Needless to say the three wise monkey picture below, featuring the blind, the deaf and the dumb of the popular Chinese pictorial maxim (“see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil”) is an ironic reminder of the actual prevailing cloud-cuckoo-landish mindset of humanity as a whole. A substantial, very far-reaching article (read quickly to let it sink in) exposing the main essential misconceptions many hold as absolute immoveable truths about the reality we live in. Though some might appear more shocking than others (I'll let you figure out which ones), ultimately if you can acknowledge a couple, the rest may eventually strike your awareness as self-evident. Until then, let's just hope that when dawn finally breaks, humanity won't have been turned to stone already.
Ey@el
Misconceptions take root in our minds very easily. It takes a determined spirit to weed out all the brainwashing and programming we have taken on. Many people never question certain ideas or conceptions they have. They stop at the phrase itself without any further investigation, almost as though the phrase itself has some kind of magic that stops them from examining it. People need to be careful of confusing what is true with what they want to be true. Just because we all want to live in a just world doesn’t mean we actually do live in a just world. Great problems arise when we take our misconceptions and assert them as fact.
Remember what Mohandas Gandhi said, when he was asked what he thought of Western civilization: “I think it would be a very good idea.” With wit and insight, he was clearly pointing out that the West had not yet achieved “civilization”, given that it was still engaged in land and resource theft via colonization, and genocide against active and indigenous peoples. Likewise, how many things in the list below do we proudly hold up as reality, despite the fact we haven’t yet achieved them? Here is a list of 7 massive misconceptions many people possess but have usually never deeply questioned.
Do you know the story behind church bells flying to Rome to receive shrift from the Pope and coming back all chiming to celebrate Christ's resurrection? Well, this is actually a 7th century European tradition when ringing bells from Good Friday to Easter Sunday was prohibited by the church as a mark of mourning. Rattles were used instead. And that is exactly the dreadful noise I've been hearing throughout this weekend. Now, it's my turn to ring the alarm bell — what am I saying! — the gong.
Inside Eklablog's Surprise Egg...
Subscribers to the French newsletter already know. The verdict is in. We've been notified quietly on Eklablog's forum and nowhere else (so those who failed to visit the forums lately won't know it until it's implemented) that from now on commercial ads will be embedded into our blogs to make the publishing service profitable as it is currently in the red. And it won't be a couple of ads but a minimum of three or four per page, the kind that ruin your layout and design and which can't be missed out. The absolute nightmare for internet users.
You don't like it? Then pay! You can't afford it? Too bad.
This is no early April's Fool prank nor a scene depiction from the Godfather or Goodfellas, but the actual decision taken by the management of this independent free French blog-publishing host with its dedicated, efficient technical staff always ready to help users who are liable to suffer as much as we do (Damien, Lid, Stéphanie are just victims like us and I feel sorry for them). So here we are now at the parting of the ways with only two options to choose from: pay or leave
For suffering these annoying ads is naturally out of question.
Work for free and pay for the right to work
Is there anyone, actually outraged at the fact that Eklablog have to find supply of funds to continue to operate, who actually works for free for people they don't know and is willing to pay so these same people can benefit from their work for free and give nothing in return?
As an indirect response to the above comment, I'd say only stupid people like me who fight the Matrix any way they can, devoting all their time, energy and limited means at their disposal to contribute to this increasing awareness, while having to put up with full-blast ingratitude, contempt and the lowest of lows from the sheeple whose arrogance equals their ignorance.
My intention is certainly not to spark renewed controversy nor insulting anyone here (60 pages on the forums and as much comments on Facebook have done enough). Neither does the fact that I have a higher perception of reality should entitle me to feel in any way superior. And this is NOT how I feel. Simply, it's a bit like observing a situation from the rooftop of a 100-floor tower while most stand at ground level. The view up there is far more different as you step back and widen your perspective. Therefore, even though all the various arguments may stand their ground at the level of awareness which produced them, they obviously aren't worth spit once you begin digging deeper. For this is nothing but disguised hijacking using the well-rehearsed excuse of “everything has a cost”.
