Below are the video and slides of the “Marketing for microISVS – embracing the ‘dark side’?” talk I gave at ESWC 2009 in Berlin. This is a high-speed ramble through a vast subject. In the 45 minutes available I do my best to dispel some of the myths software developers have about marketing and discuss some marketing concepts, including: branding; positioning; pricing; and segmentation. Taking in Harley Davidsons, tinned tomatoes, Coca Cola and food blenders on the way. The first couple of minutes, where I dispel the myth that good software sells itself without marketing, are missing from the video due to a dead camera battery. But you knew that anyway, so I don’t think this detracts much overall.

Video:

Slides (which might not make much sense without the video):

Links to some of the things mentioned in the talk:

• Brief reviews of all the books mentioned (plus a few others)
• Bob Walsh’s ‘microISV sites that sell!’ e-book
• Neil Davidson’s ‘Don’t Just Roll The Dice – A Usefully Short Guide to Software Pricing’ e-book (PDF)
• Brandz ‘Top 100 brand ranking 2008′ (PDF)
• Will it blend?
• Headset hotties
• Alwin Hoogerdijk’s blog
• Eric Sink’s blog

A big thank you to Alwin and Sytske of collectorz.com for hot-footing it from Alwin’s talk to do the video (you can see Alwin’s excellent talk on web app pros and cons here). And also to David and Panagiota for all the hard work that goes on behind the scenes organizing ESWC.

J. Grant Swank, Jr.

Canon Law Regarding Catholics and Abortion:

“Canon Law 1398 Catholics who have obtained an abortion, or performed an abortion, have excommunicated themselves latae sententiae (automatically by their very action) from the Catholic Church. They remain outside the church until the reception of the sacrament of Penance through a good confession.

“Canon Law 1329 Catholics who are accomplices in enabling and permitting the crime of abortion to occur, who without their assistance the crime would not have been committed, incur the same penalty.

“Canon Law 915 (an exception to receiving Holy Communion) “Others who obstinately persist in manifest grave sin are not to be admitted to Holy Communion.”

All bishops should follow their own Canon Law concerning their constituency and the abortion atrocity.

Roman Catholic Bishop Thomas Tobin sets the morally correct standard. He refused Patrick Kennedy the sacrament in Rhode Island.

Kennedy’s endorsement of child killing is abhorrent to God. It is abhorrent to the Roman Catholic ethical understanding of Scripture—the inerrant, infallible Word of God.

Kennedy favors killing womb infants. That is called “murder.” Female rights have no right to murder.

Therefore, the devil is in the process when mortals slay mortals who are in female bodies. That is not only how Tobin sees it; that is the way biblical believers understand divine revelation.

TV’s The View Whoopie Goldberg had a field day this morning when it came to her understanding of what the church does with its constituency’s views of right and wrong. With that, she went on her evangelistic diatribe about her understanding of Scripture.

She concludes that the Bible allows a human to do what he or she wants to do as long it is in keeping with that individual’s personal communication with God—no interference from churchly organizations or spiritual leaders.

On one part, she is accurate: a mortal can communicate with God and is served the consequences of that via accountability from that God.

But on the other part, she is so wrong. The God of the Bible does not have various moral codes for various persons depending on what they say they “hear” from God. God’s biblical standard is there as an eternal verity; it is not waffling to left or right, up or down.

Whoopie always has a good old time of it when trying to make deity out to be a Nice Guy on everything from communion altars to sex. In that she makes a lot of viewing friends for they likewise serve a deity who is totally into relativism, discounting absolutes.

However, Tobin is in line with the true understanding of Scripture when he holds the line on not permitting those who claim to be “Christian” yet murder to have Communion. They in no way have the ethical right to partake of the body and blood of Christ. That is atrocious in itself.

Think about it: Did Savior Christ suffer severe mistreatment on the cross in order to share His body and blood with persons who slay children? I don’t think so.

Did Christ stretch His holy presence on Calvary, permit nails to be driven through His hands and feet, then endure the spear slice in His side to allow pious appearing church goers the honor to partake of the sacrament representing that redemptive offering?  I don’t think so.

Did Christ anywhere in His public ministry ever teach that slaughtering womb innocents is okay if it is not in a person’s life plan?  I don’t think so.

Would to God that more clergy kept the same biblical standard that Tobin keeps. All spiritual leaders in the Christian tradition should obey God, His moral base and instruct those under their care to do the same.

“Sorry, you can’t chalk it up to an ‘imperfect humanity.’ Your position is unacceptable to the Church and scandalous to many of our members,” Tobin told Kennedy.

Stay the holy course, Tobin. Stay the holy course.

FOOTNOTE:

The Bible speaks of a fetus as a person, not simply tissue that can be discarded if found to be a bother or nuisance. Since the fetus is a person from the moment of conception, then the destroying of the fetus is killing a person.

“In the past, some people have mistakenly speculated that perhaps the body might be in the process of formation for some time, and then ‘God breathes a soul into it.’ They had it backward. The life that is present forms matter into a body for itself’” (Joseph Breig, “Life Forms Matter,” The Catholic News, Jan. 24, 1974, p. 8).

“Your hands shaped me and made me. Will you now turn and destroy me? Remember that you molded me like clay. Will you now turn me to dust again? Did you not pour me out like milk … and knit me together with bones and sinews? You gave me life and showed me kindness, and in your providence watched over my spirit” (Job 10:8-12 NIV).

“Before I was born the LORD called me; from my birth he has made mention of my name…and now the LORD says–he who formed me in the womb to be his servant…” (Isaiah 49:1, 5).

“The word of the LORD came to me, saying, ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations’” (Jeremiah 1:4-5).

In the following passages we note that personality is ascribed to the unborn.

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that fully well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be” (Psalm 139:13-16).

“Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him” (Psalm 127:3).

Exodus 21:22-25 relates how Israel was to judge a circumstance relating to the death of the unborn:

“If men who are fighting hit a pregnant woman and she gives birth prematurely but there is no serious injury, the offender must be fined whatever the woman’s husband demands and the court allows. But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.”

All of the latter deals with unintentional hurt that comes to a pregnant woman; how much more will divine penalty come upon those who intentionally discard the fetus? The Gospel of Luke ascribes personality to the fetus within Elizabeth:

“When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit… As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy” (1:41, 44).

Mere tissue does not leap for joy; only personhood leaps for joy. The Bible regards the fetus as having personality. In Galatians, Paul speaks of himself as a person while still in his mother’s womb, but more a person consecrated by God for a holy mission (compare Jeremiah 1:5 for the same accent):

“But when God, who set me apart from birth, and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles…” (Gal. 1: 15-16).

