Guiding – as it is commonly understood – is not about creating; it’s about helping. The guide has no goal other than to lead someone safely to the destiny of their choice. The guide is skilled; he or she actually can lead the way, but does so without ambition beyond delivering quality service. The guide sells safety where risk is involved. With The Guide, VOLUME presents a diverse collection of guides and attempts to guide. From strange maps, bike tours and magnetic navigation belts to the conception of Paris’ 13th arrondissement as a series of islands; here, the guide is understood as not simply a service or selling point, but as an exploratory tool, a generator for a proactive engagement with the city. As a supplement to this issue of VOLUME, we also present the separate publication Beyroutes, a guidebook to Beirut, one of the grand capitals of the Middle East. Beyroutes presents an exploded view of a city which lives so many double lives and figures in so many truths, myths and historical falsifications. Visiting the city with this intimate book as your guide makes you feel disoriented, appreciative, judgmental and perhaps eventually reconciliatory. Beyroutes is the field manual for 21st century urban explorer.

Via & more: Volume

(The Guide, 12/12)

Not so good, either

• REO Speedwagon, “Not So Silent Night”: It’s hard to imagine what is the intended audience for REO Speedwagon’s “Not So Silent Night,” the ’80s soft-rock hitmakers’ attempt to throw yet another gloss of “contemporary” paint on seasonal classics that are already dying of lead poisoning. Do you load the cheddary “Deck The Halls” (with its “Hey, Dad, Santa is downstairs!” intro banter) into your Shuffle along with “Time for Me to Fly?” Or do you slip these songs into the Christmas dinner playlist, only to have Grandma rocketed from her seat by the furious gospel of “Happy Xmas (War is Over),” a decidedly red-state repurposing of the Lennon classic? And can even die-hard Speed Freaks explain the use of auto-tuning and the phrase “funky gentlemen” on the track “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen?” If, for some untold reason, you are an REO Speedwagon completist, they got you good.

I have a copy of this album if you want it. You don’t want it, and I won’t give it to you. Not even a shred of salvageable irony here, kids. Trust me.

Oh, wait, I just got it: NOT so silent. Because of the rocking.

I have found the nexus at which punk rock musicians and struggling journalists who’ve written about them collide, and it is TJ’s.

Yesterday at reg in the midst of the inescapable writhing mass-of-humanity shitshow that is a sunny Sunday afternoon at Brooklyn’s favorite grocer, I was ringing up the purchases of a young, groovy looking couple in refreshingly good spirits considering aforementioned shitshow that often causes much grumbling among other customers (note: YOU ARE HERE ALSO TAKING UP SPACE).

The girl looked at my name tag which lists my hometown as “Hilton Head, S.C.” and asked me how long I’ve been in New York, if I came directly from South Carolina, etc.

The guy turned to her and said, “Oh, that’s where we played that show that they said it was like the ‘first punk show’ ever.”

Strange gears began to come alive and click together in my head as an improbable slide of memory pushed in reminding me that, not only had I heard that comparison before, but — hold on a second — I wrote it.

Turns out the guy was Marty “Violence” Key, the bassist for Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, who I interviewed last year before their head-explodingly nonsensical (but awesomely embraced by the five punksters on Hilton Head, four of whom worked at the newspaper) appearance at Stages on the island.

It included this:

Question. We did a little bit of research, and we think this may be the first punk show in Hilton Head history.

Answer. I used to go out with someone who lived on Hilton Head. I used to actually go down there a lot and visit her and we’d hang out and see shows in Savannah.

But there was one night where some ska band that I actually knew from New York was playing at like some crazy frat bar, and we went. And I remember her being so freaked out, like, ‘God, this is so weird, there’s actually a band that’s not like the String Cheese Incident or Widespread Panic or something that’s playing here.’

Wow, but I would have figured since then, that since there are kind of ‘punk’ shows everywhere, I’m surprised to hear that I’m the first.

