Halloween is as "Holy" as Christmas.

So while reading articles on CTV news I noticed their question of the day, I'm not don't study Paganism anymore, but still find this very offensive.

"Do you agree that Halloween is a celebration of evil and the occult?"

Um, how about NO!

Halloween for those who don't know its true origin, has roots in many beliefs. There is folklore and myth from Roman times, but its mainly based on the Celtic holiday of Samhain, which is the Celtic new year.  It marked the end of the harvest, the end of the "lighter half" of the year and beginning of the "darker half". It was celebrated over the course of several days and had some elements of a Festival of the Dead (recognition of deceased members of a community or culture).

Many Christians like to believe that the holiday is based in devil worship because of the misguided idea that Neo-pagans or Wiccans praise the devil (devil worship is Satanism not Paganism). Because of this, many people refuse to allow their children to "Trick or Treat" (didnt become commercially/modernly common until early 1900's).

Note: Paganism is a blanket term for beliefs with multiple deities. And yes, some having godess like head figures, it doesn't make them evil. Neo-Pagans are modern people that follow ancient Pagan belief systems, including Celtic, Egyptian, Greek, Norse and Roman, etc.

Trick or Treating:  is believed to have come from the tradition where Celtic people left food on their doorstep for the spirits who came around, to prevent the spirits from wanting to come inside the house. It also comes from the medieval practice of 'Souling' where poor people would make the rounds begging for food & offered prayers for the dead on 'All Souls Day'.

Many people don't realize that there is just as much pagan traditions in modern Christmas celebrations than in Halloween's Trick or Treating, 'Spooky Ghosts' or costume parties.

XMAS Traditions most people don't know are Pagan:

Xmas Tree:  also known as a Yule Tree because it came from the tradition of bringing in a tree to the home to encourage the return of the god (the Sun). Many believe that the tree is the same tree as the Yule Log.

Yule Log: Part of the Yule Solstice, Dec 21st. Known as Solstice Night, or the longest night of the year. The log had to have been on your property or given as a gift... it must never have been purchased. Once dragged into the house and placed in the fireplace it was decorated in seasonal greenery, doused with cider or ale, and dusted with flour and then set on fire. The log would smolder for 12 days before being ceremonially put out.

Mistletoe: The first found associated with the ancient festival of Saturnalia. One belief was that it has power to encourage fertility. You could declare peace amongst enemies under a mistletoe in Scandinavia, declaring a truce during a disagreement

I'm sure I could go father into this topic, but I'll save if for Xmas time...which I will likely be posting often...being as I dislike Christmas. Some people may think I'm picking on Christianity, being I'm an Anti-Theist and have been supporting Wiccan or Pagan beliefs. I support the general codes/morals/ideals of them because of their beliefs in harmony and peace with the earth (not their deity beliefs). This is also why (for the most part) I also have no issue with Buddhism.

If you don't believe me do some research your self (on objective, none religious sites). I'm open for controversial or opposing comments that have factual, objective views...

Sustainable Dream

 (fake names are being used to ensure privacy of people mentioned)

My significant other “Aegeist” and I have decided that in the next 3-5 years we want to fix up our little house in cottage country (close to city), rent it out and move further out into the country. We want to move at least 1-2hrs from the city, into the Canadian Boreal Forest. We also plant to buy an empty lot at least 20acres and build our own home. Aegeist is currently finishing getting an education in Environmental & Biological studies. The area we plan to move to is in desperate need of people in his field of work. I plan to go back to school soon for accounting and can work from home. We would grow our own vegetables, herbs, chickens and get our red meat from a local butler. Living “off the grid” with solar and wind power is also something we hope to afford. We have been talking about this idea for a while. We even think that starting a very small community in this fashion would be beneficial, because of the distribution of work around the “farm”. Each household would own its land, but contribute and trade(mainly food) amongst the other neighboring  2-3 households.  By having a small community it becomes easier to be self sufficient as a group(example: a communal greenhouse & solar/wind power system). I was telling a friend “Ronnie” about our plans and he told me about EARTHSHIPS. The ideas and principles behind this company are exactly what we are looking for.  The building designs are very unique, and interesting to look at. (See pics at end of post)

Earthship Design Principles:

1) Thermal/Solar Heating & Cooling

Earthships maintain comfortable temperatures in any climate. The planet Earth is a thermally stabilizing mass that delivers temperature without wire or pipes. The sun is a nuclear power plant that also delivers without wires or pipes.