Since the Bible regards the fetus as personality, then the aborting of the fetus is murdering personality.

Some verses from Scripture dealing with murder are then appropriate for study, such as Genesis 9:6: “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made man.” Also, read Exodus 23:7: “Have nothing to do with a false charge, and do not put an innocent or honest person to death, for I will not acquit the guilty.” Note I Peter 4:15: “If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer…”

If the Republic returned to the biblical definition of personhood, we would defend every womb child.

John Adams said the following:

“Our Constitution was made only for a religious and moral people. It is wholly inadequate for the government of any other.”

Andrew Jackson said the following:

“The BIBLE is the rock on which our Republic rests.”

Daniel Webster:

“If we abide by the principles taught in the BIBLE, our country will go on prospering.”

“For all the talk of freedom and self-determination, the abortion movement is at its heart a movement denying rights to a silent segment of humanity and soliciting public sanction, support and subsidy to its own cause” (Donald P. Shoemaker, ABORTION, THE BIBLE AND THE CHRISTIAN, Hayes Publishing Co., 1976, p. iv).

This is something I posted last May; I’m re-posting it because some of these questions were brought up in the comments in my last post (“Yeshua Does Dafoe”), and they made me remember writing this.

5/1/2009

It’s occurred to me that there are those who would claim that I’m under the influence of “evil spirits” who are trying to teach me to undermine their beliefs. There are those who claim that talking to spirits (if they believe that it’s possible at all) is evil in itself. Others claim that there is no afterlife (and, as I never much believed in it myself until spirits and lost souls began speaking to me–sometimes in languages I’d never studied, no less–in ways that I could in no way attribute to my imagination, I can understand their position).

I’m not so delusional that I think that I’ll ever be able to convince anyone of what they are determined not to believe, or what they have never experienced themselves, and I know that it’s a waste of energy to try. All I can do is relate my experiences and what I’ve been taught here, and, like Yeshua, leave the rest to God.

But I also knew that it was important to ask myself whether it is possible that I’m being swayed by “evil” influences. And, as many times as I’ve asked myself that question, the answer is always the same.

I’ve spoken to many angry, wrathful, or perhaps just plain frightened lost souls. Some have tried very hard to scare the hell out of me, and they used to succeed.

But, from the beginning, two-and-a-half years ago, there has been one voice that speaks to me lovingly, and with care, and protectively. It was that voice that got me through the terrifying times at the beginning without my going insane, and it’s that voice that has patiently and carefully taught me things that I may have never learned on my own–things that have given me peace, and a real relationship with God, and a happiness that I’ve never felt before.

And the message of that voice has been consistent–that God’s will is love, that God will be happy if I act out of love in all things, that I should forgive people who have injured me, that, at the end of our lives, God is waiting patiently and with abundant forgiveness, like a loving parent. “Hell” is a state of being in which those who have been taught in life that they are not worthy of God’s love and are afraid to go to God live in fear and confusion, clinging unhappily to the lives they have left, unable to relate to or help one another. I have never once been told to do anything that would harm anyone else–only help where I could–or that I felt uncomfortable with. The biggest challenges have always been when I was asked to be loving and forgiving when my lazy, human instincts would have made it much easier to be angry, to hate, to hold a grudge.

And I have to think, if those are the messages of “evil spirits” out to destroy people’s relationships with God, then bring me more.

It also made me wonder what I would do if the messages were different–if they convinced me that God was vengeful, arbitrary, cruel, unforgiving, and hateful of those who didn’t ascribe to one religion or another (as God is sometimes portrayed). How would I feel about a God who asked me to be those things as well, and to hate those who disagreed with my concept of God? Would I be able to worship and love a God like that? I had to be honest and answer, “No.”

Of course, my knee-jerk Catholic-upbringing responses kicked in just then, and I worried that I was “blaspheming.” I spoke to the spirit who guides me about it, and, for good measure, I spoke to God about it, trying to explain myself and saying that I hoped that that wasn’t offensive (in my heart, though, I know by this time that God would welcome my thinking things through).

“Is it good to ask things like that,” I asked, “or bad?’

“Good,” came the answer. “Faith.”

And then, a little later, “You are God’s answer to yourself.”

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about my discovery of the Incarnation Figure as an archetype in storytelling. There are obvious connections between this and the Christ Figure that w are so familiar with given that the Christ that the figures tend to emulate began being Christ through incarnation, the embodiment of something greater in than our world in our world. But the difference that I pointed out is that Christ Figures tend to have death and resurrection or sacrificial element to them and Incarnation Figures don’t always express that.
As intriguing and powerful as Christ Figures can be, I find them troublesome at times. I have seen too many Christians try to grade a story’s value on the presence or lack of Christ Figure. If it has one, it’s a good story, if not it fails. And this is whether the story is told well or the characters are believable or if there is any suspense to make us care what happens.
The other problem I frequently see is when a Christ figure is imposed in attempts to co-opt a story and make it a Christian tale. Take “The Matrix” for example. Certainly there is the element of sacrifice on Neo’s part as he stays behind to let the others escape. And there is something of death and resurrection. But did he really die? OR did he simply, finally understand the Matrix well enough to know that he didn’t have to die there? To me this story is more about faith and finding out what can happen when you truly believe more than it is about a Christ figure and the redemption that follows.
People often describe Gandalf from The Lord of the Rings as a Christ figure. Again there is a certain validity to that in terms of his death and resurrection. But as much as he is a Christ Figure, he is also an Odin Figure, at least up until the resurrection point. It’s almost as if Gandalf starts as Odin and finishes as Christ. And that’s not much a of a stretch given that Odin is a bit of Christ Figure himself, sacrificing himself unto himself.
But my favorite example of the failings of the overstressed Christ Figure is Hell Boy. In the second Hell Boy movie, the story follows the typical Christ Figure arch, as he sacrifices himself to save another, descends into the pits to eradicate the forces of evil and save all the Earth. Powerful stuff. But how many Christians stumble on this because he is a demon – and not just any demon, Satan’s son who’s true destiny is to bring ultimate destruction on the Earth? Is such a character an acceptable Christ Figure?
I think this is one of those examples that parallels the story of the Bronze Snake from scripture. God commanded Moses to make a bonze statue of a snake. This statue heals anyone that looks at it. The odd part is that most times that snakes appear in scripture, they are symbols of evil, demons or Satan himself. Jesus later tells us that the snake was an image of him. The image of evil expresses the ultimate good. Perhaps Hell Boy falls in this same category.

