Geek Month in Review: May 2011

by Administrator, posted in Geek Stuff, Guest Authors, Science

By JB Sanders

And the weather is warming!

Fantastic Time-Lapse Movie
If you’ve never seen a cloud layer boiling and roiling like the ocean against a beach, you haven’t seen a real time-lapse movie. Must watch this in HD (full-screen).

The Amazing Transforming Apartment
Anyone else reminded of Bruce Willis’ guy from “Fifth Element”? Watch what this guy packs into 24 square meters:

It’s a Plane! No, it’s a Train! Actually, It’s Both.
A Japanese research group is working on a type of “train” that floats above the ground on a cushion of air. No, not a maglev train; apparently those are old hat. They’re working on a train that acts like a plane cruising right above the ground.

National Jukebox
The US Library of Congress (working with Sony) has put together a database of sound recordings from the early part of the 20th Century. It’s streaming-only, but has a wealth of stuff, all searchable. It’s not just music, but speeches, too.

Let Quantum Physics Officiate Your Wedding
No, really, that’s what the title of the article is. Apparently a scientist is using some machine to quantum entangle photons as they pass over the happy couple. Or something.

The New Domesday Book
In the 80’s the BBC and some historians cooked up a national effort to create something like the original Domesday Book, on it’s 900 anniversary. The original was a census of England at the time. The new thing was created with a population survey, tons of photos, virtual walk-throughs of historical buildings, etc. And then pressed onto special laser discs. That’s right, laser disks. Which required a special reader to read and a specific computer to display. Fast forward 30 years or so, and todays historians are worried the disks won’t be able to be read anymore (can’t think why).

The Project: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC_Domesday_Project

Here’s what they did to solve it: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/domesday

CDC Tells How to Prepare for Zombie Apocalypse
Do they know something we don’t? You ever read that story about a conspiracy that uses movies and tv shows (“fictional” ones) to prepare the wider population to accept and deal with an upcoming Big Problem? No? Oh, never mind then.

Surreal Monuments from the Future
So I totally stole this from the Illuminated Site of the Week, but here’s 25 monuments in the former Yugoslavia that look like they’re from the future.

Orchidarium Professor Ruth Cardoso
It’s a nifty looking building, but the name itself is just so much fun to say. It’s a memorial to Professor Ruth Cardoso (which is why her name is tacked in there), but the purpose of the building itself is to grow Orchids. Thus the “Orchidarium” part.

What If We’re the Forerunners?
An amusing little blog entry that posits, ok, there something like 500 million Earth-like planets out there, just in our galaxy. So why isn’t there a spaceship in orbit right now, offering to sell us cheap hyperdrives? Well, what if we’re the first sentient race? And then he has a very funny idea….

Concrete Tent
Brilliant, simple idea. Ship a canvas tent that’s been impregnated with concrete, put it up with an air blower, dose it with water and in 24 hours, you have a permanent concrete structure. Awesome!

Real, Functional Bionic Hand
Welcome to the 21st Century, where we have real bionic limb replacements. No, I’m not kidding. Yes, it is real.

When Your Museum Gets Raided by the CDC in Biohazard Gear…
…You know you’re doing something interesting. So this historical society in Virginia put on an “oddities” exhibit from their collection, including a letter from a smallpox sufferer who included one of their smallpox scabs. Call me crazy, but I think there are some things you don’t need to collect for posterity, and potentially viable smallpox is definitely high on the list.

Weather in Mordor Today: Overcast, 100% chance of Eye*
Official in Hungary are using locations from the “Lord of the Rings” instead of real places to test broadcast their automated radio alerts.

* Headline courtesy of Fark.com

Need a Drone?
Need an unmanned aerial drone cheap? Need to make 3D maps of the photos your drone takes? Look no further than Pix4D, a cloud-based company that helps stitch together your aerial’s photos and create nice 3D maps out of them. They also created a spin-off company that can sell you the drones.

Graphene: the New Plastic
The latest miracle material — wait, don’t stop reading. It really is. The discoverers/inventors have a Nobel prize to back up their assertions. Not to mention the over 200 scientists doing active research into it.

Icelandic Volcano Eruption, in HD
Because there’s nothing those Icelandic folks like better than a good volcanic plume. Video in wonderful HD.

Pigs Flying
Duke Nukem has gone gold. I know, hell has frozen over. (See the illustration in the linked article, it’s funny.)

Lost Pyramids Found
It’s not really news that infrared satellite imaging will reveal hidden structures. It’s certainly not news that Egypt has pyramids. What is news is that these researchers found 17 pyramids, over 1,000 tombs and over 3,000 ancient settlements, all previously unknown. Oh, and the city of Tanis. You remember that one, right? From the first Indiana Jones movie? Buried in the sands thousands of years ago, Ark of the Covenant? Yeah, that Tanis.

Robots Developing Their Own Language
No, not a headline from 2044. It’s a lab in Queensland (Australia) where the researchers are setting up their robots to develop their own communications system.

Ring Around the Moon
Japanese research firm is proposing building a ring of solar cells around the Moon’s equator, and then beaming the 13,000 terawatts of energy back to Earth. Yeah, seriously.

About John:
John’s a geek from way back. He’s been floating between various computer-related jobs for years, until he settled into doing tech support in higher ed. Now he rules the Macs on campus with an iron hand (really, it’s on his desk).

