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The Secrets of Fuzzy Funk

Fuzzy Funk was one of the original Zonons that came together to form a defense against the ViPrey and the Power That Is Not within the Anii networml to protect the cyphron and zonon populace. Most cyphrons were defenseless against the ViPrey skinks because they knew not how to fight them. There seemed to be two types of ViPrey…. The regular ViPrey that had no enhanced powers (and they were the ones who are mostly helpful to cyphrons); and those that looked like monster skinks and different variations as well. The monster skinks had enhanced powers that would allow them to have outer body experiences, whereas they could transmit a shadowy likeness of themselves out into a geonetric location within a networml and steal cyphron souls. Their actual physical presence would create a stench of hydrogen sulfide gas when they gathered in mass…. A monster skink would also have the strength of a dimming star making it impossible for anyone to defeat them. All, but one…. Fuzzy Funk! The special power of a dimming star would be that of gravitational pull.

Fuzzy was the only Zonon who could fight hand to hand combat with any ViPrey beast and defeat them. He was the only one that they feared in addition to Diamond Blade. Diamond Blade is a teacher within the CyPhron Academy. She also moonlights as a renegade mercenary for CiPher Fire – the legendary stealth cypheron – led by Black Angus. Black Angus is also a Zonon and he is a material science engineer with specialization in dark matter and dark energy. He is secretly known to be a dark matter “blacksmith” for the Nano-Tera. His weaponry and defense gear are known for their tremendous success against the monster ViPrey beasts and the Power That is Not.

In addition to the core of CiPher Fire, there is Rahman. He is their primary networml navigator and secondary code runner. His aircraft of choice is the Veloraptor…. It may not be the fastest Realm class aircraft, but it is the swiftest, most powerful, maneuverable, and stealthy aircraft in existence within the Realm. Rahman has the moves that will make a monster skink pause and think…… if there is such a thing…

Fuzzy Funk had a long successful history with the Anii networml before he moved to the Reality. When he was removed from his position as lead defense minister within the Reality networml of CyPhron Defense, he placed himself into self-exile and created a new cypheron called Virtual-X. He has not been seen since, but Virtual-X is associated with him and this reconnaissance cypheron represents his thinking. The members of this cypheron are on the run, but are very popular within the Reality. They represent that which is good and great and pose a threat to the current players who are wreaking havoc within the Reality.

Fuzzy’s engineering genius and ability to be both mystical and practical was very important in the development of the Ghost Code…… The Ghost Code is central to powering the networml portals… Networml portals are the gateways to and from the infinite networmls of the Realm. Fuzzy is the ultimate leader – he will not lead where he has not followed, and he will always sacrifice himself before he risks the lives of others….. Most important of all, he will find a way to succeed!!!!! His war cry is widely known!!!!

E-e-e-Y-a-a-a-h! E-e-e-Y-a-a-a-h! E-e-e-Y-a-a-a-h! &n bsp; Encoda Moda!

Fuzzy is closely associated also with Betelhem, the current ranking CyPhron CyPher Guardian. There can only be one CiPher Guardian to reign at a time….. Betelhem is the only cyphron who can summon the Remnant… Betelhem is a former code runner who developed the Nano Tera code. It is the code that is protecting the Remnant along with CiPher Fire. No one has broken or come near to deciphering the Nano Tera. It is the hope of the Hordes of BoLoob and the Power That Is Not to capture Betelhem in order to steal the Remnant. Currently the Remnant location is not known to anyone for it became lost during the Zonon Lockdown.

One last thing…. There are two Fuzzy Funk characters….. When Fuzzy Funk became self-exiled, he became the Legend of Fuzzy Funk. Black Angus and then he then mentored a younger CyPhron to succeed him. That apprentice is now known as Fuzzy Funk. The saga continues……

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Flexible Graphene...

Credit: Article schematic

A team led by Silvija Gradecak [MIT] has succeeded in growing ZnO nanowire arrays on graphene by modifying the surface of the carbon material with conducting polymer interlayers. The researchers synthesized ZnO seed layers on the interfacial polymer layers, which results in well ordered ZnO nanowire growth via a low-temperature hydrothermal process. "The polymer coating process, the ZnO seed layer deposition and hydrothermal ZnO nanowire growth are all possible in solution and under ambient conditions," explained Gradecak. "What is more, the interfacial conductive polymer coating allows for efficient charge transfer between the ZnO nanowires and graphene, so preserving the latter's unique electronic properties."

 

Nanotech web: Graphene optoelectronics goes flexible

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A Steamfunk Novel concept

I was thinking last night about Steamfunk and California and a bunch of other stuff.
Then I thought about the first Black governor of California (yes, we've already had one -- under Mexico), Pio Pico and how cool it would be to write an alternate history California steamfunk novel with Pio Pico, perhaps as the hero, perhaps as the governor of La Nación Independiente de California (The Independent Nation of California) and its conflicts with Mexico, the French South and the First Nation of the Northeast (cuz they banded together and drove the British into the ocean.)

http://www.aztecclub.com/campo/campo2.htm

THE MEXICAN WAR IN CALIFORNIA
www.aztecclub.com
Pio Pico
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Below Zero...

Hot minus temperatures: At a negative absolute temperature the energy distribution of particles inverts in comparison to a positive temperature.

What is normal to most people in winter has so far been impossible in physics: a minus temperature. On the Celsius scale minus temperatures are only surprising in summer. On the absolute temperature scale, which is used by physicists and is also called the Kelvin scale, it is not possible to go below zero—at least not in the sense of getting colder than zero kelvin. According to the physical meaning of temperature, the temperature of a gas is determined by the chaotic movement of its particles—the colder the gas, the slower the particles. At zero kelvin (-273 C) the particles stop moving and all disorder disappears. Thus, nothing can be colder than absolute zero on the Kelvin scale.




Physicists at the Ludwig-Maximilians University Munich and the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics in Garching have now created an atomic gas in the laboratory that nonetheless has negative Kelvin values. These negative absolute temperatures have several apparently absurd consequences: Although the atoms in the gas attract each other and give rise to a negative pressure, the gas does not collapse—a behavior that is also postulated for dark energy in cosmology. Supposedly impossible heat engines such as a combustion engine with a thermodynamic efficiency of over 100% can also be realized with the help of negative absolute temperatures.