So here is how I view things from the top of my stool. On the one hand, you'll get (as usual) those fortunate enough to get a regular income who will be able to afford a subscription for each of their blogs to be safe and offer their visitors commercial free contents, allowing at the same time this unfair system to continue — the same system that won't fail rewarding them unscrupulously with more extortion at every opportunity. They're well aware of it though, but since they want peace and they can't do anything about it...
On the other hand, you'll get those (the majority) who won't be able to afford it and will therefore have to put up with it. They're likely to lose most of their readership as they grow tired of these intruding ads so omnipresent in our every day life and into our traditional mail boxes, ultimately having the same effect as censorship on the Internet. Or at best, they'll attract sensible and informed readers who already use online ad blockers and therefore won't be affected (provided that advertisers don't find new hacks to bypass ad blockers as some do).
In the end, I'm not sure these commercials imposed on us will suffice bringing our host out of the red for with the resulting decline in attendance and the blocked ads, the generated income might not be as expected — as it happened to many other independent blog publishing services such a Kazeo lately which had to close and many of the blogs it hosted have actually migrated to Eklablog which even designed an import script to facilitate the transfer of their data.
Hijacked
“If your determination to shut your eyes will carry you as far as this, Cornelius,” said Dumbledore, “we have reached a parting of the ways. You must act as you see fit. And I — I shall act as I see fit.”
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J.K. Rowling
As I was saying above, there's no way we should have to put up with that even though we're supposed to received a percentage of the generated income in return. I shall then leave. Well, eventually.
Not to worry though, I do not intend to close my account, which would render all my past work and efforts useless. I have always intended this blog to be a browsable source of information which you could access to anytime even in the event where I would no longer be able to publish new contents on a regular basis. But there is absolutely no guarantee that Eklablog won't close soon as a member of the staff mentioned.
And talking about hijacking wasn't an overstatement. This is exactly what it is since we have no other way to export our data onto another platform than copy-pasting them, page by page, losing all internal hyperlinks in the process.
We have no plans of creating an export system. Other services like Overblog (though only for paying customers) or WordPress did it, but unlike these companies we don't have a host of developers and we focus on our own developments. For the record, the import system was an in-house development, so nothing prevents these companies to develop an import system for Eklablog sites. All blogs are scanable, and both RSS feeds and sitemaps are also accessible. It's up to them to develop or not like we did for Overblog over the last few years.
So as many of my fellow bloggers who did it already, I plan to (ultimately) move to another blog host, but I can only do that progressively as I don't fancy spending days on end copy-pasting data (800 pages for the main blog in French and almost as many for this one). For the time being, nothing will change for you except for those bloody ads you won't even see if you use the proper ad blocking add-ons. As mentioned earlier to newsletter subscribers, I have many posts scheduled for publication in April through the first half of May. I will definitely keep you posted on the new arrangements I may take as soon as they are effective.
In the meantime, this might be the opportunity for those new to this blog to explore its nooks and crannies for, in view of the sudden developments, the Internet might soon become the exclusive bastion of corporations not via open censorship through back-door technology (malware, viruses, spyware, cookies, etc.), commercial harassment, and most specially fatalism.
We are not born fatalists, we become fatalists. Even if it means getting crushed, it is better to fight and keep our souls. For giving up is always giving up the ghost (our soul in French). However, sheeple have no soul. They are cosmic accidents.
As a child in my imagination Easter often conjured up images of Alice's world. Possibly on account of that famous bunny with its pocket watch which actually acts as the starter to this surreal journey. Obsessed with time, it embodies the key element to the Matrix, which, as we seen previously, keeps us disconnected from our true selves. Incidentally, at the beginning of the Matrix movie Neo has to follow the white rabbit in order to meet Trinity and Morpheus who will release him from the matrix.