Cateodata lucruri bune ca tine se intampla oamenilor rai ca mine. Ironia este ca in acelasi timp lucruri rele ca mine se intampla oamenilor buni ca tine. Eu nu am fost intotdeauna rau, cred ca nimeni nu se naste rau, lumea se schimba datorita influentelor altor oameni. Asa s-a intamplat si cu mine. Eram bun pana cand am cunoscut pe cineva rau. Contrastele se atrag se spune. Ea era rea, eu eram bun. Poate asta era ceea ce ma atragea la ea, nu stiu. Si nici ea la randul ei nu a fost intotdeauna rea. Am cunoscut-o intr-o perioada din viata ei cand ea era buna. Dar si ea s-a schimbat din cauza unei persoane rea. Si dupa cum se spune ca Universul compenseaza, bunatatea din sufletul meu a schimbat-o pe ea in bine in timp ce rautatea ei m-a schimbat pe mine in rau. In Univers raul trebuie sa fie inlocuit de bine si invers. Roata se invarte, fiecare suferinta ne schimba in rau, fiecare lucru bun ne schimba in bine. Eu am suferit prea mult pentru a-mi pastra credinta in oameni, in Dumnezeu, in orice.

Nu mi se pare corect. De ce lucruri rele se intampla oamenilor buni? Daca cineva e bun si acolo sus exista un Dumnezeu de ce lasa lucrurile astea rele sa se intample oamenilor buni? Si de ce in acelasi timp lasa lucruri bune sa se intample oamenilor rai? Eu mi-am pierdut credinta in divinitati. Daca intr-adevar ar fi existat nu ar fi lasat atata rau sa mi se fi intamplat mie in perioada in care si eu eram bun. Acum ca sunt rau si nu mai am incredere in oameni, nu mai am incredere in nimeni si nimic nu mai exista aproape nimic care sa ma poata rani, nimic care sa imi faca rau. Dar in felul acesta o sa fac rau cuiva bun care o sa incerce sa ma schimbe, sa ma ajute. Deci…ce e de facut? Sa raman rau si sa nu fiu ranit dar sa ranesc sau sa redevin bun, sa imi pese de altii si asa sa fiu eu cel ranit?

Lumea nu este perfecta, acesta e un lucru cunoscut, un fapt. Exista persoane care merita sacrificiul de a fi ranit pentru ele, exista persoane care vor doar sa profite de bunatatea si dragostea altora pentru ei si mai exista persoane care nu se incadreaza in niciuna din categorii. Obisnuiam sa fac parte din prima categorie. Iubeam, eram bun, nu as fi tradat, nu as fi mintit. Imi doream doar sa fiu cu ea, sa fiu alaturi de ea la bine si la rau, vroiam sa o scutesc de orice suferinta, sa iau eu toate suferintele ei si sa sufar eu pentru ea. Era tot ce imi doream, sa o ajut, nu sa profit de ea. Nu asteptam nimic in schimb, nu ma asteptam ca ea sa ma iubeasca sau sa imi ofere ceva, vroiam doar sa fiu langa ea, sa fim sinceri unul cu celalalt. Incredere…la asta se rezuma dragostea mea pentru ea. Tot ceea ce asteptam de la ea era sa nu imi tradeze increderea, sa nu ma minta, sa nu ma insele, doar prin asta m-ar fi putut face sa sufar. M-a inselat…m-a mintit…mi-a tradat toata increderea pe care o aveam in ea…mi-a frant inima. De ce a facut-o? De ce a trebuit sa ma raneasca? A facut-o pentru altcineva sau a facut-o pentru ea? As vrea sa cred ca a facut-o pentru altcineva, asa ar vrea si ea sa creada, ca a facut-o pentru altcineva… Dar ar fi doar o minciuna dupa care sa ne ascundem, sa ne ascundem de uratul ei caracter, atat eu cat si ea. Nici eu nici ea nu am vrea ca adevarul sa fie ca ea a facut asta doar pentru ea. Dar asta e adevarul.  L-a vrut pe el pentru ea, fara sa se gandeasca la nimic altceva. Ar vrea si ea sa creada ca a facut-o pentru el, ca din dragoste pentru el a facut-o, sa se stie cu constiinta curata. A facut-o pentru ea, nu pentru el, a facut-o pentru a fi ea cu el, nu pentru a fi el cu ea. S-a pus pe ea mai presus de mine, mai presus de noi, mai presus de toata lumea. Eu nu am putut sa ma pun pe mine mai presus de ea niciodata. Intotdeauna m-am gandit la ea inainte de a lua o decizie, m-am gandit ce ar fi mai bine pentru ea, nu pentru mine.

Am lasat-o sa plece desi inima imi sangera. Nu am incercat sa o opresc, nu am vrut sa stau in calea fericirii ei. Daca ea era mai fericita cu el m-am dat la o parte din calea ei, am lasat-o sa faca ce vrea. Si a ales sa ma paraseasca, a lasat in urma tot trecutul ei cu mine, m-a lasat singur… a fost alegerea ei si am incercat sa ii respect decizia. Pentru asta m-a urat…pentru ca am lasat-o singura in mintea ei, pentru ca am lasat-o sa fie fericita in mintea mea. Stiam ca asa va fi, stiam ca nu va intelege ceea ce incerc sa fac, stiam ca ea va da vina pe mine pentru ca ne-am distantat… dar a trebuit sa o fac. Aveam de ales intre a ma distanta de ea si intre a o influenta. Am preferat sa o las libera decat sa o influentez pentru binele meu, am ales sa renunt eu la ea pentru fericirea ei. Ea nu a inteles asta, sunt constient, ea crede ca m-am suparat pe ea si ca nu am iubit-o. Ieri a fost aniversarea zilei ei de nastere si nu am putut sa ii spun macar „La multi ani!”. Am vrut sa ii trimit un mail prin care sa ii spun asta si sa ii explic de ce am facut ceea ce am facut, de ce am renuntat, sa ii spun cat de mult o iubesc inca…dar mi-am promis ca nu o voi mai deranja cu iubirea mea, ca o voi lasa sa fie fericita cu cine alege ea.

Au trecut 7 ani de cand o iubesc…au trecut 15 luni de cand nu am mai vorbit cu ea…la care se adauga alti 2 ani in care nu am vorbit din acelasi motiv, pentru ca am renuntat la fericirea mea pentru ca ea sa fie fericita cu altcineva… si desi nu o vad, desi nu mai stiu nimic de ea o iubesc ca pe nimeni altcineva. De ce? Ea intotdeauna mi-a facut rau, ori de cate ori a avut de ales a ales sa renunte la mine, sa ma faca sa sufar. De ce trebuie sa o iubesc eu tocmai pe ea, pe cea care mi-a facut cel mai mult rau? De ce sa sufar pentru ca am facut un lucru atat de nobil? De ce sa sufar eu pentru ca am ales sa fiu bun, sa o las sa fie fericita? Asta e rasplata mea? Cum sa mai cred intr-un Dumnezeu care nu a facut in asa fel incat ea sa ramana cu mine, intr-un Dumnezeu care nu ma lasa sa uit de ea, de cea la care am renuntat pentru binele ei?