 

R and D mag: A temperature below absolute zero

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Check out my Review of Nowhere Men.

(RRR) NoWhere Men issues 1 & 2

Writer: Eric Stephenson

Art: Nate Bellegarde & Jordie Bellaire

Publisher: Image Comics

"Science is the new rock and roll." Or what would happen if three of the four Beatles and Jim Hendrix decided to reshape the world with science instead of music. That is the impression I got from NoWhere men originally and with high hopes I picked up a copy of issue 1. Here we're introduced to the main characters Emerson Strange, Dade Ellis, Simon Grimshaw and Thomas Walker who got together and formed World Corps, which propelled them to rock star status on the world stage. I love the way Stephenson uses little articles in the back of the story to create the notion that these men could just as easily be on the cover of rolling stone as they could popular science. What I don't particularly like is the fact that I really am not sure where the story's going and maybe that is by design but it feels like there are things that we should know and don't. A perfect example of this is a scene in, which the group is talking about the morals and ethics of their scientific ventures and then we are introduced to a whole new group of characters almost out of nowhere. Which brings me to my next issue with the story, we are introduced to the characters in the space station we aren't given any real reason to care about. Sure there is a possible romance blooming somewhere in there, but other than that if these people died I couldn't see why that would matter and that is a key element of storytelling in my eyes. Maybe I have to keep reading to gain that sense of connection with the characters but I don't know if I'll be around long enough to get there. On the plus side I'm a sucker for superscience and I like Stephensons notion to turn into pop culture. The Art by the Bellegrade and Bellaire does a really good job at setting the feel for the comic, everything is clean and and the use of colors do a good job at maintaining a Sci-fi pop culture look. This is Comic gets 3 R's out of 5.

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Of Mice and Men...

...sadly, the effects of cosmic rays are not superpowers and spandex tights:

Comic Book Movie dot com


For the future of manned spaceflight, we have yet another problem to solve...


Senior author of the study, Professor Kerry O'Banion from the University of Rochester Medical Centre (URMC) Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy said: 'Galactic cosmic radiation poses a significant threat to future astronauts.

'The possibility that radiation exposure in space may give rise to health problems such as cancer has long been recognised.



'However, this study shows for the first time that exposure to radiation levels equivalent to a mission to Mars could produce cognitive problems and speed up changes in the brain that are associated with Alzheimer's disease.'



Tests on mice with models of Alzheimer's showed that after they were exposed to various doses of radiation, including levels comparable to what astronauts would be experience during a mission to Mars, they were far more likely to fail these tasks - suggesting neurological impairment - earlier than these symptoms would typically appear.


The brains of the mice also showed signs of vascular alterations and a greater than normal accumulation the protein 'plaque' that accumulates in the brain and is one of the hallmarks of the disease.



'These findings clearly suggest that exposure to radiation in space has the potential to accelerate the development of Alzheimer's disease,' said Professor O'Banion.

 

Daily Mail:
Space travel under threat as scientists find cosmic radiation could cause Alzheimer's in astronauts

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Perhaps Now...

Global Poverty Project dot com

TECHNOLOGY REVIEW: Amid the crises and battles, both predictable and unforeseeable, that you will face over the next four years, one problem will stand out both for the economic and social dangers it poses and for the difficulty and cost of solving it. Whether you can develop a practical and sustainable strategy to address climate change—specifically, to begin lowering carbon dioxide emissions—will define the success of your new term as president. We do not make such a declaration lightly; we are keenly aware of the many other challenges you face. But the potential for global warming over the next decades threatens consequences so dire that they could overwhelm any progress you make toward other long-term economic, social, and political goals.

 

Altering the course of climate change is a task that will take decades. It will require innovative new technologies and overhauls of the world’s energy, agricultural, and transportation infrastructure. We don’t suggest that you can reverse the warming trend over the next four years, or even that you will be able to significantly decrease carbon dioxide emissions. But with the help of the world’s best economic, technical, and scientific minds, you can formulate a policy that will show the nation—and the world—how we can begin to make the changes necessary to ensure that the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere stabilizes at a safe level. Indeed, it is critical that you do so.

 

Telegraph

 

MIT Technology Review: Dear Mr. President: Time to Deal with Climate Change

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FRINGE SPACE

So, for some years I wrote STAR TREK fiction for POCKET BOOKS.

It was great fun and I learned, really, how to be a novelist in that time working with and getting advice from some of the best writers and editors in the business.

For various reasons I stopped writing STAR TREK stuff (though I don't rule out a return; there are lots of stories to tell in that universe) and, in fact, science fiction altogether.

I got into Urban Fantasy and Crime writing and, really, never looked back.

But, recently, I've been feeling the scifi bug biting me again. More and more of the stories that have come to me have been science fiction or, even better, some sort of mash-up of scifi and fantasy.

In looking over my work I realized I'd written a couple of stories for anthologies that were set in the same universe- the one where humanity is at war with brutal alien race we call the Mercanti.

This was my stab at so-called "SPACE OPERA", the genre that includes STAR TREK, ROBOTECH, BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, STAR BLAZERS and lots more. One of the only drawbacks of writing tie-in fiction (and there aren't many) is that you ave to stick closely to what has been established by the original creators of whatever universe you're working in.

If you LOVE that universe, this is minor because, as a fan, you know it inside and out. But, SOMETIMES, there are stories you just can't tell.

FRINGE SPACE isn't exactly my version of STAR TREK. There is no Federation; there are no alien species (no intelligent ones anyway) except the Mercanti and they are trying to kill us.

But, if you like my STAR TREK work, you will find yourself very much at home in FRINGE SPACE.

The first two FRINGE SPACE stories are available in these anthologies for now if you can't wait (and want to read some other REALLY good stories).

SPACE GRUNTS - Truth Metric (Fringe Space #1)

WORDS TO MUSIC - Thanks to Captain Go (Fringe Space #2)

But I will be releasing them as individual yarns over the next few weeks.