Tick tock tick tock...
I wish you all a good long weekend and, secondarily, a happy Easter.
Once again, tonight we'll switch to Summer Time by moving one hour forward which is two hours ahead of the sun at its highest — at least, in most of Europe, which is seriously complicating matters or “looking for noon at 2 pm” as we say in France. A stressful, disturbing step imposed on us willy nilly twice a year under the lame excuse of Daylight Saving, but in truth meant to disrupt our biological or circadian rhythms.
Our Belgian friends find the switch to Summer Time quite disturbing; as a matter of fact, they do wake up at 2 am to adjust their watches lest they should forget the switch.
Marc Escayrol, Mots et Grumots
Slaves to the clock
As David Icke explains in his 2003 book entitled Tales From The Time Loop, time is a complete fabrication meant to hold us in the illusion and control us. “When we fall for this, we disconnect from 'no time' - our Infinite state. The movement of the planets, Sun and Moon, night and day and' ageing bodies' are all designed to sell the illusion of moving from past to future. Look at the way the clock governs our lives and the whole of society. Up at this time, out at that time, leave at this time, arrive at that time. Have you got the time? Do you know the time? What time does it start? What time does it finish? Thanks for your time. I could be some time. I might be a long time. There's not enough 'time'. I have too much time. We are slaves to time.”
But what is this “time”?
The glass funnel opening up beneath your feet Will make you forget both your future and your past For Time won't wait. No, Time is right now. Oh, there's no Time, Time is what you make of it.
Still according to Icke in Human Race Get Off Your Knees, published in 2010, the illusion of time would be one of the most powerful ways of disconnecting Mind from Consciousness for there is no time, “only the eternal Now, and Consciousness operates in this no-time Now, while Mind perceives everything as past, present and future - linear time.”
Moon Time
The Moon would be crucial to this perception: the Sumerians, Islam, the Chinese New Year — which is “the longest chronological record in history, dating from 2600 BC, when the Emperor Huang Ti introduced the first cycle of the zodiac” — all have actually been using a lunar calendar along with a solar one for millennia.
Even the solar calendar is controlled by the Moon because it regulates the speed the Earth rotates and therefore the length of the day. It is estimated that if the Moon were not there the day would be eight hours and not twenty-four. The Moon fundamentally influences our perception of time and disconnects us from the realm of no-time — Consciousness. This is no coincidence.
David Icke, Human Race Get Off Your Knees
Awkward Cantilevered Time
Tomorrow, however, we won't just switch to Summer Time — we will also celebrate Easter, an ancient Pagan festival associated with the Moon from which are also derived women's “menstruations” and the very word “month” meaning “moon”. The celebration of Easter is calculated according to lunar cycles, which is why it doesn't have a fixed date.
Good news though, this year you may still stay in bed for an extra hour since Easter Monday is a public holiday.
Theme of the week commands: the rhythm of time and its ups and downs. Be as it may, how tragically ironic that Michael Hutchence got so severely depressed he chose to end it all by hanging himself — even though his last partner (who also left this world) claimed it was a self-sex game known as “the swing” that went wrong (???!!!). Rather creepy. Rest in peace, Michael.
Ey@el
It's the swing — It's the swing like a pendulum, It marks the moments as the years go by On an innocent face — The swing Into never Neverland.
There was a darkness Like an old friend That scratched and crawled Up the wall Into my life, Into my destiny, Into my desire.
It's the swing — It's the swing like a pendulum, So look behind you When the race has run And the winner is made — The swing Into never Neverland.
There was a darkness Like an old friend That scratched and crawled Up the wall Into my life.
Well it's the swing — The swing like a pendulum Between the kisses And between the lines There is nothing to hide — The swing Into never Neverland.
The swing into never never land There was a darkness like an old friend That scratched and crawled up the wall Into my life Into my destiny Into my desire
Yeah, the swing — It's the swing like a pendulum...
