I am interested in, the cheers of loved ones, and their sorrows, and of course I wouldn’t be able to tell anyone about the ghost I just witnessed climbing the palm tree outside of my bedroom window.

While walking to the grocery store, today, my first day  abstaining for the purposes of increasing my GPA for the semester I started to realize how much FaceBook is like a job, and I am on vacation. FaceBook is merely using its users as a marketing tool for other companies. As it is a great tool for sharing information, FaceBook is gaining the most, monetarily based upon its users activities. Should a select amount of its users get a share of the profit? I wouldn’t be opposed to that, in any way.

My current dilemma, in the absence of FaceBook is the fact that I can’t share this amazing TED talk that I’m currently watching. Did my X amount of friends get the memo that I would be blogging about this period of pondering and reflecting the highs and lows of FaceBook? Perhaps it was dulled out by the massive amounts of pictures of kittens or dinner.

To be honest, this challenge couldn’t have come at a better time. There’s nothing I despise more than those religious holiday posts.

I’m ever grateful for technology and how far our species has come, it seems we’re moving in the right direction.

ALSO, WORDPRESS WORLD, feel free to add me at facebook.com/flamecircus

But I won’t be accessing it for the next two weeks, seriously.

The Media Stereotypes Witches as Low Class Citizens.

A few things may come to mind when the term “witch” is used. An old lady with a twisted back, dark make up, and long finger nails. A teenage female wearing lots of black make up, jewelry that has spikes protruding from it, black unwashed hair, and is outcast from the rest of her school. Or someone who is absolutely delusional, talks to people who aren’t present, believes they have the power to predict the future and cast bad will upon other members of society. These are all images that have been created by the media and the over dramatic fantasy world they often conjure for society to consider the existence of. The informational media and the entertainment industry are the main influences that create these notions that give the practice of witchcraft a bad representation. News stations are continually selecting specific individuals and giving them the title of witch to further mock the person. In mocking the person, they are also mocking the practice of witchcraft that is used by members of the religion Wicca. When someone claims themselves as a witch and they receive attention from the media, their story is turned into a mockery. The news broadcasters are stoning this religion that is empowering to the spirit and embraces the feminine and masculine energies that exist all throughout nature. It seems to be the case that if the practice isn’t Christian, or similar to it, Fox, ABC, and NBC will make it look dirty. There are some members of the entertainment industry that see this occurring in the reporting media and they choose to expose this misrepresentation in a satirical way. When characters portray someone who practices witchcraft in a movie that is directed by one of these artists, they are depicted as of having low income, someone dirty, and at times with criminal intentions.
The first article being examined is, “Whistle-Blowing Witch Grounded by TSA.” The title itself is a mockery of the subject, Carole Smith’s demeanor. Further reading into the article and you will find that she wasn’t “grounded,” she was terminated from her job, and with unjust cause. First paragraph into the article is a picture of Carole who looks like anyone’s kindhearted Grandmother standing in front of her wall poster from the musical, “Wicked.” So at first glance of the article we know three things about this subject. She used to work for TSA, she is a female, and she identifies as a witch. Reading further down we are told how TSA handled the accusation upon her by another employee of casting a spell on her in that, “It fired the witch.” It might not be so offensive and demeaning if reporter, Bill Dedman would