You can read #3, FINA SILENTO, now with no problem because the stories do not connect directly.

Seller Text

Fringe Space is Geoffrey Thorne's galaxy-spanning tale of humanity's first contact with a REAL alien species, the MERCANTI, and the often brutal and bloody events that follow.

The Mercanti are truly alien and seem to have one goal: expand and kill anything that in any way blocks that expansion. Humanity's far-spanning civilization is in their way and we're not stepping aside for the Mercanti.

Told from various points of view, FRINGE SPACE is a space opera of galactic proportions that also manages to be personal and very very human.

*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** 

*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** 

FINA SILENTO (FRINGE SPACE #3)

It's the long dark night of the soul for APEX's newly minted First Engineer. Can Cimarron Bell's genetically enhanced mind take the pressure or will the Construct crack?

SMASHWORDS edition    AMAZON

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Subject82-42BN

Subject 82-42

By: Ronald T. Jones 
Price: $4.99 
Genres: SfSuspense
Subject 82-42
Annan, a war hardened Ashanti commander, is a captive onboard a slave ship. In the midst of a horrific journey, he leads a revolt that’s interrupted by a descending alien vessel. Annan and his fellow Africans find themselves confined on another ship, far from Earth, sharing a common captivity with the European sailors who formerly held sway over them. The ship is commanded by a ruthless warlord who uses the captive humans as unwilling soldiers in a savage war against the inhabitants of a distant world. Annan is as intolerant of servitude to nonhumans as he was to humans. Neither his captors’ unearthly origins nor their deadly high technology will prevent Annan from attempting to seize his freedom. But if his rebellion is to succeed he must first unlock a secret that may very well give him and the other humans a fighting chance.
Same revolt, different skies. Blood will flow!

http://mochamemoirspress.com/subject-82-42/

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Image

Before the formation of the word c-l-o-n-e, there was...

Afro-Futuristic Vision #31

Before the formation of the word clone by the attaching separate sounds together to form its utterance there were some beings of an unknown spirit and mankind. In a few societies, we have beings who make statements about forming man for the benefit of working the land. There are even some instances of Bio-Spheres (as they are called today) set up for experiments to test the behavioral programming. Then there is a field experiments later leading to a flushing of children who have gone astray from the dynamic souls that lay inside them. Of course, a few were saved…for later experiments…

There were many cultures which have recorded information of what is called ‘Creation Myths’, yet these ‘myths’ seem to echo in many areas of modern science today. It is very similar to how Science Fiction has become the living blueprint (because the trials are act out by actors or documented in Novels) for the growth of Actual Science.

Great Hymn (it wasn’t really called a Hymn; that was an attached meaning) of Khnum which from what is called the Pyramid and Coffin Text – From the Kemet Culture reproduced in the Ptolemic Era

Another hymn to Khnum-Ra,
God of the potter's wheel,
Who settled the land by his handiwork;
Who joins in secret,
Who builds soundly,
Who nourishes the nestlings by the breath of his mouth;
Who drenches this land with Nun,
While round sea and great ocean surround him.

He has fashioned gods and men,
He has formed flocks and herds;
He made birds as well as fishes,
He created bulls, and engendered cows.

He knotted the flow of blood to the bones,
Formed in his workshop as his handiwork,
So the breath of life is within everything,
Blood bound with semen in the bones,
To knit the bones from the start.

He makes women give birth when the womb is ready,
So as to open as he wishes;
He soothes suffering by his will,
Relieves throats, lets everyone breathe,
To give life to the young in the womb.

He made hair sprout and tresses grow,
Fastened the skin over the limbs;
He built the skull, formed the cheeks,
To furnish shape to the image.
He opened the eyes, hollowed the ears,
He made the body inhale air;
He formed the mouth for eating,
Made the gorge for swallowing.

He also formed the tongue to speak,
the jaws to open, the gullet to drink,
The throat to swallow and spit.
The spine to give support,
The testicles to move.
The arm to act with vigor,
The rear to perform its task.

The gullet to devor,
Hands and their fingers to do their work,
The head to lead.
The loins to support the phallus,
In the act of begetting.
The frontal organs to consume things,
The rear to aerate the entrails,
Likewise to sit at ease,
And sustain the entrails at night.
The made member to begat,
The womb to conceive,
And increase generations in Egypt.
The bladder to made water,
The virile member to eject,
When it swells between the thighs.
The shins to step,
The legs to tread,
Their bones doing their task,
By the will of his heart.

 

Sumerian Myth

The gods were dredging the rivers,
were piling up their silt
on projecting bends--
and the gods lugging the clay
began complaining  (Jacobsen, Harps 154)

Nammu, who is either the sea or the goddess of the riverbed, goes to her son Enki, who is asleep in the deep (the Apsu) and entreats him to rise from his bed and "fashion servants of the gods" (Kramer, History Begins 109).  Enki, who after all is the god of wisdom, thinks of the germinating powers of the clay and water of the abyss, and he tells Nammu to have some womb-goddesses pinch off this clay and have some "princely fashioners" thicken it, so she can mold it or give birth to it:

 Mix the heart of the clay that is over the abyss,
The good and princely fashioners will thicken the clay,
You, [Nammu] do you bring the limbs into existence;
Ninmah [earth-mother or birth goddess] will work above you,
The goddesses [of birth] .  . . will stand by you at your fashioning;
O my mother, decree its [the newborn's] fate,
Ninmah will bind upon it the image (?) of the gods,
It is man . . . .    (Kramer, History Begins 109)

 

 

Enuma Elish – Sixth Tablet – reproduced from the Sumerian Culture and Texts

 

When Marduk beard the word of the gods,

His heart prompted him and he devised a cunning plan.

He opened his mouth and unto Ea he spake

That which he had conceived in his heart he imparted unto him:

"My blood will I take and bone will I fashion

I will make man, that man may

I will create man who shall inhabit the earth,

That the service of the gods may be established,

and that their shrines may be built.

But I will alter the ways of the gods, and I will change their paths;

Together shall they be oppressed and unto evil shall they....