It's the swing — It's the swing like a pendulum...
The French and the English are a bit like Tom and Jerry. Some kind of a cat and dog love/hate relationship. We're complementary. Forever bickering, but basically very fond of each other. I would like to take the opportunity of tonight's France vs. England Six Nations Championship game to share the funny side of some cultural misunderstandings between “Rosbifs” and “Froggies”.
How Many Kisses?
“La bise” (kiss on the cheek) is one typical French greeting custom that apparently many foreigners — not just Britons — find rather shocking. You just try kissing a Japanese!
The Candlemas's Massacre
A French expat made a whopping pile of “crêpes” for his British colleagues on Candlemas (another French tradition) which they sliced as if it was a sponge cake. Appalled French newspaper Libération called them “barbarians”. The shocking picture below went viral on social media, making over 900.000 views.
However, English barbarism is arguably relative. Actually, aren't we the ones who translate “a piece of cake” into “fingers in the nose”, make cheese (tout un fromage) out of a storm in a cup of tea or wallow into apples while the Brits just pass out? Even more vulgar is when an Englishman wears a high hat, a French man farts higher than his a... permits. Honestly, who's calling the kettle black?
English Cuisine
Many French people report being served neon-coloured jelly or green peas the size (and hardness) of marbles on their first school trip to England. Below is a scene from Les Grandes Vacances (Summer Vacation), exaggerating the way English cuisine is perceived over here. On the menu: oysters in milk soup, haddock with tangerines, cherries and mint mayonnaise, and roast beef in whipped cream. “Délicieux, delicious! Come on, eat son!” Sorry, no subtitles available but just look at their faces.
The Ten Plagues of the French Language
Knowing how hard it is already for many French natives to master their own mother tongue, I can only sympathise with foreigners learning French. Here is what British people find hardest about French:
Subjunctive.
The use of “être” and “avoir”.
Irregular verbs.
Accents (for instance “réserve” doesn't mean the same as “réservé”).
Numbers (why French people say “soixante-dix” for 70 instead of “septante” as they do in Belgium, Switzerland and Quebec?).
False friends (words existing in English but with a different meaning).
“Vous” and “tu” instead of just you.
Formal writing.
Genres (why do objects have to be either masculine or feminine?).
Pronunciation (laughing at themselves, English people say they “tend to sound like a piece of food has gone down the wrong way when it comes to pronouncing any French word with R in it” and also have trouble with U's, nasal vowels and silent letters).
The Hardest Word
For us Frenchies, loosing our keys is annoying but we may still call a locksmith. However it might be quite a nightmare for an English speaker in France to do the same thing as their tongue might get entangled. SER-RU-RE-RIE!
The Atlantic Wall
Finally, here is a trailer of what I deem to be the best example of French-English relationships. The following comedy is a great French classic I shall never grow tired of watching over and over again. Too bad I couldn't find a subtitled clip but I hope you enjoy the pictures anyway.
Roughly, it's the story of a French house painter (who incidentally used to be a chef in London) living with his bar-tender sister and his grown-up daughter in occupied France. While he accidentally brings back some ultra-secret German military papers, the local resistance hears about it and sends him to England with a downed RAF pilot hiding under his very own roof. In London, he is trained as a war spy before being parachuted back to France where he finds out his daughter just had the English airman's baby.
France-England: my heart sways between the two (only natural for someone born under the sign of the Scales), so whoever wins tonight's game (which I won't be watching as rugby definitely isn't “my mug”), remember that it's only a game. So may the “turnwheel” turn as would say French footballer Franck Ribéry (quoted from a collection of hilarious blunders by football players, coaches and sportscasters, all featured in an article I wrote during World Cup 2014 in Brazil which I'm afraid is virtually impossible to translate in English).