2) Solar & Wind Electricity

Earthships produce their own electricity with a prepackaged photovoltaic / wind power system. This energy is stored in batteries and supplied to your electrical outlets. Earthships can have multiple sources of power, all automated, including grid-intertie.

3) Contained Sewage Treatment

Earthships contain use and reuse all household sewage in indoor and outdoor treatment cells resulting in food production and landscaping with no pollution of aquifers. Toilets flush with greywater that does not smell.

4) Building with Natural & Recycled Materials

House as Assemblage of by-products: A sustainable home must make use of indigenous materials, those occurring naturally in the local area.

5) Water Harvesting

Earthships catch water from the sky (rain & snow melt) and use it four times. Water is heated from the sun, biodiesel and/or natural gas. Earthships can have city water as backup. Earthships do not pollute underground water aquifers.

6) Food Production

Earthship wetlands, the planters that hold hundreds of gallons of water from sinks and the shower are a great place for raising some of the fresh produce you’d like to have in the winter, but find expensive or bland tasting from the supermarket.

I only have an issue with the cost of an actual EARTHSHIP home. Just the blue prints are expensive.

Studio - $5,000 / 800 sq. ft.     One Bed - $6,000 / 1000 sq. ft.    Two Bed - $7,000 / 1200 sq. ft.  Three Bed - $8,000 / 1500 sq. ft.

But Ronnie also explained that someone has already built an Earthship in the area and is helping guide people in building them for cheap. I think we can take the concept of an Earthship and build it our way. He showed me some videos on youtube, and I've found some on my own that got me hooked on the idea. VIDEO 1 VIDEO 2 VIDEO 3

Check out the EarthShip website…  

   

    

Imagin Technology 40yrs from now.

JAPAN CREATES AI

Technology is growing exponentially and people look at me like I'm nuts when I talk about the crazy things I believe we will be able to do in say 20-30 yrs. I watch a lot of talks & documentaries and read articles from reputable sources. I think we are looking at quite the change in the way we live. We could be living like I, Robot. Experts also say if you stay healthy for another 20 yrs, plan to live to 120. The advancements in Science & Heath industries are going to increase dramatically.

What do you think we will have in 20...40 yrs?

Skyrim

Ok, so pre-ordering this game a month in advance may have been a bad idea. I've researched the game more in the last 24hrs as I did in the last 4 months. I love Elder Scrolls Oblivion, I've been playing it since it came out in 2006 and likely have close to 1500 hours in it.
I couldn't even finish watching the Skyrim DEMO, I want to play it now. Release date set for November 11th.

If you're a fan of Fantasy RPG's with dragons, elves, zombies and magic, you have to check out this game!!

1st day

So this is my first day on this site. I've never had a blog like this before. I am looking for people to talk to that enjoy intellectual (sometimes controversial) conversation about nature, social sciences, politics & current issues. The topics are not all going to be anti-theist based, but it is something I am passionate about. I would also love for people to not be afraid to give me idea on topics. looking forward to some interesting conversations.

Religion Breeds Death & Hate

Religion kills in Egypt

This Article from CBC news show how religion breeds violence. 19 people died because of religious violence. Now any person knows that this is only another of millions of violent tragic incidences that have occurred over 1000's of years because of religion. Man made myths and cults have changed the course of human history, many times in a negative way. The burning of the Library of Alexandria to the Crusades and the Witch Hunt, too many people have died because of religion.

My issue is not with the everyday believer, but with the extremism the doctrine of religion creates. I truly believe to abolish religion is to take a great step in world peace. Of course I understand how people can fall into believing in a higher power, I used to be religious my self. But when you take a step back, inform your self and look at most main religions as they are, you realize they make no sense. For example.. we now know the Earth is round & older then we used to think(500yrs ago).

I guess to wrap it it up I could say that I don't understand how people can ignore this and continue following a flawed ancient beliefs. I only hope that finally with all the science advancements we can as a species move beyond religion in my life time. I know its a dream, but one can only hope.