And Ea answered him and spake the word:

"... the ... of the gods I have changed

... and one...

... shall be destroyed and men will I...

... and the gods .

... and they..."

 

Genesis 1:26

26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may ruleover the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals,[a] and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

Genesis 2:7 "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul."

So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs and closed up the place with flesh.

 

Qur’an

he god Allah created man from clay by shaping clay into human form and breathing a spirit into him: [5]
“I am going to create a human being out of clay. When I have formed him and breathed My Spirit into him, fall down in prostration to him! Then inquire of them: Is it they who are stronger in structure or other things We have created? We created them from sticky clay.” 

 

Between the recordings in Kemet and Sumeria, there is ample documented material to trace back areas written in the  Bible that point to the manipulation of what we call genes in this day and age. During the time period of 3300 – 1000 BCE, we find recordings of the creation of man that involve gene splicing with the elements of the planet and assortment of beings including those who were considered on our direct bloodline. Of course, these recordings are of instances that may have taken place thousands of years before they were written.

These stories gave birth to the creation stories both in the Bible and Quran.

In some cases, these experiments involved what some would suggest was cloning by the standards of today. Results from a search:

clone (n.) 

1903, in botany, from Gk. klon "a twig, spray," related to klados "sprout, young branch, offshoot of a plant," possibly from PIE root *kel- "to strike, cut" (see holt).

clone (v.) 

1959, from clone (n.). Related: Clonedcloning. Extension to genetic duplication of human beings is from 1970.

Cloning in biology is the process of producing similar populations of genetically identical individuals that occurs in nature when organisms such asbacteria, insects or plants reproduce asexually. Cloning in biotechnology refers to processes used to create copies of DNA fragments (molecular cloning), cells (cell cloning), or organisms. The term also refers to the production of multiple copies of a product such as digital media or software.

In the United States, the human consumption of meat and other products from cloned animals was approved by the FDA on December 28, 2006, with no special labeling required. Such practice has met strong resistance in other regions, such as Europe, particularly over the labeling issue.

 The first cloned animals were created by Hans Dreisch in the late 1800's.  Dreich's original goal was not to create identical animals, but to prove that genetic material is not lost during cell division.  Dreich's experiments involved sea urchins, which he picked because they have large embryo cells, and grow independently of their mothers.  Dreich took a 2 celled embryo of a sea urchin and shook it in a beaker full of sea water until the two cells separated.  Each grew independently, and formed a separate, whole sea urchin.
In 1902, another scientist, embryologist Hans Spemman, used a hair from his infant son as a knife to separate a 2-celled embryo of a salamander, which also grow externally.  He later separated a single cell from a 16-celled embryo.  In these experiments, both the large and the small embryos developed into identical adult salamanders.  Spemman went on to propose what he called a "fantastical experiment" -- to remove the genetic material from an adult cell, and use it to grow another adult.  In this way, he theorized, he would be able to prove that no genetic material was lost as cells grew and divided.

Herbert J. Webber coined the word “clone” in 1903 and was the first to use it to describe a colony of organisms derived asexually from a single progenitor. Webber’s contribution to “a more exact expression to our thoughts” found quick acceptance among scientists.

By the 1950s, the word "clone" had picked up a slightly different meaning. "Clone" now meant to replicate some sort of living creature, while keeping the DNA the same from one generation to the next.  In these early days, the word "clone" mainly referred to cells.  In 1958, the Australian Nobel Prize-winning immunologist, Sir Frank McFarlane Burnet used this word in the title of his famous book, The Clonal Selection Theory of Acquired Immunity.

It seems that mankind decides to step into the field of creation within the laboratory as well and introducing the age of cloning…however, it was all done before. Yet man is not to concern with charging their creation with spiritual energy.

Khnum is a depicted as a ram to reflect the potency of fertility. Khnum was originally a water cosmic principle of nature thought to rule over all water, including rivers and lakes of the underworld (which may have some connection to the underworld of Sumer and Nergal & Ariskhkergal who may have a part in man's creation as well)

Khnum fashions man from clay  and some say this is a result of 'being associated with the source of the Nile, the inundation deposited enough precious black silt onto the river banks to make them fertile. The silt also formed the clay, the raw material required to make pottery.' Another way to view the association of clay and man, is the mixture of the elements from other beings that were already on earth who have the elements of clay within their system (Andalusite (Al2SiO5), Sillimanite (Al2SiO5), and Kyanite (Al2SiO5) and the Annunak(q)I or Netcheru themselves. The molding of clay can be seen as the working of the genetic material.

Khnum used a potter’s wheel to fashion man.

Potter’s Wheel –

Results of a search:

The technique of throwing pots on pottery wheels soon spread throughout the known world. Pictures of stone and wood pottery wheels have been found on Egyptian tombs dating back to 3000 B.C. The earliest pottery wheels were simple pedestals with a revolving wheel at the top that served as the worktable, and was propelled by the potter pushing the wheel around by hand as she worked. Second generation pottery wheels included a stationary working surface at the top of a pedestal, with a wheel at the base driving the working surface by kicking the wheel with the foot.

As the wheel turns, the potter uses her hands and the centrifugal force of the circling wheel to shape, extend and thin the block of clay into any manner of shapes such as plates, vases, or bowls. Once the item is finished, it is glazed, decorated, and fired in a kiln.

In some depictions you will see Het-Heru touching an Ankh to the formed man on Khnum’s Pottery Wheel. Now at first hand we will say this is nothing but analogy and abstract representation of creation. However, using a bit of Afro-Futuristic Vision we may see that the Pottery Wheel may have been an instrument to discern information in genetic material. So rather than simple molding of clay, we have molding of genes into a form of man. Khnum although there is heavy mention of a physical molding there is also a mention of fashioning their Ka (which the closest thing that can match it is Spirit). The Ka represents the Energy Duplicate of the Body and the symbol of two hand up-stretched can also be seen at the space between poles of energy (what we term as negative and positive) and the space between neurons. Or if you clapped your hands quickly and brought them apart a ‘Ka’ sound would be made. So beyond the fashioning of genetic material we have the impulse or spark that brings it to be like the ‘Gods’ (I rarely use this word…but hey I know a few people heard a trumpet or two in their head). The charging of that material is equally important.

