The Long and Winding Road

The long and winding road

That leads to your door

Will never disappear

I've seen that road before

It always leads me here

Lead me to your door.

We here on this planet have been on a long strange trip, haven't we? We're glued to a rocketship made of dirt that's hurtling through space to some unknown destination. We're not entirely sure where this trip started or where it goes. We may have theories that pit the hegelian concepts of the big bang vs creationism or evolution vs alien intervention theory - but I am not interested in getting into those debates at the moment. Even answers to those seemingly "deep" questions still only provide us with an answer that is not unlike the "42" provided by the Deep Thought computer. The answer is useless and raw data is meaningless unless you know the right question.

So, I'm not trying to lay out my theory of what I think is the meaning to life. Rather, pointing out that we should keep asking questions. Not only is it good to question authority, the stuff that other people tell you, the things that you hear and read, but...just in general. "In all affairs it's a healthy thing now and then to hang a question mark on the things you have long taken for granted." -Bertrand Russell

Exactly.

So, as the now-famous Norway Spiral lit up the internet last December, and continues to be debated, I find it healthy that so many questions are being tossed around. Who knows, someone may even figure out the right question, or the right answer. You've got Freeman who sticks to the Russian rocket idea but adds the ionospheric heater element (he also points to this craziness), Strange Eye was incredible in producing Eiscat data within minutes of the story breaking, Hoagland had his take, and even the usually tame DailyPaul got in on the spiral. Few seemed interested in the blue light over Egypt at the same time that was being called a Virgin Mary sighting. RedIce even just posted a video with someone presenting the theory that this is a sign of massive destruction a la the 2012 meme. More fear tossed out into a crazy world. Whatever - there are a flurry of theories on this one. Some calling it a sign of our destruction, some calling it a sign of our salvation.

But, I have come to think that, no matter its true nature, it is much more than the sum of its parts. In some ways it is indicative of the reactionary nature of most of us. We know the world is speeding us along on some lost highway, and we are looking for signs along the side of the road. The fearful see signs of darkness. The hopeful see signs of cosmic ascendancy.

The wise take it in, process it as best they can, and enjoy the ride.

A good example of this would be Chris Knowles, who was motivated to write one of his best series as the strangeness unfolded. Having listened to interviews of him, I know he doesn't have the most positive outlook on things, but he was inspired to greatness nonetheless. I admire guys like him and Freeman, not only for their work, but for their attitude. Having woken up to much of the darkness myself, I can testify that it's often an ugly road. Keeping your chin up and shooting for the stars in the face of everything goes a long way.

That's an area I've tried to cover in "Look At All The Happy Creatures" as much as possible. I want to cover the beautiful alongside the dark and ugly. It's just way too easy to forget "the beauty that surrounds us."

“Easy now, easy.” The White Rabbit called out to Tangerine and soothed her mind with his voice. “You’ve seen much and now you just need to rest. While you catch your breath, however, I’d like to discuss a little of what you’ve seen. I want you to understand that the universe exists in extreme balance. You have witnessed examples of both the infinitely beautiful and the infinitely dark. The Blue Bunny exists and seeks to rule you always; it is his goal to bring you only into darkness. But you must remember that the wonderful aspects of life are there even when you cannot see them, even when a place such as this challenges your belief in beauty. Do you think you can do that?” - Look At All The Happy Creatures, Chapter 11

So, I have decided not to turn a blind eye to the horrors of the world, but to view them in the perspective that they are just additions to a wonderful and strange world. If we continue to focus only on the darkness, then it consumes us. If we allow the bigger picture to come into view, if we look upon our existence with wonder, we can enjoy every day.

I will build on these ideas in the coming posts, but I wanted to get this out tonight. With the need for laughter and love in mind, I set off to reunite with Mr. GaryMac after a 10 year hiatus of our radio days to do a show that we all need right now. Well, I know I certainly need it anyway. I also know the "Happy Creatures" universe can be a hard one to look at sometimes, as our own one can be.

So, tonight (February 18th at 8PM EST) my one-time college radio co-host and I will bring some fun to this venue.

I hope you'll tune in and enjoy.

******

You can listen to a stream at the following link:
http://98.14.113.191:8085/radiodestiny.html

In the meantime, that link will continue to play some great(??) early GM&A from the WSJU days.

**For a higher quality signal, go here and download the Pirate Radio media player.http://www.pirateradio.com/downloads/

We'll also be taking calls via Skype under the name GaryMacandAlan