Q. How does that feel?

A. It’s exciting. It’s auspicious. I had no idea.

I stammered an excited confession to Marty that hey! that was me, I interviewed Ted before that show, and how we at the newspaper spent months laughing at how ludicrously out of place the power pop political punk would sound beside the manicured golf courses of sedate Hilton Head, said how their show at the club between a tobacco shop, Harris Teeter and time-share salesroom was the equivalent of the band walking inside an Applebee’s and beginning to thrash out “Bomb. Repeat. Bomb.” next to someone’s Quesadilla Tower. I reveled in the anarchic pairing of it as I got ready to leave the always pretty but limitedly exciting Lowcountry for Brooklyn. I even wanted to take the rare action of buying a shirt at the concert but the dollars had to be saved for the months of poverty and couch-surfing that would ensue as I made my way to BK.

“That show was weird, but we had a great time,” Marty said.

Marty said he remembered Ted saying how odd it was that there was this guy from Jersey (me) living in South Carolina doing the interview.

“Wow,” Marty’s wife said, “I guess there are some cool punk people on Hilton Head.”

Before I realized who they were, I had already told the couple I approved of all of their purchases. “I don’t tell people when I disapprove of their purchases, but I make sure to tell people when I approve.” Then had some combo of veggie pasta dinner in the works, complete with Smart Sausage. And my favorite: a six pack of Simpler Times lager. Punk rock.

I told this to Guide editor Jeff Vrabel later and he remarked it was double cool because you always wonder how much these artists retain from the hundreds of shows they do over the years. In the waning days of my Island Packet tenure, we pushed hard for this show, under the auspices that even if no one in Hilton Head had any idea who Ted Leo was, they damn will at least have heard of him by the time the show’s over. We ran four weeks’ worth of buildup for the show, with a different reason each week why you need to see the band, such as this one.

Part of it was the repressed excitement after spending four years living in the live music desert, where the annual Hootie and the Blowfish concert was about the only thing to break the monotony (though they have recently booked Conor Oberst, Loretta Lynn, Social D and Snoop Dogg after I finally left after FOUR YEARS OF SUBLIME COVER BANDS.)

Wednesday was the anniversary of the day I quit my full-time, decent-paying job as a beat reporter at a daily newspaper (covering a news event of national interest) to throw the dice on a move to Brooklyn with little more than gas money and willpower saved up.

Now here we were, crossing paths in Brooklyn again by the random circumstance of the register-assignment system. I’ve got a few steady writing gigs (but not enough to live off) and The Pharmacists just finished recording their new album in Brooklyn, and we both buy vegetarian food from TJ’s and drink Simpler Times beer. One or two of our fellow punks are still at the paper, but they’ve been hit with pay cuts and furloughs. Not punk rock.

They’re playing a show at Bowery in December, and you bet we’re planning to go. I think I’ll buy a shirt this time.

BONUS: Ted’s new song, “One Polaroid a Day,” from See Emm Jay:

The new pin came out today. It is the 4th anniversary cake pin, like last years 3rd anniversary cake.

But, this  pin is the same colors as the hat most likely will be. Last years cake pin was the same color as the hat, so it should be the same with this pin.

Here is an example (edited)

Well, that is it. Waddle on!!

~Omega 985421~

Hi fellow penguins! Omega here!

As you know, Club Penguin has had, and should always have a Halloween igloo decoration contest. Well today they released a sneak peek.

Well it is obviously a gate, but who knows? Maybe it can say different thinks on the top, as it looks as if there is a “C”, which could be for “CP,” but only the Club Penguin team really knows.

~Omega 985421

If you haven’t been to a Halloween party yet, well every year, a storm comes right as Halloween comes, causing it to be dark and eerie, perfect for Halloween!!!