Let’s fast forward to our current life cycle and to cloning. There are many processes of cloning nowadays but all seem to silently reflect descriptions of the creation of man from ‘Ancient’ Tablets.

CLONING – Results from a search –

The most common cloning method, known as "somatic cell nuclear transfer" or simply "nuclear transfer," requires two kinds of cell.  One is a somatic cell, which is collected from the animal that is to be cloned (known as the "genetic donor").  A somatic cell is any cell other than a sperm cell or egg cell, and contains the complete DNA, or genetic blueprint, of the animal it came from.  For cloning purposes, somatic cells are typically obtained by a routine skin biopsy performed by a veterinarian.

The other kind of cell required for cloning is an egg cell, which is collected from a female of the same species (known as the "egg donor").  In the lab, a scientist extracts and discards the nucleus of the egg cell, which is the part of the cell that contains the egg donor's genes.  The scientist then inserts the somatic cell from the genetic donor into the egg and "fuses" the two with electricity. The resulting fused egg contains the genetic donor's DNA.

The scientist stimulates the fused egg, which "activates" the egg and causes it to divide just as an egg would if it had been fertilized by a sperm cell in conventional reproduction.  The activated egg is then placed in a culture medium.  As cellular division continues over the course of several days, a blastocyst (early-stage embryo) forms.  After about a week, an embryo transfer specialist transfers the blastocyst to a recipient female (sometimes referred to as "surrogate mother") where it continues to develop.  After a full-term pregnancy, the recipient gives birth to an animal that is essentially the identical twin of the genetic donor.

Next, the DNA is separated from the solution by being spun in a centrifuge, which allows the DNA to collect in the bottom of the tube. After this cycle in the centrifuge the solution is poured off and the DNA is resuspended in a second solution that makes the DNA easy to work with in the future.

This results in a concentrated DNA sample that contains thousands of copies of each gene. For large scale projects such as sequencing the human genome, all this work is done by robots.

In the process of cloning it is important to implement the usage of a centrifuge machine. A centrifuge machine uses the forces of centrifugal force (Centrifugal force (from Latin centrum, meaning "center", and fugere, meaning "to flee") is the apparent outward force that draws a rotating body away from the center of rotation) to separate genetic material. Centrifugal and Centripetal forces play a part in the movement of celestial bodies and molecular bodies.

Now what stood out to me is that the Potter's Wheel   and the Centrifuge  are similar in operation and both seem to play a role in the fashioning of material. And both seem similar in structure. Could it be that Khnum and others from various text of older cycles used a device like the Centrifuge to fashion man? Is it possible that depiction of the actual process was not available or privy to man? And that the actual Potter's Wheel was a reflection of the actual device?

More to come…

Visit my Afro-Futuristic World at: http://www.djadjanmedjay.com

Tumblr: http://djadjanmedjay.tumblr.com/

Blog: http://authordjadja.wordpress.com

Tag, Post, Share, Like, Re-Blog….Lift the Veil!!!!

Rise in Excellence,

DjaDja N Medjay

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A Short Review of Lightweightz

I like this. The art is very cool, well drawn and evocative of each character. The teens are all facing personal crisis and angst. The introductory sketch of each teen gives us just enough to know that they're going through it, but there's more going on than it appears to the outside world. There's a message of Faith, but the author doesn't beat you over the head with it, it's a natural part of their lives. I'm eager to see what happens in the next volumes.

I highly recommend this series, especially for teens and adults of Faith. Unlike most comics (even the ones I like), there are no inappropriate or disrespectful images or concepts. (RDJ)

FYI: I don't do spoiler reviews. You get what I think and what I like about it and if I would've liked to see more of something, I say so. But no giving away the entire story!

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The Nubian Principle of Nature known as Bes enters the screen as Yoda…Image

Afro-Futuristic Vision #30

There is not one person from the BioSphere called the Hood who did not immediately take to liking to Yoda when they seen him in Empire Strikes Back. Maybe just as much as they did to Lando, especially since the organized push for urbanites to consume an alcoholic drink named after a gun with the kick of a bucking horse was at its peak about the same time.

If children from the hood were unable to relate to Star Wars after watching the first film because of a lack of cultural identity they were surely able to after seeing Yoda. Yoda the Jedi Master that Luke Skywalker was guided to see on Yoda on Dagobah, who exiled himself to after the Jedi Purge in Star Wars 3 (which came way later although way before).

Yoda, Master Jedi, Brilliant Fighter, Loved by the Children, Simple Speech & Clear Cut Wisdom, Small in Stature & Wide of Spirit…at one with the Force. And although it is said that his image is based on the late Tsenzhab Serkong Rinpoche, I see someone else in Yoda…the cosmic principle of Nature named Bes or Bisu. Now whether George Lucas took the image of Bes and planted it on Yoda…only he knows.
Me, I am going to take you into an AfroFuturistic Journey of Possibility…which may be fixed and naturally calculated inspiration to bring forth Yoda’s expression.

Bes or Bisu the cosmic principle of Nature that more than likely originated with the Batwa or Twa people.  ImageA people who exist in a dimension of expression which causes their height to be no taller than 5 ft. which makes it easier to move around the forest, so you see, they are not short…you are just clumsy. The inhabit Burundi, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire).  The Twa are known for their music and dance and hunting and primarily for agriculture (which to me includes farming, pottery, communion of the land through movement and a working knowledge of weather and environment).  Let me stress one thing again, their so-called diminutive size is not an act of genetic faultiness. In fact, it allows them to be closer to the rain-forest and more in tune with how to move through it. Closer to Earth.  Grounded in steps and in accord with the scale (size) of life around them.  As well as being able to dissipate their body heat more effectively…you are the clumsy one when you enter their realm…you are out of step with the force (I will come back to this). They are called religious by clumsy folks because some taller groups of people lack connection to Earth and its processes along with how to communicate with it…so anyone that communicates with it through movement and vocalization more than likely gets tossed into the religion bag.