Sunt rau? Da, sunt rau. Aseara am facut o fata sa planga pentru ca tin la ea. M-am schimbat atat de mult…lumea m-a schimbat…dragostea m-a schimbat…suferinta care vine odata cu dragostea…si tradarea…toate m-au schimbat. Inainte imi era usor sa iubesc si sa demonstrez asta. Nu as fi ranit niciodata o persoana la care tin, nu intentionat. Aseara am facut o fata sa planga de frica ca tin prea mult la ea. I-am spus ca nu vreau sa mai vorbesc cu ea pentru ca nu a putut sa se gaseasca cu mine si pentru ca nu m-a cautat. Am fost atat de aspru cu ea…am vrut sa nu mai vorbesc cu ea pentru ca „nu are rost”, pentru ca „nu vrea sa ma vada” si „nu ma cauta”. In trecut nu as fi facut asa ceva cuiva la care tin. Acum imi e frica sa nu fiu parasit iar de catre cineva la care tin si fac tot posibilul sa fiu eu cel care paraseste, cel care face pe ceilalti sa sufere. Am facut-o sa planga intentionat, constient. De ce am devenit asa? Pentru ca eu am fost parasit fara nicio remuscare de catre cea pe care o iubeam atat de mult, am fost parasit, am fost inselat, am fost mintit de catre singura persoana care ar fi putut sa imi faca rau sau care ar fi putut sa imi faca atat de mult bine. Si eu nu ii gresisem ei cu nimic, absolut cu nimic. Nu am inteles cum a putut sa imi faca asta mie, care m-am purtat atat de frumos cu ea, care am inteles-o intotdeauna si care am incercat prin tot ceea ce sunt sa o ajut. Nu am inteles de ce dar am inteles ca daca ea m-a tradat si mi-a facut rau nu pot avea incredere in nimeni ca nu imi va face la fel. M-am adaptat jocului si am devenit rece, de nepatruns. Nimeni nu ma mai poate patrunde, am castigat jocul asta al iubirii, nu mai sufar din dragoste. In schimb sunt cel care cauzeaza suferinta. Am castigat jocul iar premiul castigat este scutirea de suferinta. Dar nu mai pot fi fericit cum eram candva cu ea, nu mai pot fi fericit cu adevarat fara sa iubesc. Oare ceea ce am castigat egaleaza ceea ce am pierdut? Stiu doar ca m-am schimbat, stiu doar ca imi lipseste ceva, o parte din mine este plina de ura, plina de nervi, plina de tristete. Este acea parte care candva era plina de dragoste, de bunatate si de bucurie, acea parte din sufletul meu care era candva plina de culoare si lumina este acum gri si intunecata. Sunt mort pe dinauntru, traiesc doar cu trupul. Suna rau, dar nu este atat de rau pe cat suna, viata nu ma mai doare acum. Acum totul este la fel, nu am bucurii mari, nu am tristeti mari. Nu ma mai afecteaza atat de mult oamenii, traiesc cu lucruri marunte, cele mai intense sentimente sunt cand ma bucur la soare si ma intristez la nori. Tot timpul ma simt la fel, nu mai simt durere, nu mai simt bucurii, sunt doar mort.

I’m not a Christian, but I read four versions of the Bible cover to cover when I was, and there is much wisdom in some of the passages.   Ecclesiastes has long been one of my favorite sections, and I ran across a piece of it today on a quotes page, so I decided instead of writing a post, I would just put it here for all to read.  Whether you are a Christian or not, these words may well ring true for you, remind you of someone you know, or cause you to rethink your own life.

Ecclesiastes 4:1-16

1 Then I looked again at all the injustice that goes on in this world. The oppressed were crying, and no one would help them. No one would help them, because their oppressors had power on their side.  2 I envy those who are dead and gone; they are better off than those who are still alive. 3 But better off than either are those who have never been born, who have never seen the injustice that goes on in this world.

4 I have also learned why people work so hard to succeed: it is because they envy the things their neighbors have. But it is useless. It is like chasing the wind.  5 They say that we would be fools to fold our hands and let ourselves starve to death.  6 Maybe so, but it is better to have only a little, with peace of mind, than be busy all the time with both hands, trying to catch the wind.

7 I have noticed something else in life that is useless.  8 Here is someone who lives alone. He has no son, no brother, yet he is always working, never satisfied with the wealth he has. For whom is he working so hard and denying himself any pleasure?  This is useless, too €”and a miserable way to live.

9 Two are better off than one, because together they can work more effectively.  10 If one of them falls down, the other can help him up. But if someone is alone and falls, it’s just too bad, because there is no one to help him.  11 If it is cold, two can sleep together and stay warm, but how can you keep warm by yourself.  12 Two people can resist an attack that would defeat one person alone.  A rope made of three cords is hard to break.

13-14 Someone may rise from poverty to become king of his country, or go from prison to the throne, but if in his old age he is too foolish to take advice, he is not as well off as a young man who is poor but intelligent.  15 I thought about all the people who live in this world, and I realized that somewhere among them there is a young man who will take the king’s place.  16 There may be no limit to the number of people a king rules; when he is gone, no one will be grateful for what he has done. It is useless. It is like chasing the wind.

447

“The press is not characterised by the good it does, but by the evil it prevents.” – Alexis de Tocqueville

We have much to escape, much to shed, much to loose, much to famine from and much to walk without. Moreover, there is far more that we ought receive. It is made perfect in the Lord. And it is the Lord whose perfection is gifted freely unto those who so submit that they receive it.

There is but one way to sever the chains of bondage from that which you come from. You were born to an environment where no father nor mother may have existed. Perhaps it was an environment by which chaos devoured you lean and mean into futile rebellion even unto that which is good. For what is good?

Is it your friend beside you? Your wife? Your brother? Your neighbor? Be it your dog that returns even after you have wrongly kicked him in your deeply embedded rage of anger? Was it Mao Tse Tung or perhaps Benito Mussolini or even Adolf Hitler? Who is good?

Ought it be defined and declared that all men should agree? Ought your good be greater than mine? Perhaps your good just as good as mine? Yet when my good just isn’t good enough should I fashion is definition accordingly? And to you the same? Should in debate the definition be altered by mere perspective? Ought we pervert our utterances evermore that we tailor it to our quests for inequity? Are you willing to accept that there remain truth everlasting? What is good?