But if you have experienced a Halloween party, you know what it’s like. Usually you can see the clouds through the telescope at the beacon, but this year you can see it at the Dojo. All the lights in the Dojo Courtyard and Ninja Hideout are all lit up. Here are two pictures:

Lit up lights

For some reason, you can’t see the clouds from any other place on the island, but maybe later they will be visible.

Well that is it. Comment what you think is going to be new for the party!

~Omega 985421

Today on Club Penguin, the new football pin and the new play came out. The pin is hidden in the lodge attic.

1.Log on to Club Penguin.

2.Click on the map and go to the ski village

3.Go into the ski lodge

4.Go to the lodge attic

5.Go to the pin

The new play came out, but there were no cheats for it.

Well, hope you enjoy the play!

Waddle on!

~Omega 985421 (thecpguider)

Well I am back for good. New internet server! I will post daily, or as often as possible, so keep an eye out

~Omega 985421 (Thecpguider)

Sorry for not putting anything up in a while, my internet server crashed or something so it won’t work for about 3 days. It sucks.

I am completely loving The Guide. It’s a program (technically called an “extrinsic outliner”) that allows you to organise your writing into a tree structure. It’s perfect for taking notes, planning projects and keeping stock of things. Organising my whole life into an elongated filing system is soothing. It gives me a sense of perspective. When everything is laid out it looks so simple. That’s probably because life is simple. It’s just the effort of engaging that is hard.

This program helps me with that. If everything, problems and all, is laid out clearly then it doesn’t seem so overwhelming. The effort recquired to take on a small compartment of a job/life is much less than the amount recquired to take on everything. The ability to compartmentalise is a useful one. It is a potent antidote to fear and existential angst. As my father often writes, J.F.D.I.

Plus, it exports all these musings into RTF format. This means I can, at any time, publish a representative book of my whole life. Maybe it’s the exhibitionist in me, maybe it’s the book fetishist, but that is a very cool functionality.

A screen image of me using The Guide.

Aujourd’hui, et pour la première fois, une interview sur PNYKLB ! Merci César d’avoir posé les questions, merci Corpus de Textes d’y avoir répondu !

1 : Comment vous est venu l’idée de nom du groupe ?

CDT: Cette idée nous est venue assez naturellement, le but était de trouver un nom insolite, à la fois très second degré mais qui marque tout de même les esprits. Ce nom implique une idée de diversité, car nous apportons chacun une touche et un style au groupe.

2 : On dit que chacun a une place bien spécifique dans le groupe, mais alors qui fait quoi ?

GFLM : On dit souvent ça mais ce n’est pas toujours aussi simple. Les membres du groupe restent complémentaires et l’on est persuadé que chacun est important et indispensable.

3 : Pour les productions qu’elle est votre manière de travailler, comment sont prises les décisions. Etre trois entraine beaucoup de concessions ?

JC : Nos morceaux sont de véritables puzzles, chacun fait des petits accords ou bien même parfois entièrement un morceau dans son coin puis nous mettons tout en commun afin de parvenir au son finale (il doit y en avoir dans les 200 en réserve, imaginez le “bazardahum”)

GFLM : L’assemblage des pistes est possible grâce à la présence des trois membres du groupe. Ce qui permet d’apporter des projets très finalisés et cohérents.
Pour l’EP Messe Câline, par exemple l’idée était de retracer la déchéance d’un toxicomane, comme l’illustre très bien la pochette.

MB : L’une des difficultés qui réside au sein de notre groupe est le temps consacré à la composition et au live car nous faisons des études et cela entraîne des choix.
Pour ma part ce qui fait la force de notre trio, c’est de savoir que l’on est avant tout la pour s’amuser, on ne se prend pas la tête.

4 : On vous sait un son riche en distorsion, c’est une identité sonore qui est souhaitée ou bien vous aimeriez faire d’autre chose ?