Geek Credentials:
RPG: Blue box D&D, lead minis, been to GenCon in Milwaukee.
Computer: TRS-80 Color Computer, Amiga 1000, UNIX system w/reel-to-reel backup tape
Card games: bought Magic cards at GenCon in 1993
Science: Met Phil Plait, got time on a mainframe for astronomy project in 1983
His Blog: http://glenandtyler.blogspot.com

Recharge your Magick, Refresh your Spirit

by Administrator, posted in Guest Authors, Magic/Occult

by Melanie Marquis

Our magickal rituals are meant to be enriching, transformative experiences that have a real effect on both our inner world and the world at large. When our rituals become routine, however, it’s easy to switch from active participant to automatic bystander, simply going through the motions without really feeling (or working) the magick. As this rut develops gradually over time, it can be hard to realize just how deep of a hole we’re getting ourselves into. A failed spell, a backfiring charm, an empty and unfulfilling sabbat ceremony—these magickal mishaps shake us up and open our eyes to the fact that our practice is missing something. We become aware of a sense of disconnect, an inner knowing that, magickally speaking, things just aren’t like they used to be.

If this sounds familiar, look up! It’s very possible to recharge your magick and refresh your spirit, and it’s a journey you’ll likely enjoy. In fact, it’s a journey you will likely never end, as continued progress is the true key to satisfying, effective magick. Designing your own road forward is what my new book “The Witch’s Bag of Tricks” (June 2011, Llewellyn Publications) is all about. I believe we have not only an ability, but a duty, to make our magick the best it can possibly be, and to use that magick for the best things we can possibly imagine. If you’ve been feeling any less than totally powerful and enthusiastic when it comes to your craft, it’s time to boost your strength and rekindle the flame in a big way. Here are a few tips and tricks you can try right now to start revamping your magickal practice and renewing your spirituality.

Relocate!

Simply finding a new place in which to work our magick is often refreshing. Our craft is very much tied to the earth, and taking your magick to a new environment can be a source of inspiration and fresh power. Try this. Go out alone or with a group to a natural place or to the middle of a city—where you go is up to you, as long as it is a place you have never (or rarely) practiced magick before, and as long as it is a place where you feel safe doing so. Take in your surroundings with all your senses; tune in to the energies around you. What power sources do you sense in the area? What do you see? Are there any stones, plants, or water features that could perhaps be useful in a bit of magick? What thoughts and images are swirling through your head? What does this particular place suggest to you? On the spot, craft a ritual or spell using elements of this new environment. You might request the help of local nature spirits, or pick up a handful of soil to use in a prosperity spell. You might cast your charm into a stick you find lying on the ground, then toss the stick into a nearby creek to seal the spell. You might find a special stone that appeals to you and craft it into a luck-bringing talisman. Let the new environment guide your magick, and you’ll benefit not only from the spontaneity of the act, but also from the renewed sense of connection to the earth you’ll experience.

Skip the Tools!

Another easy way to recharge your practice is to do what you usually do, only without the aid of any ritual tools. The tools of magick are primarily intended to aid the spellcaster in performing the internal, spiritual, emotional, and mental actions of the magickal process. They are somewhat of an outer trapping, helpful but not necessary. When we rely too heavily on our magickal tools, we can lose focus of the true heart of spellwork, our attentions directed instead to the wand in our hand, the pentacle on the altar, the candle before us. Put yourself back in the center of the action by skipping the tools altogether every now and then and giving one of your favorite spells a go using nothing more or less than the enormous magickal power that lies within you.

Does the original spell call for a potion to be blended, or a talisman created? Ask yourself what the particular function of each ingredient and each direction in the original spell is, then decide how you can perform that same function using only your consciousness, will, and intent to direct and manipulate the magickal energy. You’ll become more aware of the essential steps of the magickal process, and as your technique improves, your spells will be more successful.

Rise to the Challenge!

When our magick has been a bit mediocre, we can lose faith fast. We begin to doubt our abilities and we may even hesitate to use them. If your spellwork hasn’t been quite up to par, don’t avoid it or ignore it. Face it head on and get to the bottom of it, so that you can clear your way back up to the top! One helpful technique is to test and track your magickal activity. Don’t just cast spells. Take notes, experiment, record results, and evaluate your magick. Try performing several spells with the same goal, a week or so apart, and see which sort of spell works best for you. For example, you might cast a prosperity spell using a candle as the main focal point, envisioning the growing flame of wealth. If the spell yields no results within whatever time period you specify, try another method, perhaps using a tarot card as a wealth-bringing talisman. If you still have no results, try a spell using image magick. Note what spells give you the best results.

Another exercise to try tests your banishing magick ability. Try this the next time you have some really hard-to-wash pans to scrub. Perform a banishing charm on one side of the pan, using a blast of psychic energy to separate the layer of crud and direct it away from the pan’s surface. Now scrub each side of the pan in equal measure, using the sponge with a uniform pressure. Which side cleans easiest? Did your banishing charm have any effect, or could your charmswork use some polishing?

What other experiments can you think of? Testing our magick and tracking results, noting successes and failures alike, allows us to see the “big picture” of our magickal development. Once we collect enough data from our magickal “experiments,” larger patterns become apparent. We’re aware of strengths we can utilize and weaknesses on which to work. We’re inspired to further our learning and empowered to make the most of our magick, which in turn, makes our magick more exciting, fulfilling, successful, and fun.