When man began to shift away from being in–tune with the forces around him, there of course became the ‘Purge’ or ‘Displacement’ of folks who were are one with the Force…I mean Nature. And this dramatically lowered the population of those who stood close to the earth and increased the uprising of external technology…ahem clones…I mean machinery.

Here is a result on some further background of the Twa –

The word ‘Abatwa’ comes from South African’s mythology referring to small human-like creature, generally look exactly like primitive African tribes. In the ancient myth, Abatwa were born from, nature spirit, Vash`Nok’s tear that brust and fell to the earth[2]. Some believe that the word originally allude to the Twa people, also known as Batwa who live in the Great Lakes region of Africa what is now Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which is more credible because Twa people also have small stature, approximately 1.5 meters or only 5 feet tall[3].

Abatwa said to be the smallest human form creatures that exist in the world, about ½ inch height, small enough to ride on ants and hide beneath the grass blade. They live together peacefully with the ants in the anthill[4]. Although the myth has never mention how they deal with the ants, I think they’ve some kind of antennae similar to ants, so they’ll be able to communicate with ants and other small animals. Ant’s society is very unity and cohesion, they help each other and obviously distribute their duties and I think Abatwa might have an influence by the ants’ social structure including women role in the society. As you knew ants are a hierarchy society that rules by an ant queen and majority of the ant’s population is also female, therefore, I’ll not be surprise if Abatwa’s first president is a woman.

 

Because of their appearance, some cultures may confuse Abatwa with dwarf or fairy, even though there’re similar, unlike fairy or dwarf, Abatwa doesn’t have any magic power. In fact, they are nomadic with high hunter-gatherer skill. Abatwa are natural born hunter, despite their tiny body and peaceful personality, they can slay their preys several times larger than themselves with their tiny poisoned arrows1, which is very virulent, it can bring down small animals…

 

More can be found on a wonderful post at: http://farfromthebest.wordpress.com/2012/06/05/abatwa/

Now moving to Bes or Bisu.

Bes is seen as a cosmic principle (what tall folks call god…lol) of nature that protected the home and children, the expression of music, dance and pleasure. Seen in the homes of Nasuwt (rulers of Kemet/Nubia) and dynamically in the culture of the Twa, especially since Bes seems to be so closely related to them. Bes is said to be imported from Nubia to Kemet. And it is also said that the Twa and others like them, migrated from out the forests into the lands known as Nubia and Kemet and set up shop. Although Bes was cheerful with children, Bes is a fierce fighter able to do battle with Beasts and Man-Beasts (you know demons, evil spirits and beings made by the Umbrella corporation). He carried Tambourines and musical instruments…and sharp swords. He also was seen with ‘magic wands’ and amulets…hmmm. Some say that Bes and Tawret (Mother of Childbirth) were even found in AnkhEnAten’s household and AnkhEnAten was the one who unified all the cosmic principles (Netcheru) into Aten; doing away with individuality.

It is possible that the more warlike tendencies were added on as Bes passed through different cultures. Bes was even depicted with lion ears and tail, being that the Lion was the mightiest creature is some areas of Afrika and being that certain depiction was in the age of Leo. He also appeared on a coin being related to the god Pan. Image

Now let’s look at a few things:

Yoda lives in a swamp close to nature after the Jedi Purge

Yoda although peaceful can whip ass when necessary and is skillful with the lightsaber

Yoda has a strong communication with the MidichloriansImage  (Midichlorians were intelligent microscopic life forms that lived symbiotically inside the cells of all living things. When present in sufficient numbers, they could allow their symbiont to detect the pervasive energy field known as the Force.)

Yoda guides young Jedi in the usage of the force  Image

Yoda protects and watches over Luke and Leia

Yoda talks in a rhythm and speech reminiscent of indigenous cultures

Yoda’s life-story is shrouded and little is known about his people

Yoda has very little facial hair and ears that stick out

Yoda’s size reflects his close proximity to Nature

Yoda trains young Luke in the Swamp/Marshes out the sight of his Father Image

Bes’ origins are from the rainforest

Bes is cheerful however, is a fierce warrior that overcomes disruptive forces

Bes is very close to nature and the lifeforce of beings coming into this world through childbirth

Bes entertains Children when they come into this world

Bes protects Heru in his childhood when he hid in the marshes away from Set (as you can see below, Heru is training for his resolve in face of facets of his physical and mental selves...the reptillian brain...just like Luke above) It is interesting that Bes is right over Heru, on his back, just like Yoda was on Luke's back...

Bes uses Swords and Magic Wands (light-saber) to ward off Spirits Image

Bes has ears that stick out

Bes although seen with a Beard originally was without one since most Twa have very little to no facial or body hair. That is a trait more suited for cold weather.

And there is some speculation that the Jedi is based on a group of learned men from Kemet or one man in particular by the utterance (name) Djedi.  Djed being the pillar of Asar and the spine of main. Where the Central Nervous System relays messages through the rest of the body through MidiChlorians…I mean Neural Synapses and Cell Stimulation. The Electrical Current that flows through man.

All this is to say is that there are some very strong relations between certain aspects of Bes and Yoda. I am not saying that Mr. Lucas actually took elements from Bes to create Yoda...but the relationships are very strong with this one…

Welcome to the world of Afro-Futurism and the lifting of the veil…

More to come…

Visit my Afro-Futuristic World at: http://www.djadjanmedjay.com

Tumblr: http://djadjanmedjay.tumblr.com/

Blog: http://authordjadja.wordpress.com

Tag, Post, Share, Like, Re-Blog….Lift the Veil!!!!

Rise in Excellence,

DjaDja N Medjay Image

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Lightness of Being...


German material scientists from Kiel University and the Hamburg University of Technology have created the world’s lightest material, dubbed aerographite.

One cubic centimeter of aerographite weighs just 0.2 milligrams, which is four times lighter than the previous record holder, 5,000 times less dense than water, and six times lighter than air. Aerographite is so light that it is difficult to work with it in a normal lab. Any small movement in the lab can create winds that blow the material around.