CDT: Je pense que l’on est bien encré dans ce style maintenant, vous n’entendrez pas Corpus faire de la Dub ou de la House filtrée. Aujourd’hui il faut que l’on continue à travailler pour nous améliorer dans ce que l’on sait faire. Si des gens viennent nous voir c’est pour se déchirer la gueule et sauter partout pas pour rester assis et boire du champagne.

5 : Si j’ai envie d’un mal de te tête à coup de corpus de textes vous me conseilleriez laquelle ?

CDT: Les plus violentes restent Golden Grahams et Philosophie. Mais préparez vous car on revient avec du très lourd.

6 : La chanson que vous adorez jouer dans vos sets en ce moment ?

GFLM: La nouvelle de Jacque & Daniel, « Defected », sortie prévu en septembre
JC: Data – Nightmare
MB: Un petit Classique qui nous accompagne partout: Para one – Dun Dun Dun (Boys Noize Remix)

7 : Une chanson que vous aimeriez remixer ou sampler ?

On travaille actuellement sur un remix de Technologic de Daft Punk et un Ré édit d’Idéalistic des Digitalism. Les sons sont presque terminés et vont en surprendre plus d’un.

8 : Corpus de textes, vous vous voyez où dans 3 ans ?

CDT: Démissionner de notre vie et nous consacrer à l’élevage de poulets hermaphrodites dans le New Jersey.

9 : Quels sont le ou les Dj’s avec qui vous aimeriez travailler ?

On a toujours rêvé d’entrer en studio avec les Digitalism justement.

10 : Avec l’essor de la Booty Bass vous n’avez pas l’impression que le type de son que vous jouer commence à s’essouffler ?

CDT : Si, on le ressent, mais il reste toujours les fidèles et justement c’est pour eux que l’on continue.

11. Tout le monde parle de cette nouvelle mouvance la Fidjet House et vous ?

CDT : Les morceaux comme Crookers & Don Rimini par exemple sont très intéressantes, mais pour nous rien ne sert de rentrer dans une nouvelle tendance musicale tous les 6mois, nous n’avons encore ni la maturité ni la notoriété suffisante pour cela.

12. Que puis-je vous souhaiter pour l’année à venir ?

CDT: Nous souhaitons faire bouger les têtes tout simplement !
Et ne pas décevoir un public souvent influencé par certain qui jugent souvent sans connaitre.

Voila, après les paroles, place à la musique !

Corpus de Textes – Philosophie

Corpus de Textes – The Hot Dog Cie

Mr Oizo – Positif (Corpus de Textes Remix)

Irish Steph – The Guide (Corpus de Textes Remix)

Poneyklub flash info service : le prochain remix des Corpus de Textes, sera celui de “Sucer Danser” de Mr Oizo ! N’oubliez pas d’aller sur leur myspace, leurs EP’s sont en téléchargement libre !

BONUS :

Mr Oizo – Sucer Danser

Myspace Corpus de Textes

Hi!! Omega 985421 (thecpguider) here!! Have you seen Club Penguin lately?? If not check it out!!  It is as if it is a sunset! Even the home page is updated!!

Well either it has to do with fire, or it is just a sunset. I believe it is a fire for the ninjas like the puffles everywhere and the sensei search. Take a look around at everything too!! It is awesome!

Also check out the dojo!! There is some strange construction going on in the ninja hideout!! Here are some pics:

And here is the guide for the scavenger hunt. This one is a little more challenging than the other ones because it doesn’t give a written clue, only a blackened picture. Well here you go!!

1. In the Ski Lodge, click on the fire.

2. In the Book Room, click on the candle.

3. In the Pet Shop, click on the black puffle.

4. In the Mine Shack, click on the lantern.

5. In the Pizza Parlor, click on the hot sauce bottle.

6. At the Cove, click on the bottom stick in the fire.

7. On the Beacon, click on the jet pack.

8. At the Dojo Courtyard, click on the left lantern.

Then you can click “claim prize” and get the new Flame pin !!