WHAT IS GOOD

• Matthew 19:17 – And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.
• Mark 10:18 – And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.
• Luke 18:19 – And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God.

Now let it be known what is good. Therefore there be no mistake nor nothing but a definitive proclamation of good. The definition of good is thereby defined and everlasting on its own accord. It is neither me nor you. It is Almighty God as Jesus so proclaimed.

Finally, from where have you arisen? Great disdain do I have for much of what I had to endure during my earliest years of childhood and youth. It was not great and certainly not the worse. But have I been shown any other way that I might know how to be a “good” man to raise a family of two boys or moreover be a deserving husband of such a great wife who takes great care of myself and our boys?

This woman, my wife, stands at my greatest honor and thanks to have gifted me such earnest prayer and persistence in the Lord. I cleave unto her my wife who stands to build me to my finest hour in the Lord. She stands resilient in her directives to deliver us from generations’ fate. Tired in her plight she drives on that our two boys may be delivered from our own woeful pasts. She builds me up even when undeserving of such gifts of grace. She is magnificent in her manners and sharp with her retort against wrong. Correction is fierce but even still loving and pure.

I am inspired and go nowhere without. We are one in the same. She prays fervently on my behalf and behalf of our family. At my greatest hour she awakens me to rise. She is a valiant warrior herself, faithful and steadfast for the Lord. Even before her I stand, yet she stands before me such a gift that by whom there is much gain.

Likewise at such low she raises me accordingly by way of earnest servitude to the Lord everlasting, fashioning herself tireless in righteousness for the sake of our family even at great measures.

I have learned many of the wrong ways by the manner at which I have arrived. As a man, as a husband and as a father I am merely lost upon my own accord. My practices are vaguely practical and even less loving than I might be of myself if I even knew love beyond which she has led me. I was left to my own right, left to my own way, left to my own flawed vision of what family ought to be. My wife has been the greatest of contenders on my behalf. Her pursuits were greater than my reliance upon self. She ushered me unto my redemption. She in her own graciously loving way was delivered me that I might be saved from my own peril and likewise the generations hereafter.

Now what damage has been done? The path from which we might flee might lead full circle in our haste and angst against our those who’ve delivered us unto this moment. Now what damage has been done?

The damage from mere words can draw down nations. Words ruin marriage and raise up armies against a people. How is it that the generations from which you come and which follow shall not equally be affected by the sins therein of the forefathers? Even you at work whose anger is awoken take it with you and lay it upon the threshold of your home. Ought not the same remain for generations of perpetual misery that is made feast on our families?

• Exodus 34:7 - Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty ; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation .
• Joel 2-3 – 2 Hear this, ye old men, and give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land. Hath this been in your days, or even in the days of your fathers?3 Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation.

I urge you to release it.

As a man and warrior, the enemy is real and wears a face and yet likewise goes silent among you, unnoticed. He wears the face that our soldiers face in Afghanistan. He is shewn down by bullet or by hand. He wears a face in more common places and yet goes unnoticed and lives freely among you to toil in your way. Target acquisition. Engage. Eliminate.

Sever ties from the way of generations who have jettisoned you unto this moment and make new for you, your family and even still such a great country among us.

And take upon you “the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,” that you may drive the sword straight through that which you were and lead those generations who follow unto greatness greater than you yourself, as it is purposed deep within you, where reside the voice hereafter referenced. Heed.

• Ephesians 6:10-20 – 10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places .13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;19 And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,20 For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

so for my second post, i choose a controversial topic…the second in the twilight series, what is NEW MOON for the BELIEVER???

Let’s lay down some “disclaimers” for those who don’t know me…

1. I believe in the Almighty God and in His written word, the bible. I believe there  is a heaven and a hell as well.

2. I don’t believe creatures like vampires, werewolves or any such “monsters” exist. I do believe however, that the devil does, as stated in the bible.

3. I am not promoting that you watch the movie. But yes, I have watched twilight and new moon…

4. If you haven’t watched the movie, this may contain some spoilers…

5. I am neither team Edward or team Jacob; i am definitely team JESUS!

This is probably the hottest movie in the planet now, and in the secular world, a love story between a girl and a vampire may be appealing. But in the Kingdom of Christ, we know that this story is just that, a story.

Yes, i was curious enough to watch the first 2 movies, and probably curious still to watch the whole series.  But it is not for the faint of heart, nor for the wobbly faith. I am not saying that i am a mature christian, that i can handle such plots. In fact, it is best to stay away form these things altogether. For there is something “dangerous” about being an avid fan of the story line, both of the books and the movies. Have you heard of those edward-fanatics who cut themselves and show their bleeding wrists and necks to the movie star? Really weird. But that is not the dangerous stuff. What is dangerous, as promoted also in some other movies, is that “bad” is portrayed as “good”; that there is really no “absolute right” and “absolute wrong.”

In New Moon, it is “implied” that it is ok to be a vampire (as long as you don’t bite?); that it is ok to disregard the feelings of your parents for the one you love; that it is “ok” to lose your “soul” just to be with the one your heart desires. For fans, this may be the most “romantic” things, but in reality, this is all a lie.

The big lie of the story is (and there are other blockbuster book/movie series that promote this lie) practically the non-existence of God. No, it is not vehemently said in the movie that God does not exist. But to talk about immortality, eternal life and damnation in the terms of vamps is like saying “there can be a happy life with out need for God.” Other movies have portrayed this such as the one showing “witchcraft” as good if used for good. A movie that promotes “non-absolutes”; no true good, and no true evil, is definitely promoting the non-existence of God.

God is good. God is holy. God created all things good. God never created evil. His good creation fell and sinned, and that resulted in the evil in the world. God is absolutely good and holy. Things, principles and principalities against God is absolute evil. It’s that simple. There are only two (2) teams in reality, Jesus’ Team and the devil’s team. Which team do you think edward and jacob belong to? More importantly, which team do YOU belong to? You have to take a side, there is no neutral ground.

So why did i watch the movie? For curiosity? For entertainment? For research? It’s like watching starwars, superman, and even dora the explorer; it’s all fiction, but it’s amusing. It’s like bible students studying apologetics, how to defend the faith, by studying what the other religions believe in and practice. This is not to justify watching the movie. But before you watch this, and any other movie for that matter, ask yourself: What is your heart’s content? What is the condition of your faith? What is your purpose in watching this film? Unless you can glorify God in what you’ll do, then just don’t.

Yesterday I spent the day with my three little cousins aka “My Little Monsters”. These sweet boys are the light of my life. I know that when they tell me they love me its real.