Next Steps

Whether you take your magick to new places, work it with only the bare essentials, or put it to the test through experimentation, trying new ways to shake up your magick routine and learning new techniques to improve your spellcasting will reinvigorate your practice. What other new tricks might you try? Are you curious to discover just how powerful your magick can be? From one witch to another, I urge you to go for it! Even the tiniest step forward can make us eager once more to sprint ahead on our own personal path to greater magickal and spiritual fulfillment.

About Melanie Marquis:
Melanie Marquis is a lifelong practitioner of magick, the author of “The Witch’s Bag of Tricks” (June 2011, Llewellyn Publications), and the founder of United Witches global coven. Her new book offers lots of ways to reinvigorate your craft and put the spark back in your spellwork. Visit her online at www.melaniemarquis.com.

Pluralism Project Photo Contest

by Administrator, posted in Events, Religion

The Pluralism Project at Harvard University has announced their 2nd Annual Pluralism Project Photo Contest. I’m sharing their press release because I think this is an excellent opportunity for many of the wonderful individuals and organizations that The Magical Buffet has worked with to come out and mingle with other communities. Albeit virtual mingling, through photos. Feh! The folks over at The Pluralism Project are doing some great work and I want to give my readers the opportunity to be a part of it!

Here’s the info:

We invite you and your students, networks, and organizations to participate in our second annual Pluralism Project Photo Contest. We are looking for high-resolution digital images that convey the vibrancy of religious diversity in the USA. We are particularly interested in images in the following categories:

* Religious practices and rituals
* Religious centers, including festivals, center openings, and parades
* Participation of religious groups in American civic life
* Interfaith encounter or social action
* Women’s leadership and participation
* Emerging leadership within Muslim and Sikh communities
* Historic and present day images of the Atheist/Humanist, Bahá’í, Confucian, Native American, Shinto, Taoist, and Zoroastrian communities in the US

One grand-prize winner will be selected; the winning photographer will receive a $250 cash prize and an extended exposé in the spotlight on our homepage,
www.pluralism.org.

All winning photos will be featured in our forthcoming online publication, On Common Ground: World Religions in America 2.0 and on our homepage slideshow over the course of one year, beginning September 1, 2011. The photographer’s name, as well as the location of the image will accompany any digitally published images.

In order to participate, you must:

* be the photographer of the image
* grant the Pluralism Project rights to use the image on our website
* have the permission of those persons in the picture, if applicable

Entries must be submitted via email to contest@pluralism.org by 5 PM on August 1, 2011. Photos should be sent as an attachment. Please put “contest” in the subject line.

In the body of the email, please include:

* your name and title
* relationship to the Pluralism Project, if any
* addresses – mailing and email
* phone number
* a brief caption, including location of the image(s), when the image(s) was/were taken, and what is happening (2-3 sentences)
* a brief statement indicating that you were the photographer, and that you grant the Pluralism Project the rights to use the image(s) on our website, if selected.

Submissions of more than 10 photos should be sent on CD-ROM to:
The Pluralism Project
2011 Photo Contest
2 Arrow Street, 4th Floor
Cambridge, MA 02138

Information also available at: http://www.pluralism.org/pages/contest

10 Questions with Sasha Graham

by Administrator, posted in Interviews, Magic/Occult, Psychic

1. What got you started in learning about tarot?

I was born on Halloween. My Iowa grandmother always called me her good witch of the east. I thought since I was a Halloween baby, reading tarot should be my automatic skill or some sort of birthright. Buying my first deck at age 12, I was completely overwhelmed. Part of the reason I wrote Tarot Diva was to hopefully make tarot more accessible to people. Easier for them to grasp.

2. Can you tell my readers what a Tarot Diva is? How is it different from being a tarot reader?

A tarot diva is anyone, male or female, who uses a deck of tarot to illuminate, inspire and empower his or her lives. A tarot diva knows that ultimate knowledge, be it self-knowledge, spiritual knowledge or creative knowledge ultimately resides inside herself. Knowing this lies within, she uses tarot to help her access this divine knowledge.

A tarot reader becomes a tarot diva when she uses tarot to empower herself. A tarot diva puts herself to the test by being as good a reader for herself as she is for her clients. There are loads of tarot diva’s walking around out there!

3. Can the philosophy and perspective of the Tarot Diva be followed by a man, or is being a Tarot Diva just for women?

Men can totally use Tarot Diva! I call them Tarot Devos. Every single sentence in my book can apply to a man. The simple fact of the matter is statically, more women than men read tarot. I attend an annual tarot conference of about 200 tarot practitioners. Something like 98 percent of attendees are women. Tarot is a field dominated by women!

I had no problem writing from a female perspective to a mostly female audience. I adore Hemmingway. Do I let the fact he’s writing from a macho, male point of view keep me from enjoying his work? No way. I trust my male audience enough to understand this as well. Any male reader who is curious enough will open my book and have fun with it.

4. In your book “Tarot Diva” you use images from many different tarot decks, and in the book you talk about exploring the variety of decks that are available. What are some of your favorite tarot decks?

I’m a book collector (tarot, fiction and cookbooks) but not much of a tarot deck collector.

My favorite all time deck is – no surprise – The Halloween Deck by Kippling West. Loves! J’adore! Bowing to it!