Well hope you found this interesting!! Waddle on

~Omega 985421 (thecpguider)          <—————————————————THE ONE AND ONLY

All this Joe Wilson news has sent my nostalgia gears into overdrive! I’ve been wrested out of my always frantic, rainy, gray Brooklyn bubble to remember those long, hot summer and fall days in Beaufort County, South Carolina, where I spent four years working for The Island Packet, sharing an occassional boat ride with our formerly innocuous congressman or dodging the all-too-common bison stampede or raging alligator attack.

I just booked my first flight down to Hilton Head since leaving for the wedding of some good friends from the paper, who also informed me this week that they, along with just about everyone else I knew at the paper, is quitting and going elsewhere, partly due to the terribly depressing situation that is this specific iteration of the industry’s death throes.

So for Friday happy this week (yes, I know it’s way past Friday), I’ve complied an all-star list of Second Congressional District related items, as an homage to the friends, talented writers and unique personalities I encountered down there, and because it’s the only time that district has made national news for a political, non-missing persons-related story in many years.

First, Joe Wilson (real name Addison)! The memories we had together! The days spent on the phone, the thumbs ups he gave to constituents at public meetings, where — make no mistake — the people loved him. His reelection is not in doubt, and, in all likelihood, is even more assured after his outburst (just mire through the comments on this AP story the Packet ran if you need proof)

So here are two of our favorite Joe Wilson pictures of all time. Credit goes to Jay Karr/Island Packet.

shake?

constituent services

Joe Wilson! Who knew we’d be hearing from you outraged side all these years later? During our time together, Joe was a consummate incumbent campaigner — shaking hands, dispatching thumbs ups like periods on his sentences to nail in his points, nodding freely when listening to angry sentiments from voters, calling people by their first names, always returning reporters’ phone calls, stopping once to give out his card and shake the hand of the gate guard at Palmetto Bluff, informing the man to call his office should he ever need assistance. For a low-key conservative place like the coast of Carolina trying to vent its frustrations about a perceived influx of illegal immigrants, he was a hero, a guy who during his time in the statehouse championed a bill to make English the official language of SC.

And then there’s my favorite Joe Wilson story from my Packet tenure:

Wilson invites DeLay as guest

By Tim Donnelly
The Island Packet
Aug. 17, 2005

U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson is holding a campaign fundraiser Friday on Hilton Head Island that features House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, the embattled Texas Republican who has been investigated and criticized for several charges of ethics violations.

But despite the negative publicity that has surrounded DeLay for the past year, Wilson said Tuesday that he thought DeLay’s presence at his event, a golf tournament, will be a lightning rod for support, not criticism.

“The name recognition of Tom DeLay has increased over the last year,” Wilson said Tuesday, speaking in a phone interview from the route of his bus tour of the congressional district. “It would be my view that among Republicans, the name recognition has really increased in (a) positive way. Among other people, there’s been an increase, but it hasn’t been positive. Overall, people have been very appreciative of his effectiveness.”

DeLay has taken heat for trips that may have been paid for by lobbyists or outside groups, for using campaign funds to pay family members and specifically for his ties to Jack Abramoff, a lobbyist recently indicted on charges of fraud. DeLay has denied any wrongdoing.

For Wilson, a congressman who has served the Lowcountry area, including Beaufort County, since 2001, this will be his third golf fundraiser on the island and the second featuring DeLay. The first year’s guest was Rep. Ernie Istook, R-Oklahoma.

Wilson said DeLay asked to be invited back to this year’s event. There was no discussion about replacing him with another guest due to the controversy.

Read the rest.

Next! From The Guide, the Island Packet/Beaufort Gazette’s tragically overwritten, underappreciated, much-maligned, fatted-with-Simpsons-references, Ted-Leo-biased entertainment publication (voted best in the state — eat it, Aiken Standard), only somehow still  in operation due to chief Jeff Vrabel’s ability to glamour the paper’s executive editor into thinking the weekly tab is nothing but a list of choral society performances and columns talking about how much we love tourists.

