Huginn and Muninn

For some time now, I have considered myself to be a person of two minds. It definitely crystallized a lot more for me when I started studying psychology and began to understand concepts such as the sub-conscious and the nature of thoughts and feelings. But regardless of what I've studied, I think I needed to come to the conclusion myself and find the truth in my own way before I would accept the idea of it being something that is truly, concretely, factually, real.

Accepting that I am not just a person of thought, but of emotion, and that emotion comes from the same place my thought, reason and identity come from, began to pose some interesting questions as to the idea of what was my sub-conscious capable of, and how does it affect who I am as a person.

The urge to write this all began with the thought of a simple statement: We should not be slaves to our emotions- Which immediately brought forth thoughts of Borg and Vulcan and other such philosophers of our day, and the instant emotional reaction of: But that's not what I believe. To which I immediately appended: -but that doesn't mean we shouldn't have them.

It's interesting to catch myself while I'm in the midst of an emotional state - say anxiousness - and try to understand why it is that I'm feeling this way? On bio-psychological level, I agree that - in response to some stimuli - my subconscious mind kicked on some glands and hormones and secretions and a chemical reaction taking place in my brain is making me experience this state of nervous tension and anxiety. 

The point is to acknowledge not only that it's happening, not only why it's happening, but what is my sub-conscious trying to tell me? It's all well and good to be standing in front of a Lion and experience some anxiety. Your brain is making sure you know that the Lion will kill you and that - while it may not know about you - it wants to keep living.

While this practical example may seem obvious and redundant, I believe it points out an important idea: that our sub-conscious mind is as intelligent as we are (obviously) and not only has some important things to say, it can make you act ways you might not, under normal circumstances, have acted. I think it can also be an interesting tool, because you could use emotion to interview your sub-conscious and see how things might make you feel and what it means when you feel certain things about certain subjects.

(tbc)

Hollywood Movie

High School student gets a family history assignment and is searching through the records for parts of his family tree. During his search, he comes upon a picture of an ancestor of his and is puzzled when he notices that the relative looks exactly like him; at his current age.

More research reveals a series of strange exploits and activity by this ancestor that doesn't seem to make much sense. Until he realizes that he isn't just the splitting image of an old relative... the person in those pictures is him! And he's sending messages to himself through actions/interviews recorded in the past.

Somehow, he ended up in 1885 - Time Travel has not been invented or anything, society is pretty much as it is now (2012). Whatever it was that got him trapped there forced him to spend his time in the past doing what he could to warn his future self, knowing that he was going to die (eventually) in the past (or perhaps use whatever sent him into the past as a way to get back to the future [heh]). Which ends up being sooner than he knows, because more articles reveal that on Sunday, September 6th, 1885, he's shot dead by Bart "Mad Dog" Travis and his gang while traveling on the Pine City Stage.

Student has no idea how many times he's been sent back, he only knows he hasn't succeeded. Student must puzzle together the clues left by his future self to figure out how to stop the cycle and save himself from being left for dead in the Old West.

Games (Revisit)

The World
Four of Wands
Justice

Nine of Pentacles
The Empress
The Chariot (<-Interesting.)

Six of Swords
King of Cups
Seven of Swords

Two of Wands (<-Cool.)

Good.

2012 Revisit

Fresh Cut:
Queen of Pentacles + Strength

The Spread:

The Emperor
Temperance (<-Hello.)
Three of Pentacles

Ace of Pentacles
Five of Pentacles
Seven of Swords

The Lovers
Wheel of Fortune (<-Interesting.)
Six of Pentacles (<-So true.)

Queen of Swords

Heavy influence of Pentacles and Major Arcana. Queen of Swords and Seven of Swords pair up.

1up

1up

Set up an online bank account of some kind to accept donations or use an online charity/donation site. Also, find ways to get physical currency deposited as well - money gathered at fundraisers.

Find a scholarship (or make one!?) for college education that you can link up with for the donations. Find out the amount needed (or desired) to donate to effectively grant a college scholarship.

Set a threshold on the account so that when a certain amount is reached it triggers a scholarship and grants one to an approved applicant/donates it to the existing scholarship.

It'd be cool if it were called the 1up Scholarship.

Then... you know... raise some money :)

[Updated!] Mr. Panda's Chili Recipe

Mr. Panda's Chili Recipe

Based off of Chef Hatton's basic chili recipe (thanks, Gabe!)

Vegetable oil - 1 tbsp
Onions (white), medium dice - 2
Garlic, chopped - 4 cloves
Ground Beef (Extra Lean) - 3 lb
Red wine (Cabernet Sauvignon or Malbec) - 2 cups
Crushed tomatoes, canned - 3 lb
Diced tomatoes, canned - 3 lb
Beef stock - 1 qt
Chili Powder (Blend) - 4 tbsp
Chili Powder (California Chili) - 2 tbsp
Ground Cumin - 2 tsp
Bay leaves - 3
Worcestershire sauce - 2 tbsp
Jalapenos (green), minced - 3 [2 seeded, 1 with seeds/ribs]
Jalapenos (red), minced - 2 [1 seeded, 1 with seeds/ribs]
Mexican Hot Sauce (i.e. Tapatio, Cholula, Mexi-Pep) - 3 tbsp
Salt and Pepper - TT
[I've been doing 3 tsp sea salt and 6 tsp ground black pepper]

In a large stock pot...
1. Saute the onions in oil until tender and translucent. Add garlic and saute for 1 minute.
2. Add the beef and brown, stirring occasionally. Drain off excess fat. Then, add the red wine and stir until mixed with meat.
3. Add the remaining ingredients.
4. Bring to a simmer and cook uncovered - stirring occasionally - until reduced to desired thickness (4-5 hours should do it.)
5. Remove bay leaves and adjust seasoning.

Makes 5 qt (1 gal 1 qt) - Serves approx. 10

Suggested Accompaniment:

"Jiffy" Brand Cornbread Muffins

WIBCI

Story:

Game Designer travels to Oxford to live while designing a RPG epic. Drinks regularly at the Eagle and Child and working on his design there - a form of "studying under the masters." (a la Louvre in France.)

After a while there, a local introduces himself to Game Designer, asking if what he's working on is D&D. "I suppose it is, in a matter of speaking." GD invites him for a drink and talks for a while - getting to know him. Local confesses that he and his friends are a group of D&D players without a DM - and they've been dying for a game. GD confesses to being rather lonely and would welcome the company of gamers and hopefully new friends.

Local introduces GD to friends, they all get to know each other. GD agrees to DM his game for them. Everyone is happy, game happens.

At least one of the gamers is a female - introduce love interest. Story follows game development/progression, friendship, love and cultural displacement. Uses location well - Oxford (for Christ sake.)

Bonus! End of movie/story/whatever follows with release of epic RPG game!