My silly little boys have no idea what kind of evil there is in the world. They do not have to worry about predators. The only thing that they worry about is missing an episode of SpongeBob Square pants. They are little, precious and innocent.

Last night as I was putting them to bed, they asked me to stay in their room until they went to sleep. I did because I like them to feel safe. As I watched them drift off into dreamland, I started feeling sad. I just looked at those precious little babies as they slept peacefully and tears started to fall from my eyes. When I look at those boys, I see that they are so helpless and small.

 I realized how safe they are and how unsafe I actually was during my childhood.

My littlest cousin is turning three in a few weeks, and it has been bothering me because one of my parts is three. It is that I just picture a three year old as something much bigger and stronger than he is. When I look at him, I still see a baby. He still likes to be held, rocked and comforted.

When I see my littlest insiders, I do not see them as children, because they are not children. I never got to do childlike things. I had to do grown up things from a very young age. Baby-like things never existed. I never had the chance to be a child. In addition, I do not get a second chance to redo childhood. It is over, done, history.

However, when I look at my little cousins, I see three sweet innocent boys who are safe from abuse. They just look up to me with their big brown eyes and I just want to hold them and keep them safe forever.

I always think and wonder how anyone could hurt a child…

I am not sure where the recent “water-inspired” themes have come from, but this one might be one of my favorite drawings to date.

Jenny Greenteeth…the first time I saw anything about this fairly obscure folktale was in Alan Lee & Briand Froud’s “faeries.” An amazing book. No shit, I drew every picture in that book over and over it was amazing.

anyway here’s the wikipedia version of Jenny:

Jenny Greenteeth is a figure in English folklore. A river hag, similar to Peg Powler, she would pull children or the elderly into the water and drown them. She was often described as green-skinned, with long hair, and sharp teeth. She is called Jinny Greenteeth in Lancashire, but in Cheshire and Shropshire she is called Ginny Greenteeth, Jeannie Greenteeth, Wicked Jenny, or Peg o’ Nell.

She is likely to have been an invention to frighten children from dangerous waters similar to the Slavic Rusalka, the Kappa in Japanese mythology, or Australia’s Bunyip, but other folklorists have seen her as a memory of sacrificial practices.

This myth stood out to me as particularly haunting because of its obscurity…this was not the Boogey man, Sasquatch or anything else so obvious. It was just…some missing people.

Who…could…have …

been taken by a water demon.

I guess

dont go near the river.

silently plots his revenge …

I have mentioned before in an earlier post, Three Universes, there are essentially three levels of reality in our world.  God, who is not confined within his own creation, exists outside of the physical universe.  This makes him his own universe.  Within his domain, there exists our physical universe, which can be affected from without.  It is a lesser reality, being less absolute, not existing forever, and depending upon God for its existence.

Within the physical universe is another, lesser reality, called the mind.  That’s where we actually live.  The mind is even less absolute than the physical world, capable of spontaneous change, inconsistency and a certain degree of incongruity.  Yet, when we experience the physical universe, we do so indirectly, through reconstruction within our brains.  If any of the processes between the actual sensation and the final experience goes awry, then we do not experience the physical universe accurately.  Nerve damage or brain damage disrupt the transfer of information, and what we see no longer resembles reality.  We do not really have a complete grasp on the physical world.  What we really hold, completely, is the image in our minds.  What we experience is all that the universe of the mind contains.  Nothing can exist within the mind except that we are aware of it.  Similarly, nothing can exist within the physical world, except that God is aware of it.  Hence, God is omniscient.

The physical world is not a piece of God.  Nor is the mind a piece of the physical world.  The physical world is corrupt, but that doesn’t make God corrupt.  Similarly, anything can happen in the mind, but it does not escape the mind and infiltrate the physical world.  In fact, nothing in the physical world explains the mind.  Cognitive processes might be explained in physical terms, but not the mind, itself.  A computer thinks, but it does not have a mind.  The mind is as much its own universe as the one we live in, but in a lower fashion.

Now, I’ve said all of this before, but there’s something more to consider.  Before the industrial revolution, humans were grossly subject to the whims of nature.  We had not developed technologically enough to conquer our world.  In that era, through most of our history, we looked to God for the answers to our problems.  That meant that we looked outside of our minds, through and beyond the physical world to God for truth.  With increasing understanding, we became confident in our own power and began to look no further than the physical world for answers.  This was the advent of modernism.  This was also the birth of naturalism, the belief that all things could be explained through the physical universe alone, with no need of God.  We had conquered the world, and we became our own gods.  Technology was the answer for everything that ailed us.

When we sought understanding from God, we attempted to live our lives and order our world in his likeness.  That is, we strove to be godly.  It is no different than the mind attempting to resemble the physical world.  If the lesser world fails to resemble the greater one, then it becomes detached, and its survival becomes imperiled in the one that gets rejected.  If a man goes insane, he no longer sees the world as it is.  Functionally, he imperils himself in the physical world, because he is not firmly grounded in it.  The same is true for our relationship with God.  If we reject God and the supernatural, then we become imperiled in the supernatural.  That is to say that we risk death, spiritually.  For those who still don’t get it, that means Hell.

Modernism was madness.  We might think that what followed, the rejection of modernism, would be the cure to this problem, but it wasn’t.  Rejection of a lie is not necessarily the embracing of truth.  Postmodernism was a flight in the opposite direction from God.  Today’s movement is to seek truth no further than the mind.  Postmodernists don’t even look to the physical world for answers.  For them, there is no absolute truth, because the world that they draw truth from is a world lacking in absolutes.  The mind is not subject to such things.  You have your own truth, and I have mine.  The idea of God is not even on the table.  They’re two steps removed from the truth of God.  They worship whatever their mind creates.

Pre-modernists prayed for rain.  Modernists attempted to make rain.  Postmodernists criticized the modernists for causing climate change.  Where the modernists attempted to improve life through their own hands, postmodernists attempt to improve life by undoing everything that the modernists did.

Pre-modernists believed in the immortal human soul, absolutes and God.  Modernists believed that nothing would last forever, and there was no God, but at least there were absolutes.  Postmodernists believe in no God, no absolutes and nothing eternal, but they play with fantasies in their own heads.

Pre-modernists used the physical world to understand God beyond it.  They worshiped him physically, and they prayed aloud.  Modernists used their minds to understand the physical world.  Postmodernists are primarily concerned with finding themselves.

Now, this postmodern revolution is a religious one, also.  Modernists sought out the “God particle,” reducing God to physical circumstances.  However, postmodernists are a little peculiar, in that they can be just about anything that they want to be at any time.  One could easily attend church one hour and a Buddhist temple the next.  Some of them do exactly that.  Their belief system is not absolute, because the universe of the mind is not absolute.  In Christianity, we know them as the Emergent Church.  In reality, they have even less of a grasp on God than a materialist, who at least recognizes the value of the world that God created.  Had they at least grasped the physical world, they would have held to some concept of an absolute.  In truth, the Emergent church is less of a  Christian than a Darwinist.  They are even further from God.