Beatles day got the Page 3 funny business treatment, with one of the best headline puns of all time:

“Beatles: Rock Band” – Bigger Than Mario, or, All You Need Is $249.99

Hi fellow penguins!! Omega 985421 (thecpguider) here with an important update!!!

Ninja Puffles? Yes, Ninja Puffles. Are they real, no one knows yet. I went to the Ninja Hideout and found two black puffles: one was normal and one on fire! All you need to do is wear your ninja mask (if you are one) and go next to one. If not, nothing will happen. Here are two pics:

So that is it. I will send Club Penguin an email asking about it, until then, waddle on!

~Omega 985421 (thecpguider)          <—————————————————THE ONE AND ONLY

I know it isn’t a big thing but I think it is cool. Here is a pic:

Actually I got an idea on how it is done. This was in the morning around 6:00 PST so they are posted in the morning. When I submitted the comment, there were only 10. I am like the 25th comment so that means tons of people submit and if you are lucky and you write something nice and creative it can be chosen, other than that, not a chance (not to be mean). Well that is all.

~Omega 985421 (thecpguider)          <—————————————————THE ONE AND ONLY

Hi fellow penguins!! Omega 985421 (thecpguider) here! Here is all the new stuff that came out Friday, and boy is there a lot!

First off, the new pin. So I was wrong about what I said Thursday about it, but oh well. It is in the pizza parlor.

Now for the new play! No new items but some old ones brought back, like the grass skirt which is hidden.

Here are some pics…

The main entrance,

The play itself! Yay!

The Catalog,

And hear is the cheat for the grass skirt. Click the “G” in  “Forgot”

And there you go!!

Now for the fair items. The stripey hat, curly mustache (For members), and the popcorn machine are the new items. Now I can’t stop seeing Mario and Luigi lol!

Well that is all the fall fair stuff, now for the Postcards!!

There are several new postcards and you can take a look yourself if you like!

You can see the new ones and there is more when you scroll through!!

Now time for the new book (finally),

there were four winners:

Chewydr,

Pamelin40,

Myndynha, and

4884lune.

Here are some pics:

Well hope what you read in this post was helpful!! Please bookmarks or visit frequently if you like!! (I update often)

~Omega 985421 (thecpguider)          <—————————————————THE ONE AND ONLY

Hey penguins!! Omega 985421! The new newspaper came out today and is filled with info! Issue number 204 of the  newspaper has many intresting things in it!

As you can see The Penguins that Forgot Time is back and coming out tomorrow,

They are bringing back many items with it too!

And 101 Days of Fun is coming to an end.

But on day 100, the day the new pin comes out,  AND they gave a hint!! It say it is in the same place as where the first activity took place. That activity was to gather up in a group of 25 wearing all ice cream aprons and go on an epic search for the pin.

And other events coming out are new postcards, new igloo music, new igloo catalog, and new igloo upgrade catalog!

So that is all. Have a good day!

~Omega 985421 (thecpguider)

The new “Whats New” came out today and says that the fall fair prize booth will have new items at the end of the week!!! They added a picture of one of those prizes. It is going to be the purple striped hat. Here is that pic:

Also on the long in screen they gave a give away of it if you didn’t notice:

Well that is Whats New

LINK TO WHATS NEW —–>  http://community.clubpenguin.com/blog/

~Omega 985421

The Fall Fair is finally here. It has many fun games to play and prizes!! I got all prizes because I was lucky! As soon as it came out at 9:00 pst, I was there. There were several glitches like no tickets displayed in the corner, so everything was free!! It was great. Here are some pics:

The slide, always here!!

The lighthouse, unique an usual,

Rockhoppers ship…

Rockhoppers items! Brought back the winged viking helmet! Came out about two years agoand now back!!

Now for the glitch.