Usually, I read with the Rider Waite. Plus, I focused so much on Rider Waite while writing Tarot Diva, it is as if we’ve been glued/fused together.

I’ll examine deeper subconscious issues with Patrick Valenza’s genius Deviant Moon or sometimes when I’m feeling “moody.”

5. Being a Tarot Diva is definitely more than a hobby, it’s like a lifestyle. In your book you suggest recipes for foods that you feel reflect certain cards and aspects of the tarot. What’s your favorite recipe from the book?

Ohhhhh, that’s such a hard question because I really put in recipes I love and cook all the time!!!

In the fall, when I’m entertaining a small groups, I love to serve Strength’s Warm Garlic, Brie and Chutney. It works great for like 4 – 6 people.

I serve the Empress Goat Cheese and Cherry Salad for lunch for girlfriends all the time – any season it is purrrrrrfection!

My husband and I worked for years (we are still tinkering) to perfect our Lover’s French Onion Soup. We both love it so much and the smell of caramelized onions is soooooooo divine! We use chicken stock in the summer for a lighter version and beef stock in the winter for a heartier feel.

The Fool’s Croque Madame is my Sunday morning special when I really feel like indulging myself and pretending I’m at a café in Paris.

Gee, can you tell I love to eat??

6. Your book has all kinds of wonderful quotes from women in it. Who are some of your favorite divas, tarot or otherwise?

Madonna all the way! I think the moment my first teenage hormone popped was the second Borderline was released. I can mark every moment of my life by her songs.

Now that Madge is slowing down, I live for Lady Gaga, Katy Perry and Beyonce. Give me a strong woman in a pair of stilettos, false eyelashes and a poppy song and she’ll have me dancing around the living room in no time.

I adore all the Broadway Diva’s like Pattie LuPone and Julie Andrews.

Fierce female writers like Toni Morrison and Jeanette Winterson.

My personal tarot diva’s include the phenomenal Rachel Pollack and the amazing Corrine Kenner. I idolize them both.

I searched for quotes from Madeline Albright cause I think she is one hell of a diva. Sadly, I couldn’t find any that would apply to the book.

Such an honor to quote these amazing women!!!

7. What are your thoughts on the rise in popularity of the “oracle deck” (decks designed for intuitive or psychic work that do not necessarily follow the traditional tarot template)?

Interesting question. Any device that increases psychic or intuitive work is a good thing. I just adore the history, occult and otherwise, attached to tarot decks. The Trumps who sprang to life in the Renaissance really float my boat.

8. What do you feel is the best advice you can offer to someone considering learning tarot?

Don’t be afraid to read the card. Trust yourself and your first instinct. Allow yourself to weave stories about what you see. Don’t be indecisive. Take risks.

Then take this exact same advice for cards and apply it to your life.

9. With your book “Tarot Diva” now out for public consumption, have you considered doing a “Tarot Diva” tarot deck?

You know, I’ve been asked this question. Unless a seriously gifted artist came knocking at my door, I don’t know this is something I’d pursue. There are so many amazing decks out there. What would I really have to add? The power of tarot comes when it takes shape in your subconscious. I have no idea how I could put that on a card. It would be like painting a dream . . .

10. Parting shot! Ask us here at The Magical Buffet any one question.

Okay, I’ve got a good one. Where do you think Tarot is going? What direction is it moving in?

It’s hard to say because my perspective is skewed. I get loads of emails from readers, authors, and publishers about tarot, so in my mind, tarot seems to be on an upward trend. However, I’m not sure outside of my warm, wonderful, Buffet bubble. If me and my blog achieved global domination (and it is on the “to do” list), I would definitely make certain that tarot had every opportunity to achieve “market saturation” (as the ad execs would say).

About Sasha Graham:
Sasha Graham was born in Saranac Lake, NY, to a free spirited hippie mother and moved 27 times during her childhood. Settling in Manhattan in the late 80’s, Sasha acted in B-horror films, received a BA in Literature at Hunter College and began working with Tarot. Sasha now organizes tarot events, teaches tarot classes and provides tarot outreach to young people all over NYC. You can learn more at www.sashagraham.com

Attention Albany, NY area readers! Sasha Graham will be at The Book House of Stuyvesant Plaza on Saturday June 4, 2011 at 3pm signing books and doing one card tarot readings! For more information, visit The Book House of Stuyvesant Plaza website!

Immortal Blues: The Wrap Up

by Administrator, posted in Guest Authors

At the end of January this year I started publishing a fiction serial by Greg Bullard called “Immortal Blues”. It was published every other Sunday with it just concluding on May 15th. I thought it would be nice, and convenient if I did a quick post that featured the links to each of the nine installments so you could easily just click your way through the series. However then I thought it might be fun to ask the author to share a few thoughts about “Immortal Blues”, and he did!

When I sat down to write “Immortal Blues”, I had a few thoughts that all managed to converge to turn into the story you (might have) read.

1. There’s so much great stuff in Urban Fantasy right now. I really want to be a part of that.

2. There’s way too much great stuff in Urban Fantasy right now, I’m not sure there’s anything original left to write.

3. What happened that we now depict Fairies as …well, Fairies? The Fae (or Fey) of legend were the original Bogey Men. They were the threats lurking outside the door that kept your kids in line. They were awe-inspiring, amazing, frightful, sometimes beautiful, sometimes hideous, often capricious and far more complex than the few stories most of us have been left with today.