Euro News Sci-Tech: Lighter-than-air material discovered

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Dark Hat Noir is coming...

            Author Jemir Johnson has been working on his crime fiction series
            for a good while. He first did 5 shots in 2007 and his upcoming
            collection is going to be even better.

            I'm proud to be a part of this series and here's the logo
            that we came up with to  introduce the movement
            of this genre to you.  

           Although shrouded in secret for now...
           it will be well worth the wait, with

          all the bells and whistles that one came muster.


           As a brief flash back, here's a link to 5 shots.

        http://www.amazon.com/5-Shots-Jemir-Johnson/dp/0615161405/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1356935427&sr=1-2&keywords=5+shots

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New PBS...


Ins and outs. In all four experiments, three photons run through an optical maze like this one.

Credit: J. B. Spring et al., Science (2012)

 

You've heard the hype a hundred times: Physicists hope to someday build a whiz-bang quantum computer that can solve problems that would overwhelm an ordinary computer. Now, four separate teams have taken a step toward achieving such "quantum speed-up" by demonstrating a simpler, more limited form of quantum computing that, if it can be improved, might soon give classical computers a run for their money. But don't get your hopes up for a full-fledged quantum computer. The gizmos may not be good for much beyond one particular calculation.


Even with the caveats, the challenge of quantum computing has proven so difficult that the new papers are gaining notice. "The question is, does this give you a first step to doing a hard calculation quantum mechanically, and it looks like it might," says Scott Aaronson, a theoretical computer scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge and an author on one of the papers.


Instead of flipping ordinary bits that can be set to either 0 or 1, a so-called universal quantum computer would manipulate quantum bits, or "qubits," that can be 0, 1, or, thanks to the weirdness of quantum mechanics, 0 and 1 at the same time. Crudely speaking, the quantum computer could crunch many numbers at once instead of doing them one at a time, as a "classical" computer must. So it could solve problems that would overwhelm a regular computer. For example, a full-fledged "universal" quantum computer could quickly factor huge numbers, an ability that could be used to break today's internet encryptions schemes.

 

Science: New Form of Quantum Computation Promises Showdown With Ordinary Computers

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Neuristor...

A cartoon showing spikes of activity traveling among neurons.

Computing hardware is composed of a series of binary switches; they're either on or off. The other piece of computational hardware we're familiar with, the brain, doesn't work anything like that. Rather than being on or off, individual neurons exhibit brief spikes of activity, and encode information in the pattern and timing of these spikes. The differences between the two have made it difficult to model neurons using computer hardware. In fact, the recent, successful generation of a flexible neural system required that each neuron be modeled separately in software in order to get the sort of spiking behavior real neurons display.

 

But researchers may have figured out a way to create a chip that spikes. The people at HP labs who have been working on memristors have figured out a combination of memristors and capacitors that can create a spiking output pattern. Although these spikes appear to be more regular than the ones produced by actual neurons, it might be possible to create versions that are a bit more variable than this one. And, more significantly, it should be possible to fabricate them in large numbers, possibly right on a silicon chip.

 

Ars Technica: Neuristor: Memristors used to create a neuron-like behavior

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Boss Lady

Boss Lady

When I said:
“All I need is a computer
notebook, and pen
to make me happy.”

He sipped his drink
eyed me appreciatively
and called me:
“Boss lady”

Boss lady?

Definition:
an urban colloquialism
for a sister
who takes care of business
and only needs -- wants --
a man to hold her
in between the times
he’s taking care of business

I smiled,
thought of
all the things
I’ve been called
for my independence
for the temerity
to think I’m equal to a man

Bitch
Ball buster

Funny how a name
can make you feel so ashamed
Akin to calling white liberals
nigger lovers

Boss lady
I like it
It’s running neck and neck
with: “thunder and lightening”

My brothers sure know
what to say
and I love it
when they recognize
that strength

makes a woman real

Valjeanne Jeffers-Thompson copywrite 2007 all rights reserved

This is another poem that I had a lot of fun writing, even more so because it based on actual events. As always, comments and critiques are welcome (smile).

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Black Hole Firewalls...

An illustration of a galaxy with a supermassive black hole shooting out jets of radio waves.
Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Alice and Bob, beloved characters of various thought experiments in quantum mechanics, are at a crossroads. The adventurous, rather reckless Alice jumps into a very large black hole, leaving a presumably forlorn Bob outside the event horizon — a black hole’s point of no return, beyond which nothing, not even light, can escape.

 


Conventionally, physicists have assumed that if the black hole is large enough, Alice won’t notice anything unusual as she crosses the horizon. In this scenario, colorfully dubbed “No Drama,” the gravitational forces won’t become extreme until she approaches a point inside the black hole called the singularity. There, the gravitational pull will be so much stronger on her feet than on her head that Alice will be “spaghettified.”

 


Now a new hypothesis is giving poor Alice even more drama than she bargained for. If this alternative is correct, as the unsuspecting Alice crosses the event horizon, she will encounter a massive wall of fire that will incinerate her on the spot. As unfair as this seems for Alice, the scenario would also mean that at least one of three cherished notions in theoretical physics must be wrong.

 

Scientific American: Black Hole Firewalls Confound Theoretical Physicists

If a new hypothesis about black hole firewalls proves correct, at least one of three cherished notions in theoretical physics must be wrong.

By Jennifer Ouellette and Simons Science News

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The Light at the End of the World

I woke up excited for the first time in fifty years. It was the end of the world.

This time we were certain of it. Scientists confirmed it. I saw it on the news. I got up and put on a nice shirt I stole yesterday. First time I shoplifted since I was a kid. It was a riot going on that day, too.

People have quieted down since the countdown clock has been running everywhere that still has power.

People started setting their watches to the recordings that will interrupt radio broadcasts. Where you can still get radio, that is. My clock was set and reset until scientists had calculated it down to the last second.

The end of the world will be exactly 12/21/21 at 3:33 AM GMT. My pants were pressed for the first time in twenty years. I had gotten out of the habit since my wife left me. Something about my lack of driving ambition. That and the fact she thought I was crazy.