Step 1. Go to any game that you desire. I recommend that you choose one that is easy to earn tickets like Puffle Paddle or Feed-A-Puffle.

Step 2. Play until you have at least 100 tickets. I went to 200 for more tickets, even though I don’t need them!

Step 3: After you get the window that tells you your details, press tab (on the left of your keyboard) until you see a yellow rectangle over the X or done.

Step 4: After it is highlighted, press enter as fast as you can and sometimes it doesn’t work. But if it does, you will get easy tickets.

Well that is it.

Waddle on!!

~Omega 985421

Rabbi Levi teaches that students of Torah impose their will on the upper (Angels) and lower beings when they are living in purity 34 taking part in the creation, as Rabbi Yehoshua of Saknin teaches that the supreme King of Kings, the Holy One, blessed is He, sat and took counsel with the righteous before creating the world.³⁵ Even in the beginning the righteous were taking an active part in the forming of the creation.

Rabbi Yudan said in the name of Rabbi Meir that the Holy One says to Israel, “Follow My oath and I shall make you like the Heavenly Hosts” 36 This all helps us to understand how Rabbi Yehuda states in the Zohar that the B’nei Elokim (Sons of God; see Genesis 6:2) are the Great Beth Din (Supernal Court).37

Not only in this world does one find a place in the unfolding of Heaven from the Torah; all the more so in the World to Come. We learn from Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish that in the World to Come a porter will not dwell with a Torah scholar. Only like craftsmen dwell together and there are infinite levels of each type of craftsman. 38 As the sages teach in tractate Avot d’Rabbi Nathan, if two men dye a fabric in the same vat, the one who is greater in righteousness gets a deeper color. He even enjoys his food more. 39 This is because, as our sages explain, the Holy Blessed One does not deprive any creature of its reward. Whoever labors with self-sacrifice will get his reward.^4o The more one gives to God, sacri­ficing himself beyond his own nature, the more God will have nature itself favor him-even above the laws of nature, if needed. All is in His control to do as He sees fit. We know, as is taught in tractate Kallah Rabbati, that the Torah that is acquired through forty-eight distinctions crowns its owner with health to the flesh and bones, peace to the heart, life with honor, protection, and the World to Come,41 but the actual benefits with which the Creator rewards His creatures are too diversified to number because of His infinite nature.

In the Midrash, Rabbi Meir teaches us that God gave the Torah to the Elders of Israel, just as the Sanhedrin sits before Him on high. The sages teach also in the Midrash that all who direct their courses forthrightly in His Presence shall be among the men in His council 42 The Torah is the Law of God by which He rules over Heaven and earth. Like the Beth Din below, the one above is ruled from God’s Torah. The holders of the Torah, the ones who hold the Tree of Life, are, as Rabbi Meir says, the Sanhedrin above.⁴³ The spiritual forces become subjugated by such a man, as the sages state:

When a man performs one precept the Holy One, blessed is He, gives him an angel to his charge: if he performs many precepts, He gives him half his camp.44

Rabbi Chaninah ben Avohu teaches, concerning man’s angels, that God provides each man one thousand angels to his left and ten thousand to his right. He must sustain them, but they do not request that he feed them.⁴⁵ If one brings divinity into the Earth through Torah and mitzvot, then the angels are nourished, and then, the sages say, the Torah guards those who possess it.

This is very deep stuff some explanation of this text will follow, there is a lot to say..

1. Ibid. Song of Songs 1 :2.

2. Midrash Rabba Bereshith 8:7.

3. Ibid. Song of Songs 2:7.

4. Zohar Pinchat.

5. Bechorot 31 b.

6. Avot D’Rabbi Nathan 32a.

7. Midrash Rabba Bamidbar 12:9.

1. Kallah Rabbati 54b.

2. Midrash Rabba Shemot 30: 18.

3. Ibid. Bamidbar 11: 1.

4. Ibid. Shemot 32:6.

5. Ibid. Bamidbar 12:3.

The author of this blog is pleased to announce that he is offering to the Public in the near future a number of “unique” books He has written with the help of God.