So that made up my mind, I really needed a bad-ass Fae Detective.

That having been decided, my next struggle was how to handle all of the Fae lore. To put it succinctly, there’s a lot. It’s predominant in the history of Celtic culture, but differs greatly in Irish, Scottish, English and Welsh folklore (not to mention the presence of Fae in the mythology of other cultures).

Mostly I went with the great writings of W.B. Yeats and his tales of Irish Fairy and Folklore. However, even that is just a set of individual stories with some overlap, but not a consistent mythology. So I set out to build my own.

If you come across something in my story that makes you go, “Wait, that’s not what a _______ is!” Then that’s almost certainly my fault, because I put my own spin on it.

To be more precise, I went with the foundation that the Sidhe at the heart of the Tuatha Dé Danann were old lesser gods and goddesses in their own right, but subject to the Pagan goddess, Dana. The lesser or less regal Fae were their subjects, sometimes reluctantly.

As other cultures and religions came to dominance among the Celtic nations, the old myths were partial consumed by Christianity and partially discarded. Fae lore is the same.

Christianity gave us a rich character with a touching history in Saint Brigit of Kildare. However, for the Irish people of the time, they already had a Brigid. She had been a Pagan goddess for centuries.

Today we know that Christianity, in an effort to be accepted by the masses, tried to integrate itself as closely to their existing religions as possible; co-opting holidays, saints, holy sites, etc.

Knowing that, I wondered, so what happens if you accept that Brigid wasn’t just a goddess, co-opted by Christianity, but instead was a willing participant in the transition from one religion to another.

I took that willingness to change, and adopted it as the schism which fractured the Fae courts into Dark and Light (Seelie and Unseelie). In touching upon the two courts, I had moved firmly over into the Scottish Fae lore, rather than Irish. However, as I said, I wanted to try to bridge the different mythologies into one coherent history and mythology.

Now that I had a mythology I was happy with, I was ready to write a story about a bad-ass Fae detective. Of course, any time you have someone who is a bad-ass, it’s hard to write a compelling story about them that remains engaging, because they just bad-ass their way out of the problems you throw at them.

So what do you do? You take it all away, but leave them with a glimmer of hope, and that’s “Immortal Blues”.

Did you miss “Immortal Blues”? Want to relive it? Here you go!

Immortal Blues: Part One
Welcome to part one of the nine part fiction series “Immortal Blues” by Greg Bullard. In our first installment there is gun fire, spanakopita, classic blues music, and eventually a decision to visit The Crone.

Immortal Blues: Part Two
Welcome to part two of the nine part fiction series “Immortal Blues” by Greg Bullard. In part two we meet The Crone, Isabella, and her granddaughter Marisela. In search of answers do we instead get more questions?

Immortal Blues: Part Three
Welcome to part three of the nine part fiction series “Immortal Blues” by Greg Bullard. Returning to the scene of the crime offers few new insights aside from the fact that our killer means business.

Immortal Blues: Part Four
Welcome to part four of the nine part fiction series “Immortal Blues” by Greg Bullard. In the latest installment blues music reappears and leads the way to a discussion of why a demon might kill you.

Immortal Blues: Part Five
Welcome to part five of the nine part fiction series “Immortal Blues” by Greg Bullard. Ready? Fight!

Immortal Blues: Part Six
Welcome to part six of the nine part fiction series “Immortal Blues” by Greg Bullard. We say good-bye to The Crone, Isabella, and hello to a frenemy from the past.

Immortal Blues: Part Seven
Welcome to part seven of the nine part fiction series “Immortal Blues” by Greg Bullard. Aine Marina hangs around long enough to create more questions than answered and again, shots are fired.

Immortal Blues: Part Eight
Welcome to part eight of the nine part fiction series “Immortal Blues” by Greg Bullard. The end game approaches. Motivations are revealed, as well as the blues man.

Immortal Blues: Part Nine
Welcome to the ninth and final installment in the fiction series “Immortal Blues” by Greg Bullard.

About Greg Bullard:
Greg currently resides in Austin, TX, trying to do his part to Keep Austin Weird. While his wife, Julia, and daughter, Emily, both work hard to keep him on his toes, it is Julia’s red editing pen that does the most work. When he is not muddling his way through some fiction, he usually writes about What Greg Eats.

Angel Ambush

by Administrator, posted in Geek Stuff, Science, Television

At London’s Victoria Station a voluptuous angel fell from the sky and interacted with unsuspecting humans. Needless to say, it created quite a reaction. However, the angel in question didn’t actually fall from the sky; she leapt out of someone’s laptop.

In Europe they’re known as Lynx, but to us Americans the brand name of Axe might be more familiar. It wasn’t too long ago that they launched a new television ad that was, in fact, really quite clever. Some average Joe sprays some Axe body spray and the next thing you know smokin’ hot angels are falling from the sky and smashing their halos for a chance to be with him. Like I said, it’s pretty amusing. Take a look for yourself.

This is where a thing called “augmented reality” comes in. According to the anonymous folks at Wikipedia, “augmented reality (AR) is a term for a live direct or an indirect view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented by computer-generated sensory input, such as sound or graphics. It is related to a more general concept called mediated reality, in which a view of reality is modified (possibly even diminished rather than augmented) by a computer. As a result, the technology functions by enhancing one’s current perception of reality. By contrast, virtual reality replaces the real world with a simulated one.