have just said, “It fired her.” Instead he chose to make another reference that she is a witch who has been cast away from a job that was her main source of income. It would be great to get an investigative report from the girl who had turned her in for casting a spell. This would be informative to what these paranoid people are like, and where did the witch phobia stem from? Moving on we find that Carole was a probationary employee who, “was in the top 10 percent in Albany at catching weapons on the X-ray machine.” The final photograph in this article is of Smith’s black cat peering into the audience amongst a house full of clutter. This poor woman, after just loosing her job now has her house exploited as a mess. Someone could have at least offered to clean it up a bit to give her some sort of good representation. What should upset the audience the most is that the story has no conclusion, there is never a report of justice being served for her on behalf of NBC. They simply used Carole Smith to stereotype witches as a class of people that get fired for casting wicked spells.
Jodi Arias has been a hot topic lately and in February, Good Morning America reports that she, “Tried Wicca, Buddhism With Boyfriends.” This article mostly goes into detail on Jodi’s past love life and touches base on different religions she practiced. She practiced them because she took on personality traits or interests of the men she was seeing. Jodi no longer has the same civil liberties that she used to have with being on trial for the murder of her boyfriend. Therefore, she is currently eating slop and living a very low class life. The life of a murderer on trial. Why was it necessary for Good Morning America to give Wicca this bad representation. What is stopping them from titling the fact that the article states, “Arias said she grew up as a non-denominational Christian.”?
Even that would be irrelevant, but it might receive more backlash from the Christian community than the Wiccan’s retorting about this particle reporting. The article claims that Arias had a, “torrid sexual affair, which is prohibited for unmarried people in the Mormon religion” (Curry), yet it never states the law of Wicca is harm none.
Director Andrew Fleming really took the stereotype of a low class student as a practitioner of Wicca when Fairuza Balk plays Nancy in The Craft. She is the main antagonistic character in the movie. She is a high school student who lives in a trailer park with her parents who smoke in the trailer and live a life that would be considered scummy to most. She misuses her ability and the law of threefold falls back upon her in the end. Her thieving and greedy behavior eventually catch up with her just as the law of karma says it should. She ends up in a mental hospital with what seems to be schizophrenia or reminiscent of what a very bad experience on LSD might create. She is an artistic representation of the way the informative media was portraying the community of Wicca during the time Fleming composed this film.
In the latest release by director, writer, and composer, Rob Zombie, The Lords of Salem portrays a group of Salem witches in the stereotypical way the Christian church has cast upon those who practice witchcraft. The witches in this film are humble to the one true lord of the world, Satan. They dance around bonfires under the light of a full moon completely nude. They are always covered in crusted dirt and their hair is disheveled, on the verge of becoming dreadlocks. Clearly they cannot afford soap. They await the birth of a new child while constantly calling upon Satan to fulfill their prophecy. Rob Zombie took this stereotype and turned it into a really thought provoking piece of art. His wife, Sherri-Moon portrayed the child they had all been waiting for, Heidi.
It is evident that news broadcasters are targeting people who practice witchcraft to make stories of mockery about them and their class. They are also attaching the practice of witchcraft as a possible reason someone would commit a heinous act. Directors are reflecting these findings in their productions.