Now, consider what I said before about sanity.  When a man’s mind ceases to relate intelligibly to the world around him, he is considered insane.  When we, with our lives, ceased to relate meaningfully to the God beyond this world, we took the first step toward our own insane demise.  Postmodernism was the second step, detaching us even from the physical world.  Society is gradually slipping into a state of insanity.  Perhaps this is irreversible.  Perhaps this is the end.  The real travesty is that the Church, which was meant to be the salt and the light of the world, has developed its own form of postmodernism, the Emergent movement.  The real blasted shame is that our own fellow “Christians” have betrayed us and the world to this madness.  They were supposed to be there with us to help stem the tide of this sickness, but they have stabbed us in the back.  The Emergent Church has chosen the same fate as the world.

Therefore, they are also condemned to a world separated from God, a place where he never goes.

meet Rod Parsley, a top-notch cowtown douchebag:

i don’t want to waste too much energy on this sociopathic piece-of-shit con artist, but i will say he belongs in hell.  he has a cult following of more than 12,000 desperate and ignorant people.  he’s prays off of their insecurities and lives a lavish, corrupt lifestyle at the expense of his sheep.  how can a “just and honest” society allow this giant bag of douche to get away with stealing people’s money and hiding under his church’s tax-exempt status?  WTF???

HAVE YOU HEARD ABOUT THIS SHOCKING STORY IN THE U.S. MEDIA?…..ABSOLUTELY NOT!

The following article is almost unbelievable and potentially deadly for our nation.  And while it poses a very serious and detrimental danger to the United States, I have not heard anything about it from the mainstream media.

The information was obtained from Israel National News and is located at http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/134466, which thankfully to the Lord, DOES NOT worship Barack Obama nor props him up on some sort of throne.

With that said, take a look at what they have discovered about the guy sitting in the White House.

Obama ‘Reaches Out’ by Naming ‘Devout’ Muslims to Security Posts

by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu

(IsraelNN.com) U.S. President Barack Obama continues to “reach out to Muslims” by appointing them to key security posts amid charges he wrongly ignored internal Muslim terror. One recent appointee was harshly criticized for appearing on a British-based television station whose host is a member of a radical Muslim group.

His “reaching out Muslims” speech in Cairo last June has been followed by action, the latest being this past week’s swearing-in of a Muslim rights advocate to the Homeland Security Advisory Council, shortly after the Fort Hood massacre. HSAC members are involved in expertise on national security.

The new member is Syrian-born Kareem Shora, who was the national executive director of the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination (ADC), which previously has called on the United States to stop providing Israel with weapons because of alleged “atrocities” against Arabs. Her background for her new security post is having been a legal counsel and advocate for Muslim civil rights.

She also has been a frequent guest on the pro-Hamas al-Jazeera satellite network.

Shora, who has been described as a “devout Muslim, joins another devout member of the faith, Arif Alikhan, who was appointed as Assistant Secretary for Policy Development in the Department of Homeland Security. His qualifications for the job were listed as having been in charge of public safety in Los Angeles during his term of deputy mayor. One of his actions was to remove the plan that tracked Muslims in the city who were suspected of terrorist activities.

Americans have been jolted by several lethal attacks and confrontations with Muslims over the past year, including a plot to attack synagogues and down U.S. military aircraft, the manufacture of bombs, an alleged attempt to explode a Texas skyscraper, a plot to blow up malls in Boston, and last month’s Fort Hood massacre by a Muslim psychiatrist who was an officer in the army.

A desire to avoid the appearance of labeling all Muslims as terrorists lunged out from the shadows last month after President Obama faced criticism for not taking seriously the threat of Muslim terrorism within American society as well as in the Middle East, Asia and Africa.

Several months ago, President Obama appointed Dalia Mogahed, a “devout Muslim,” to his Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. She quickly came under fire for appearing in a telephone interview on a London-based Muslim television station, whose host is a member of an extreme Islamic group.

She said was unaware of the affiliations of her host, whose program included questions and comments favoring the implementation of Islamic Law (“sharia”).

Mogahed explained that she did not hang up the phone in the middle of the interview because “I assumed that very few people would watch this show but that doing something more dramatic would bring more attention.”

In the current issue of Newsweek, columnist Jacob Weisberg, citing former Secretary of State Colin Powell, wrote that “Obama’s [Muslim] heritage feeds a broader suspicion that he is too casual about the threat from America’s Islamist enemies.”

The journalist added, “With the massacre in Texas, Obama now confronts something that George W. Bush did not face in the years after September 11—not just a major act of domestic terrorism, but one struck from inside our security apparatus…. America does not face a threat from the perversion of faith in general. We face a threat from the perversion of one faith in particular.”

End

I want to encourage all of you to pray and to draw ever so close to the Son of the Living God, the LORD JESUS CHRIST……THE ONLY SAVIOR.

By all appearances, judgment seems to be heading for the United States of America.  As a watchman giving warning, I am urging everyone who is reading this to please follow the Lord’s Word from Isaiah chapter 55 verses 6-7 which is as follows:

Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:  Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

May we all take heed to this warning while we still have the chance, because a time is coming when we will not.

The feckin’ Japanese are at it again. But it’s OK, they only want to kill 1,000 this time. That’s OK isn’t it?

Maybe Sarah Palin should join up with them; she loves killing.

More here

Sea Shepherd

Sea Shepherd’s site

No one can tell me what to think of you
You bring the power of merciful truth
From your great heaven you curse and you spell
You let people think that your home is in hell

Under evil evil spell

You feel the heat and you shed all your tears
You hide behind all your curtains of fear
No you can’t run no you can’t run away
The curse is on you now it’s there to stay

Under evil evil spell

Looking through eyes that deceive what they see
Gazing in darkness and pointing at me
It’s not your mind but your soul that you’ll give
And you will be evil as long as you live

Under evil evil spell

Sword 1986

Comment: An obvious influence from at least two classical heavy metal bands, Black sabbath and Iron Maiden. As on the BS debut album the evil is “pointing at me”, and the song seems in one way to tell the same story as in Iron Maidens famous “The number of the beast” but in a more confused way. The character is kind of trapped, and is finally, giving away his soul. It could also be a the story of the fallen angel. The first lines indicates an uproar towards God. Compared to “the number of…” the text isn´t as exiting or classy.

“I’m a woman, I can do everything I want!”