The television series ‘Firefly’ depicts numerous AR applications, including a real-time medical scanner which allows a doctor to use his hands to manipulate a detailed and labeled projection of a patient’s brain. In ‘Minority Report’, Tom Cruise stands in front of a supercomputer using AR technology, and in the movie ‘Mission Impossible 2’, Tom Cruise uses Augmented Reality technology via a set of sunglasses he wears to debrief himself of his forthcoming mission, Chimera, after he completes climbing a mountain at the very outset of the movie.”

More than ever companies are exploring augmented reality for, you guessed it, marketing. And that is what led to “Angel Ambush”, which featured an angel falling from the sky to interact with people at Victoria Station.

According to an article by Sharif Sakr on the BBC News website “some experts have commented that ‘Angel Ambush’ was not ‘real’ augmented reality at all because the virtual angel was just a layer of video manipulated by a human operator, rather than an independent 3D object.” The article goes on to state that Myles Peyton, UK Sales Director of Total Immersion, says “The true commercial power of augmented reality lies in its ability to let consumers virtually hold and interact with products that are fully and accurately modeled in the virtual world.”

So perhaps “Angel Ambush” wasn’t “true” augmented reality, but it sure looks like a lot of fun. I do find myself wondering if it will be so fun once it’s everywhere jumping out at me; trying to get me to buy all kinds of crap I don’t need. Until then, bring on the angels!

Interested in learning more about augmented reality? The website How Stuff Works has got everything you’d want to know!

I’m Calling it a Win

by Administrator, posted in Politics

As most Magical Buffet readers know, I have a bit of an axe to grind about Zimbabwe. I won’t bog you down with links here. If you don’t know the history, just go to The Buffet’s home page and click on politics in the column on the right hand side of your screen. But consider yourself warned, I started all of this way back in July 2008! Goodness I’ve been talking about Zimbabwe for a damned long time!

I’m here to discuss one of my more recent posts on the subject. In November 2010 I sent a letter “across the pond” to Matthew Coats and Damian Green about Britain resuming enforced returns of failed asylum seekers to Zimbabwe. I thought I made some pretty eloquent points, if I do say so myself.

As an aside, that post is particularly special to me because if you look in the comments section you’ll see someone from Britain left a comment that ends with “Keep your nose out of British politics and decisions – you do not pay for the assorted wandering nomad immigrants who decide to dump themselves in Britain – I am forced to finance them.” A few years I ago I may have panicked, thinking, oh no, I upset someone. However my immediate response to seeing this comment instead was, oh my God! Someone in Britain is reading my blog? Sweet. For a while I was getting pretty regular visits from the U.K. I just assumed it was that guy looking to see if I responded to his comment. Sorry fella’, this is as close to a response as you’re going to see. And that day was when I realized I must truly be a blogger.

Where the heck was I? Oh yes, me writing to Britain about enforced returns of failed asylum seeker to Zimbabwe. A country that has the sad fate of possessing no oil, and having no A List celebrities adopting children from there, so the United States will continue to do nothing besides remind the country that we have targeted sanctions on President Mugabe and others. Oh, was that out loud? Good. I’m pretty bitter about it. (By the way, The Daily Show also wonders about America’s “Freedom Packages”.) Anyway, here’s where I’m trying to go with this. In that letter to Coats and Green I mention X Factor contestant Gamu Nhengu who was facing deportation.

Well, on May 11, 2011 BBC News published this. Yep, “X Factor’s Gamu Nhengu wins right to stay in the UK”. In the grand scheme of things, this isn’t much of anything. My letters definitely had nothing to do with it. But you know what? I’m going to just sit back, smile, and call it a win anyway. Some days, you just have to take what you can get.

The Small Town Pagan’s Survival Guide

by Administrator, posted in Books, Religion, Reviews, Wiccan/Pagan

There is no way for me to write this review and not be sad. If you read my April 12th article “A Nice Guy and Some Special Ladies in my Life” then you already heard part of this story, but those who have not, here it is.

While flipping through a magazine I saw that a book called “The Small Town Pagan’s Survival Guide: How to Thrive in Any Community” was coming out in June 2011. Without having even read the book I knew this would be excellent subject matter for an interview, so I reached out to Llewellyn Publications and secured a review copy of the book and my foot in the door for an interview with the author Bronwen Forbes. Under 72 hours later I learned that she had passed away. Ultimately I was saddened that I had missed the opportunity to interview a woman who had touched so many lives. Then I received my copy of “The Small Town Pagan’s Survival Guide”.

This book gives us a glimpse at a woman who lived an extremely full life, and she shares it in intimate detail. From divorces to workplace harassment, to meeting the love of her life, raising a small child, and moving around the country, it is there on the page for all to read and learn from. Forbes’ writing is honest, often times humorous, and authoritative. Just her experiences alone would have made “The Small Town Pagan’s Survival Guide” a worthwhile book, but she didn’t stop there.

Not only did Forbes recount her own experiences and lessons learned from moving to small town in Missouri from the suburbs of Washington, DC, but she surveyed and interviewed roughly 50 other people who identified themselves as Pagans residing in small towns. The book is filled with direct quotes from the surveys as well as insights gained from examining the survey results as a whole.