No, this is NOT Matt Bellamy for those who might think it's him (honestly, girls, he's by no means a sex symbol, come to your senses!). Part Houdini, part Mandrake the Magician, part Arsène Lupin, part Batman, Matt, who owes his name to a pun, is the sensual, mysterious handsome hero every woman secretly dreams of. I know someone who'll rush to the gym!
On a trip into the matrix the other day, I made the same observation as Carrie-Anne Moss aka Trinity, that all these people obsessed with their stupidphones (the “phonists”) were more disconnected than ever. The sudden realisation that the not-so-crazy story by Stephen King in his Cellular novel might just come true anytime, sent unpleasant shivers down my spine. Enough to make anyone agoraphobic! Then upon seeing a commuter (the one and only !) holding a genuine printed book with marked yellowed pages, I smiled at him. I also meant to tell him how relieved I was that there was at least one human being caught up with me in the midst of this transhumanised crowd. But I didn't. I didn't need to. The look in his eyes acknowledged perfect reception of my thought. Then, probably as a confirmation that I wasn't hallucinating about this new communication mode seemingly developing between survivors of the disappearing race, a young girl, apparently free of any electronic embedded stuff whatsit, sat next to me, bearing the same look of relief on her face. A holy trinity !
Ey@el
Carrie-Anne Moss who played Trinity in The Matrix movie series says we are living in a matrix. When it comes to our children, she says we have to be awake…and protect them “from being lulled to sleep.”
When both men and women think of powerful female movie characters – they often think of Trinity. It’s rare for typical Hollywood-written characters to hold a candle to her strong, stoic but tender persona. Fierce, loving and full of heart.
A timely track by the Waterboys to entertain the paranoia and avenging frenzy right after my latest post about karmic enemies! I don't know the backstory behind these lyrics, but the whole song works great wonders as a brilliant exutory on any kind of frustration a human being can possibly endure. Some spiteful words all fuelled by rage and fury, majestically penned by Mike Scott, the passionate rebel. This one goes out to a friend who is currently going through a rough ride. I hope its liberating power lifts his spirits like it does mine and yours. “Big music” from a still little-known band by mainstream audiences.
Ey@el
Well the dawn it is howlin' and the main frame shakes. I feel like I've been sleeping in a cellarful of snakes. My wings have been clipped and my shoes have been stuck with glue. Well if you'll be my enemy I'll be your enemy too.
I've got goons on my landing, thieves on my trail, Nazis on my telephone willing me to fail. They were all sent by somebody — obviously you! If you'll be my enemy I'll be your enemy too.
I've got a bucketful of Babylon, I've got a handful of lead. I'm gonna put them in a gun, man and point it at your head Because you stole all of my friends and you gave me the buffalo blues. If you'll be my enemy I'll be your enemy too.
From the slime on your tongue to the nails on your toes, From the scales on your skin to the stains on your clothes, You're gonna make me have to do something that I do not want to do, But if you will be my enemy I'll be your enemy too.
My hands are tied, I'm nailed to the floor. I feel like I'm knocking on the unknown door. A gun at my back, a blade at my throat, I keep on finding hate mail in the pockets of my coat. I've been trying to grow, I've been cooling my heels, I've been working in the city, I've been working in the fields, And I can't get to sleep and I can't catch my breath. I can't stop talking and I look like death. But I will put right this Disgrace — I will rearrange you! 'cause if you'll be my enemy I'll be your enemy too. If you'll be my enemy I'll be your enemy too — Be my enemy !
Complementing my Saint Valentine's Day bestiary of soulmates, here is, as promised, the bestiary of “pet peeves” or “scapegoats” (which we call Turk's heads in French) by the same Chinese zodiac experts. A word of caution though (literally and figuratively): use it with a grain of salt.
If you don't know what your Chinese zodiac sign is, you may find it in the chart provided in my previous article.
Tigers are requested to refrain from posting comments owing to their karmic incompatibility with snakes of which I am. However, monkeys are more than welcome. Ha! Ha!
FR