Disney Mocks Witchcraft

In 1993 Disney released a movie titled Hocus Pocus which was geared towards a younger audience who enjoyed the theme of costume and mischief that revolves around the Halloween celebrations. The movie is about three witches who are revived from their murderous past during the Salem Witch trials when they were found guilty of kidnapping children and in doing so they were hanged. The movie although it was produced merely to entertain and attract attention could be seen as offensive to both women , anyone whose ancestors were killed during the witch trials that took place due to ignorance and oppression during the late 1600s, and those who practice witchcraft today.
It’s hard to say what the true intention of director, Kenny Ortega really was when crafting this film. Entertaining an audience of children is the first task to accomplish, obviously; however, using witchcraft as a theme and also religion causes a mature viewer to wonder why these themes were used. The story starts out in old Salem, Massachusetts where three women wearing clothes that are less constraining than the rest of the female populations clothing , have been accused of kidnapping a boy, Zachary. In the scene prior to the hanging, we see the three women chanting an incantation that causes this boy to transform into a black cat, so the audience knows the women are guilty of their accusations. Of course the accusers are carrying Bibles and crucifixes to identify themselves as the Christian population that was present during these trials. With nooses tied around their necks, the witches are in a hysterical mood and proclaim that they will return to existence when a virgin will resurrect them and they will take the lives of all the children. The barrels they are standing on get tipped and they fall limp, feet swinging above the ground. This movie is also leaving out the fact that men were also accused of witchcraft during these trials and has turned witchcraft into an absolute mockery in a way to scare children much like the tale of Hansel and Gretel did.
Hocus Pocus turns women into evil doers with supernatural powers who have the intent to harm children and calls them witches. Witchcraft has been practiced for centuries and passed through ancestry and word of mouth despite the constant mockery it has faced from practitioners of other religions. Those who practice witchcraft refer to themselves as witches whether they are male or female and honor divinity in nature and the body. This film does good at revealing to the public audience that people were tried, accused, and put to death for absurd accusations and may lead some of the viewers to do more research on the topic of the Salem witch trials. Without further investigation or speculation, though, the movie is just another depiction of violence towards women and belittling the practice of witchcraft. The children the three witches end up battling throughout the movies plot are victorious against the Sanderson sisters uncanny power when they are turned to dust by the light of the sun in their final scene.
Disney has a history of using witches in their productions as the antagonist female subject. They are always depicted as malevolent and with an intent to harm. Witches of reality are in fact harmless and lack the ability to fly on broomsticks, suck the life force out of children, or create a strong electrical current protrude from their fingertips. The movie seemed to have the intention of educating the audience on the witch trials of Salem, entertaining the entire family, and also making a mockery of what many superstitious foundations see the practice of witchcraft as. When the Sanderson sisters come upon a man dressed as Satan the devil of Christian texts, they call him, “master.” A common misconception that witches are serving this figure, abiding by his deeds, and somehow doing his work. This director wanted to create a humorous movie about the superstitions tied to witchcraft and witches while opening the eyes of the younger audience by referencing historical information or Disney productions are trying to frighten a majority of children away from women who may appear to be powerful or intuitive.

Otep Shamaya is Wonder Woman.

Today’s women take on the character of a superhero in many faces. The United States of America has allowed women to be more outspoken, creative, and independent today than ever before and perhaps anywhere else in the world. Women today are filling in on jobs only men would be allowed to take, breaking stereotypical gender roles that society had implicated upon women and men, and they are often times outshining the rest of the men in their field. Being a homosexual male, I find the liberation and expression of femininity empowering to the homosexual culture. A woman is a hero to me when she influences members of all sexes to break the traditional gender roles, speak up against injustices that still exist within culture, and also is someone who has worked nonstop to be the best at what she does regardless of the masculine competition she faces. I would like to address the artist, Otep Shamaya as my Wonder Woman. Otep is a proud open homosexual who spits in the face of any oppressive entity vile enough to try to belittle any member of society. Through her art, poetry, and music she has touched the lives of many and certainly given fresh air to those having difficulty inhaling many of the toxic influence we are at times surrounded by. She is most well known for being the voice of the metal charged band, Otep. In an audience that is dominantly surrounded and ran by men, Otep shows the world that women can do this, and do this just as well, if not better than men. She doesn’t need a cape or any revealing costume to expose herself as one of the most powerful women to ever exist in the world.

Imagine that the confining laws instilled by various monotheistic churches in America were represented by a cage constructed from titanium and this cage was built to serve the purpose of limiting the expansion of humanities and expression of our animistic self. Within this cage is contained scientific reasoning, the art of DaVinci, the diaries of Fibonacci, the muse of Sappho, and anything else that the church has stigmatized as sinful. Within this cage that holds a small mass of the beauty the universe has manifested itself as, is a seed. We will name this seed Otep. One day, the Morrigan appears atop this cage disguised as her typical raven self to distill comfort upon the objects trapped within. She belches the vibrational form of music that sounds much like a Native American flute pushing a heavy frequency through all surrounding surface. This frequency resonates strongly with the seed embraced by the embryonic surrounding and it begins to pulsate, growing bigger and bigger, creating a pressure between the objects within the cage. A healthy and vibrant olive tree bursts forth from within the cage with a bang, shattering all bars and releasing everything that nurtured the embryo. The tree keeps growing in fractal patterns across the sky impressing all beings around it. A rainbow colored snake descends from the tree with electrifying red eyes, grows wings and begins to fly. This is Otep Shamaya, she is the embodiment of expression and freedom. A large percent of the world detests this expression and comes at her with weapons in attempt to halt her but she only grows strength and multiple heads from wounds much like the Hydra. She has evolved to breed with female companions and her children are an army of serpents alongside her in the battle. She will not be stopped, she will be victorious. Otep Shamaya is the ultimate wonder woman.