I was surprised to realize that “The Small Town Pagan’s Survival Guide” contained information that was useful for Pagans in smaller towns, but also Pagans in cities. There’s information for Pagans looking to start discussion groups or considering forming a coven. It would even be helpful for someone who perhaps hasn’t fully decided if they’re Pagan or not. This book has information and reflections that just about any Pagan would be able to take something away from. I also think the book is a worthwhile read for folks like me who are not Pagan, but are always looking for a better understanding of Pagan spirituality and the people who practice it.

But I’ll always wonder about that interview…..

“The Small Town Pagan’s Survival Guide” releases in June 2011.

Geek Month in Review: April 2011

by Administrator, posted in Geek Stuff, Guest Authors, Science

By JB Sanders

Early start for a warm month (well, it’s warm NOW).

Robo-fun
RoboGames 2011, the worlds largest robot competition. Do I need to say more?

Squishy Circuits
Ever wanted to teach your 4-year-old about electrical engineering and circuitry? No? Why not!? How about you show them about battery packs, LED lights and play-dough. Yeah, did you know that regular commercial play-dough can conduct electricity? Or that with a little work, you can make your own play-dough? With a slight variation of the recipe, you can even make a resistive play-dough to help create play-dough circuits. Very cool stuff.

First Legal Challenge to 3D Printing Repository
How long did you think we could go without a 3D link? The folks at Thingiverse, an open-source repository of 3D models and content, got a DMCA take-down notice because someone posted the CAD files for printing a Penrose Triangle. Read the details. (Tons of cool links embedded in the article on the subject of 3D printing)

And while I’m on the subject, some really amazing objects printed by a 3D printer.

Visualizing Fusion Propulsion
Using the designs from the Project Deadalus space propulsion project of the 1970’s, these folks put together an animation of how the system would and could work.

Commodore 64 Coming Out
Seriously. Again. Only this time, the guts are a LITTLE more powerful. Debuting 30 years after it first hit the market, this system (with the SAME exterior) includes a 1.8 Ghz dual-core processor, optional Blu-ray player and HDMI ports (for between $250-900). Crazy times, huh?

100 Classic Atari Games
It’s nostalgia month! Atari is releasing 18 titles from the arcade, and 82 from the 2600 on the iOS (iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch) platform, including the free Pong. They’re also releasing something called the iCade, which is a fancy case for the iPad that turns it into an arcade-like device with a real analog (but now Bluetooth) joystick and giant mashable buttons. Yes, exactly like the ThinkGeek April Fool’s Day of 2010 — apparently Atari liked the idea so much, they’re having someone make it for them. $100.

How Much is Smaug Worth, Anyway?
And of course, look no further than Forbes magazine for that answer. The article is a behind-the-scenes (“showing a little ankle” as the author amusingly puts it) look at how Forbes goes about evaluating the “Fictional 15”, or the 15 richest fictional characters. It’s humorous and a little surreal seeing a mainstream discussion of what I would have thought was just a fan-boy discussion of relative fictional fortunes. Possibly the geekiest article I’ve ever linked to.

Tallest LEGO Tower
Bigger than any LEGO tower you built.

UFOs, For Real
Where’s Mulder when stuff like this comes out? The FBI has released a document under the Freedom of Information Act that describes an interview with an Air Force investigator in Roswell New Mexico, where he talks about captured flying saucers and aliens in shiny metallic suits. Yes, really. Go read it for yourself. While you’re there, take a look at the FBI’s FOIA archives.

Garden of the Future!
There should be an echo on that title. It’s called Aquaponics, and it’s a hybrid of various “green” technologies to make food on 1/10th of an acre (2600lbs worth). It’s like the utopian convergence of every hippy technology into one location: wind power, passive solar heating, grey water systems, hydroponics and fish. Lots of fish.

A direct link to the project.

Origins of Language
Interesting application of biological methods (like DNA tracking) to linguistics.

Robots for “Sale”
Ok, so it’s an ad for a video game, but it’s got robots and a sarcastic ad-like voice-over. You be the judge.

Who Stole My Volcano?
A blog article about an interview with the man who was the production designer for such movies as “Chitty-Chitty Bang-Bang”, “Dr Strangelove” and numerous Bond movies. The subtitle of the blog post is “Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Dematerialisation of Supervillain Architecture.” Totally worth a read.

Sarah Jane Has Died
First Alfred last month, now Elisabeth Sladen, the actress who portrayed the character Sarah Jane Smith on Dr Who for over 40 years has passed away. There aren’t many actors who get to portray a character over that length of time, nor with such iconic strength that they stand the test of time so well. The BBC blog entry below quotes Steve Moffat (current Lead Writer and Executive Producer of current Dr Who) as saying that his son, when shown the old Doctor Who, immediately recognized the character of Sarah Jane and was surprised she hadn’t changed at all.

3D Scanner — Using Just Your iPhone
Some crazy guys at Georgia Tech have created an app for the iPhone that lets you make low-end 3D scans of objects (or your face!) just using the phone’s built-in front-facing camera. Also works on iPad 2 and iPod touch.