You see, I knew this was going to happen. I told everyone but no one believed me. You wouldn't either but that's okay. At the time, I didn't either. I dreamed this. The date, the time, everything. I just didn't know what I was seeing at the time. My psychiatrist called it a prescient delusion and it wasn't anything to worry about. He said after some therapy I'd be fine. At two hundred dollars an hour, he picked fine time to be wrong.

Until newscasters started talking about it, I admit I didn't even know what a comet was.

Yes, they talked about it in school when I was a kid, but I admit science class was not someplace I admit to paying much attention to, except when we got to cut up frogs and make their legs move when we connected them to batteries. Science, I figured who ever used it anyway.

The first time I had the dream, I was a child. It was a dark, except for fires I could see burning all around me. The city was aflame. The buildings on my skyline were all dark, like a blackout in the summer. I could hear people wailing in the distance. No cars moved, and the summer air was hot, filled with stinging smoke, which would have made my eyes water, if I could dare close them. I look up. I wake up.

I put on dress shoes and tied my tie. I learned to finally tie one four years ago because I went to a job I positively loved. They required a tie and jacket. After all those years working as an unwanted project manager for ungrateful companies, I made it into lower management. That was three years before it was discovered.

My years in the workforce were as monotonous and crushing as everything in my life had ever been. Ill-used, ill-favored, no decision I ever made worked out right, and I absolutely never got the girl. I had been told every man is the hero of his own story.

Don't believe that. We are all extras in some famous person's life. Just ask them. They'll tell you.

Then I had The Dream one more time four years ago. It had been decades since I had it and I knew it immediately. I was walking the street in a nice suit. One from my new job where I was in a position to make changes I thought were important, where my voice was heard and my projects came in on time and under budget. I pushing past people on the street, running to my brownstone. They were all looking up. I knew I had to be somewhere and they were in my way.

I was running out of time. It was three AM and I promised I would be there.

Though there were no street lights, everywhere was lit, with a foxfire brilliance, light, soft, diffused, set people's faces in an eerie glow, shimmering, beautiful, except for the rictus of horror twisted in every face I saw. Mothers holding their children, lovers embracing, people running through the streets holding TVs, their cords dragging behind them.

Despite all of this, the only thing you ever hear is the wind and the weeping. It is a constant thing, the wind. Newscasters tried to explain it but no one was listening. Something about the size and mass of the Comet. People stopped listening once they learned it would strike the Earth.

Doomsday cults appeared like roaches under a kitchen sink, first jubilant their day had finally arrived; then petulant because no one believed them, they had been right. Being right has become so important to some people. Then they grew truculent, dangerous as their righteousness overwhelmed their moral imperatives and the growing realization the end of the world included them. Fortunately, most people simply killed them outright, fearing moral and judicial authorities no longer mattered.

There was surprisingly little violence after people screaming the end of the world from every corner were silenced from a populace grown tired of fear. It was a strange precipitous thing, because it was thought to have occurred all over the world within a single day. I think a subconscious shudder through the collective mind shouted back at them. We got it. The end of the world is nigh. Now shut the hell up.

People slowly tapered off from going to work in the last year. That is where I met her in my last years working, the only job I ever loved.

She was beautiful, not the classical sense of beauty, but in a way I could be comfortable with. Not the awe-full kind of beauty which makes men stupid. A quiet beauty, one that drew me inexorably to her. She was kind even in a world gone straight to hell. I learned she was married and that didn't matter much to me at the end of the world. She came to my house and eventually she took me to hers. Her husband had stopped speaking once you could see the Comet during the day. At night it dominated the sky but once it could be seen during the day, people began to do strange things. His lack of speech was far less dramatic than most. Suicide suddenly became a competition sport.

In comparison her husband Dave, just sat in his living room looking out the window at the damn comet. He didn't talk. Only got up to replenish his drink, go to the john, go outside to get food. He listened to us making love frantically, desperately, in the next room. We made love under the light of the end of the world. I wanted him to be angry. I wanted him to say something. I wanted things to be normal. I wanted to believe we had a future. He never made a sound. Never moved a muscle.

I heard the pigeons on the fire escape in front of his chair fly away. The pigeons were always there and only moved when he did. It was three months ago he got up and staggered past us. We didn't bother to close the door anymore. I can only assume he thought we were sleep, he looked in at us and then he walked out the door. He never came back.

On the last day I wanted to look my best. I told her I was going to go home and change. I didn't live too far away, I thought today would be like any other. People had started staying home, doing very little. No one picked up trash, and it was amazing we hadn't lost water over much of New York. I guess, unlike the garbage men, water treatment found someone willing to work during the apocalypse.

The power went out for the last time in New York at midnight. It was the only blackout we knew would happen. I had grown used to walking to her house, first in the dark, and now in the light at the end of the world.

The people were in place. The roving bands stealing right up to the end. We were all where we were supposed to be. Except for me. A traffic accident I didn't see in my dream slowed me down. Now I would be late. I couldn't be late. I ran. My shoes pinched my feet. I didn't remember that from the dream either. I saw people just staring up. My alarm on my watch went off at 3:20 and I was still ten blocks away. I tore off my shoes and ran barefoot, shoving the statues staring skyward out of my way. No one objected. Most of them didn't even notice me; and to be honest I didn't care either way.

Fires from nearby buildings lit the street as I ran and my eyes watered and teared but nothing was going to stop me from reaching her. My alarm sounded again at 3:30 and I saw her running down the street to me.

She was wearing my favorite white blouse. The one I met her in. So many years ago when I was certain my life had turned around. It was her sad smile that told me I would spend all my life with her. I grabbed her and the smell of honey-suckle filled my nostrils. She was warm and soft. I closed my eyes. I drank in those last seconds. The wind picked up, gusting strongly now, the cries grew louder in the distance, a collective gasp against the coming night. She squeezed me tight.

She turned me and said "Look."

My alarm went off. I looked into the light.

The Light at the End of the World  © Thaddeus Howze 2012. All Rights Reserved


Thaddeus Howze

Hub City Blues

Veni, Scribo, Vici (I came, I wrote, I conquered)

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