At one time Otep grabbed me with her talons when I was exhausted, depressed, and craving a new outlet of expression. A way to escape the humiliation a homosexual male often faces when coming out of the closet. Being able to fly with her and fight alongside her has reminded me that any slump in time can be overcome and that shelter and safety can be found when you seek it. Otep Shamaya is a mastermind that reflects upon eons of human discovery and knowledge which is presented through her performance, art, and activism. She is the wonder woman the collective world has summoned to help lead us into a new world of equality and respect for all non threatening elements existing within this universe of yin vs. yang.

Women Are Still Being Stoned in the Media.

The term witch is derived from an Old English word with the prefix of wicca/wicce. This is a word that dates before the coming of the Abrahamic religions for a male or female witch that uses sorcery to connect with the divine spirit and focus on a manifestation of a change in fate. In the new age religion, Wicca, the term Witch refers to a male of female follower of this religion. January 25, 2013 marks the release date of the U.S. film, Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters. This movie is a brutal mockery to those who practice the craft, and most directly, women.

Based upon the fairly old childhood frightening tale, Hansel and Gretel by the Grimm Brothers, the two characters are given their plot for revenge on all witches who are in this case an incarnation of evil after being lured into the house made of sweets and escaping her wrath on innocence by throwing her into an oven. The film continues to bash female witches as evil and harmful to society and all cultures included. At one point an all out genocide is called for upon the witches living within the forest who are depicted to have blood sanctioned rituals guided by phases of the moon. During a town meeting, one of the citizens actually calls to, “Burn them all!” The “grand high witch” is depicted to shape-shift in one scene from a gorgeous representation of the Goddess Artemis to seduce and calm the civilian male witch hunters. Seconds after the men are aroused with lust she morphs into a decaying and decrepit woman who turns on them, causing hearts to explode and maggots to pulse under their flesh which leads to death. The finale of the film leads to the success of Hansel and Gretel when they infiltrate the mass gathering of evil incarnated into women practicing their children blood consumption ritual under the full moon. Hansel and Gretel partner with a “good witch” who blesses all of their bullets with a stock of charged water. The bullets prove a success when the first witch is killed and the team of witch hunters unleash their hell fire upon the group of women.

This film is not only a mockery of people who honor the dwelling of Earth and respect each of the elements within the universe as a form of both feminine and masculine divinity, it is an outright slaughtering of women. The imagery and setting used are geared towards young adults who are fascinated by action, guns, and fantasy in film. There is very little positive reflection of the feminine role in this movies culture. The character Gretel is even slapped by one of the city’s spokesmen.

Movies and tales like this have been around since the divine feminine aspect of religion have become suppressed. The rising of the influence of Abraham has suppressed women, and culture. Holy books of various religions call for the suppression of women and stoning of insubordinate women. The practice of Witchcraft and Wicca goes against that. So today, because of masculine based religious influence words like “witch” and various derivations are used to belittle women. The psychological effects of these suggestions that women can be incarnations of evil can only be detrimental to working towards equality and respect of all humankind.

This movie may not have been so disgusting and offensive if it didn’t use only women as the incarnation of evil and omitted the term witch from its dialogue. This is a tale that shouldn’t be forgotten as it uncovers the downfalls of early colonial mankind, let us never make these mistakes again. If the film could have shed some light into empowering the religions that celebrate union of the genders, it might not be so ridiculous. It is too often that something that could generate an impact on how people coexist and a look into our history as a merging culture, is used to generate dollars and a numbing sensational appeal. The film is still in American theaters for an undetermined amount of time but is facing ridicule among the pagan community as well as receiving horrible reviews for dullness. There are, however, still those who enjoy this type of entertainment.

Blessed Be.