The First Theme Park
You know, it’s either this, or the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, and there’s some dispute as to whether those Hanging Gardens even existed. Anyway, this is History Geeky. Vauxhall Gardens were outdoor public gardens, which charged an entrance fee, and were described thusly:

“The main walks were lit at night by hundreds of lamps. Over time more features and eyecatchers were added: additional supper boxes, a music room, a Chinese pavilion, a gothic orchestra that accommodated fifty musicians, and ruins, arches, statues and a cascade.”

If that’s not a theme park, I don’t know what is.

Brooklyn in LEGOs
So this NYC guy builds a replica of Brooklyn, entirely made out of LEGOs. And there are pictures. Do you really need more than that?

Also, British warship made out of LEGO.

24th Annual Rube Goldberg Contest
First off, how did I not know about this? I feel cheated! Second, check out the video of the winning machine. Wow.

3D Photos of Earth, Moon and Mars
Plus some other random things. Requires those red/blue glasses.

All of Doctor Who in 6 Minutes
A light, and lightning-fast, overview of all of Doctor Who’s 47 years on television in 6 minutes. Fun!

What is IQ?
What does an IQ test really measure? Intelligence, or intelligence plus motivation. Spoiler: the study found that the more money offered to the test takers, the higher their resultant IQ score.

The Last Typewriter Factory Closes
To which pretty much everyone I know would respond: they still make those things?

Roads of Light
Solar-cells as paving stones, that is.

Zombie-proof House
At least, in theory. Testing still to be done. A little bit bunker-like from the road (as you’d expect) but pretty open-air from the other side. It folds up to be pretty much completely sealed, including the drawbridge to the second-floor entrance to the house.

Pictures.

More, with floor plans.

Pan-and-Scan Views of the Sky: 360
Full views of the night sky you can pan around to get a better look at. Feel free to ZOOM way the heck in, too.

Awesome Moon Video
And speaking of cool astronomy pictures, try this video of the moon, shot from Fenway park, with a fun guest interposed between the moon and the videographer.

About John:
John’s a geek from way back. He’s been floating between various computer-related jobs for years, until he settled into doing tech support in higher ed. Now he rules the Macs on campus with an iron hand (really, it’s on his desk).

Geek Credentials:
RPG: Blue box D&D, lead minis, been to GenCon in Milwaukee.
Computer: TRS-80 Color Computer, Amiga 1000, UNIX system w/reel-to-reel backup tape
Card games: bought Magic cards at GenCon in 1993
Science: Met Phil Plait, got time on a mainframe for astronomy project in 1983
His Blog: http://glenandtyler.blogspot.com

Red Shambhala: Magic, Prophecy, and Geopolitics in the Heart of Asia

by Administrator, posted in Books, Buddhism, Magic/Occult, New Age, Politics, Religion, Reviews

Where on Earth do I begin? “Red Shambhala: Magic, Prophecy, and Geopolitics in the Heart of Asia” by Andrei Znamenski was totally alien to me. Knowledge of Tibetan Buddhism? Minimal. Familiarity with the politics of Eurasia in the 1920’s and 1930’s? Nonexistent. An understanding of the variety of interpretations of Shambhala and its associated prophecies? Nope. Are you now frightened of this daunting book? Well don’t be.

Author Andrei Znamenski breaks everything down to its most basic parts to help bring order to this chaos. He begins by explaining the assorted legends, myths, and religious tales of Shambhala and its association with those living in Mongolia, Tibet, and surrounding lands. To sum up, Shambhala is a legendary kingdom hidden somewhere in Inner Asia. It’s considered a land of purity and enlightenment and home for a more spiritually advanced and possibly technologically advanced civilization. Of course most modern Buddhists consider Shambhala a spiritual place to be found within oneself, but Znamenski carefully outlines a period of time when Shambhala was considered an actual location that those of pure intention could find.

The next layer to be added to “Red Shambhala” is an explanation of the Bolshevik revolution that took place in 1917. This was when the Bolsheviks, a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, came to power during the October Revolution phase of the Russian Revolution of 1917. The Bolsheviks were an organization consisting primarily of workers who considered themselves the leaders of the revolutionary working class of Russia. This is where Znamenski starts to introduce you to some of the future players in the quest for Shambhala.

What comes next is the unbelievable true life story of how the idea of Shambhala was a tool used in assorted political and megalomaniacal schemes all focused on the conquest of Mongolia and Tibet. Alexander Barchenko wants to find Shambhala to learn the sacred wisdom there and believes by introducing the elite of Red Russia to the knowledge of Shambhala he will be able to make the Communist project in Russia less violent. The elite see Barchenko’s theological journey to Inner Asia as a chance to plant the seeds of Communism in other lands. Baron Roman von Ungern-Sternberg travels to the east, and uses the legend of Shambhala as a tool to unite the nomads of Mongolia in an effort to restore monarchies. The Roerichs, Nicholas, his wife Helena, and their son George, attempt to establish a Buddhist-Communist theocracy. Nicholas poses as the reincarnation of the fifth Dalai Lama, obviously not counting on the politically shrewd living Dalai Lama of the time. And those are just a taste of the eccentric, larger than life characters that really truly lived, and very much tried their hand at king making and empire building.

After reading “Red Shambhala” you’ll come away with new insights into the history of Communism, Tibetan Buddhism, and the use of propaganda. They say real life can be stranger than fiction, and Andrei Znamenski’s research proves that phrase to be very, very true.

“Red Shambhala” releases in June 2011.