Women can get everything they wish for. Women have everything a guy can ever dream of, it’s just up to the guys to discover the way we want to be treated for giving something. Therefore, if they don’t have what they want from us, it’s their fault! They did not discover the magical way!

You, guys, should only follow the basic steps you were educated with: be respectful, some jokes are just inappropriate when being with a woman you are interested in; feel the passion of every single move, word, look, don’t repress it; offer her attention, it’s probably the most important thing a woman desires – women can interpret that attention in thousands of ways and it’s sure they will find the best way that fits to your feelings. You are evil with yourselves. You don’t actually want to do the mistakes you do, you want to be just as pure as women are, in all sorts of fields, but you are trying to seem as superficial as you can, being afraid of what you really are, because you have never been like you desire to be!! You, guys, don’t really know what that feels like and you are used to being like you are, you indulge in this situation, without analyzing it deeply. This is the real problem, I must say!

Women like crazily in love guys. They are so childish, they cannot hide that inside them anymore because it’s a feeling that beats them and makes them weak. Don’t get me wrong, women don’t like weak men! They don’t really like plasticine men, to do whatever they want with them. No! Women like men to seem weak because this weakness brings up the sincerity!

You, guys, have born perfect, but you have destroyed this feature by the wrong interpretation of women and you have changed, considering them something they are not! This is the problem that lead to this war between men and women! Trying to understand other people around you is a very good thing, but not considering some aspects and the wrong interpretation because you don’t want to give a go to something that might be true, this is bad!

take care-

I saw this video on youtube.com and found it fascinating.

“My VERY POSITIVE Abortion Experience”… I just like the sound of that.

“My VERY POSITIVE Abortion Experience”.

It was a sunny day in march. I was singing a song as I went along the road, walking past smiling people and stopping at every window to see what was in store. I was young and happy with all my life in front of me, and just to know that I was going to make sure something else would not have it’s life in front of it made it all the much sunnier, happier and gayer.

The abortion doctor, who was an amateur actor on the side, sang as I entered the Family planning clinic.
“Hello”, he said with a glee and what seemed to be a whimsical little dance. He couldn’t help but smile as I saw it, and I couldn’t help but smile either. This would be the start of a wonderful day, with lots of memories and stories to tell.

The people who was gathered inside his bright coloured waiting room was all ready for a laugh and was eager to meet new people and share their pregnancy stories. Mine was as simple as it was funny. I had been drunk at a party, and this guy came up to me and later came inside me. They all laughed as I played with those words. I even got a huge hug from one of the teenagers as I told it. All was good and right.

One of the stories that was shared that was not as fun, but was a story we all could grow on, came from a shy skinny young girl who sat in the corner. She had escaped from home, since her father was abusive and her mother was a drunk.
“Now there’s an abortion that should have been”, I could remember thinking but still trying to keep a serious face as her story was not suppose to be funny. She had later become a whore and she earned more by having the Johns in her without condoms so she became pregnant at regular basis and had been there many times.

“So you could use a punching card, couldn’t you?”, I said and we all laughed at my funny way at looking at things.
“Yes”, she said, “but I got aids now so I won’t be needing it for very long”

This last part started to provoke me, because I felt that she tried to ruin my VERY POSITIVE Abortion experience with her bleakness. Some people just cant be happy, you know, they have to problematize everything. This woman deserved her misery, I had read so in “the secret”, so I decide to focus on someone else. Someone who looked forward to having it removed.

“Life is to short”, I thought as I stroke my belly “to focus on sad things. I bet my foetus would agree with me” and with that thought I was suddenly back again laughing and dancing with the abortion doctor. People cheering and applauding for me. The sun shone so bright! Everything was fantastic. You get such energy from knowing you are going to get rid of a tumour of troubles. Yes… life, you know… fantastic.

“This is our right, am I right?”, I screamed from the top of my longs as I stood on top of chair. “Abort more!”, I continued and more positive energy entered the room.
“No one is going to take our rights away! NO ONE! GIRL POWER”, I shouted for all to hear. The power of deciding life and death. I was ecstatic. I couldn’t wait for it to be removed. A tingling all over, excitement for what was to come, life… you know… FREEDOM! LOVE!

Finally it was my turn, and I turned to the crowd of happy people and raised my hand for recognition. Love, was the only word to describe this day. Love and the colour green. I would do an art project later where I would make an interruptive dance to celebrate my positive experience while painted green. It’s what an artist do.
The dance would be me having my hands representing the flow of the menstrual falling down, down, washing away the pain and responsibility from the middle-age and instead greeting a brave new world where woman could be free to be a sexual creature to. I would try as an artist to convey the importance of abortion, to tell young people that abortion is an experience that every girl should have. To become a woman is to drink once menstrual flow and to have a positive abortion experience. Bush and other demogogs would never again steal our chance of experience POWER and keep US down. FREEDOM etc.

Oh, such lovely pictures. I wish you could have been there and shared it with me. But I will try to tell you, as best as I can, the sensation of abortion. The doctor took me in to a white room, with pictures of happy adults smiling. No kids in any of them. There was also a picture of a clown who juggled bottles. A real aesthetic experience. He guided me to a cosy chair and I took my seat. He then gave me a shot and a pill. He then looked at the clock and we waited.

Then it came. A power strengthening in my uterine. Then came the flow. The flow of life and death. It was all red of me and the smell of fresh freedom! Love, freedom and power again and again for what would seem like an eternity. I couldn’t describe it as anything but a holy experience of cleansing. A strong cleansing from the blood and the whiteness of the room that I knew had to be stronger than any religious experience.
“This is life”, I thought. “Life is blood flowing, and cunts crying because men had to penetrate them!”

I started to cry because of the beauty and I looked up into the ceiling with look of relief. I can’t describe it better so I have to say it again. It isn’t an orgasm, it’s just a feeling of freedom. Abortion is freedom, love and the colour green. Every girl should have one, to know the feeling. If I ever get pregnant again, I would have another one. And this time I would wait longer, because they say that the feeling get’s stronger to.

I work hard to have the rights of woman extended, and of course I also work hard for the abortion laws to be more open-minded as I am. This is why I have a project to keep the laws away from our bodies and to make it legal to have abortion until birth. There are scientific facts that state that there is no life until birth, and I work hard to make it so. And when I succeed in this, and I will if you woman will join me, then I will go even further. There are other scientific facts that state that an infants mind is not developed until it’s at least one year of age. I will with woman of the worlds help, fight for woman to have Shaken baby syndrome legalized as a form of abortion to.

So women of the earth, help me to make every girls dream come true and have their own very positive abortion experience. As I like to say; “You are not a free-thinker, unless you think like us” and ain’t that the truth?