I will now offer you :

” The Owner’s Manual to the Soul” Part 1

The Gate

The text above is part of this book, it contains many secret teachings

This book is over 230 pages, and quotes many many sources

It is entirely in English. This Book is an introduction to the deepest

of spiritual Paths and by reading one will add to their Spiritual awareness

no matter what path they are on. Its Chapters include :

The Supernal Chariot of Peace , Daily Getting Wings, from Deep Inside

Elixir of Life-Making a Dwelling Place, Divine Treasure, at Midnight , Shabbat, The Eye of Holiness Bounteously Streaming Glory, Visitations-Divine Judgment to Sweetness, When Angels Come , To the Happy House, Other Dimensions , Purification of the Permitted Increasing Capacity,Mercy in Doing, Holy Women, Time Portals of Holiness , Love, The Meditation of Prayer -Seventy Forms a Circle, Ecstasy, Arousing the Love

And there is a lot more !

You can read some of the Book at this Link :

http://godssecret.wordpress.com/2008/07/24/169/

Suggested Donation for this book is $15.00

Donate by the Pay Pal Button on this page and send me a Email at

Alllight32@yahoo.com

including your Email address and I shall send you the book  as a PDF file.

It is a “eye Opener”

The Uganda Sharing and Learning Network (SLN) on “How to reach out to Marginalised Youth” was the first out of four sessions (to be held by the end of November 2009) by the DFID – CSO Youth Guidance Project Team. SLN 1 was held on the 30^th July 2009 at the World Bank offices in Kampala, during which we had a number of representatives from different organisations (both Institutional donors and CSOs) who reflected upon and shared their expertise and experience on the topic at hand.

During this session we began the process of unpacking how marginalised youth are defined in Uganda, as well as listing challenges encountered whilst working with marginalised youth, and how they can be solved or  proposed solutions. After a key note presentation aimed at getting the participants reflective powers engaged, we then broke up into three smaller groups to discuss 3 key areas:

1)      How to define marginalised youth in the Ugandan context

2)      An overview of organisations work which reaches out to marginalised youth groups

3)      A discussion of challenges and solutions to improve outreach to marginalised youth sub groups

Each group presented back on one of the topics above, which was then wrapped up with key learning’s, such as the importance of involving young marginalised people in the design of programmes and interventions aimed at them. My personal learning’s from the session were:

• That outreach to marginalised youth groups can be improved, particularly in relation to groups of young people in the North of Uganda in the Karamoja region who are unemployed or out of school.
• It also became clear to me that amongst this new working group or ‘community of practice’ that  there are solutions amongst us all towards the challenges we face working with youth: one clear solution is to make sure that we engage with local communities when working with youth. Youth should not be treated as an isolated target group, otherwise we may continue to reinforce stigma for the groups we are trying to support!

Finally, by bringing different organisations together who have expertise in working with youth I was inspired. It gave me increased confidence in taking forward and leading the remaining sessions.

Sammy Kavuma

Uganda Youth Participation Officer

For the workshop report, please click here and for the Uganda Youth Participation database please click here

Sorry for the spacing but it would not go away

It cannot be expressed enough how transient our stay in this world is,

People live their days in this world like they are going to be here forever, but this is just not the case their body will eventually be left to rot in the ground. You “soul” is the “real” you so you better learn to live with it . As you body wont take you to far.

We can view a bit of this knowledge from the teaching of our sages in tractate Horayot-that a scholar takes precedence over a king of Israel. If a scholar dies, there is no one to replace him, but any in Israel can be king.²⁵ We can see that the highest position in this physical world, that of being king, is of no value. The only thing that should be of concern is a concern of the soul.

It is the “Divine knowledge” of the wise man that lives forever, this directs his upright kind behavior. A Holy wise man who can call forth mercy from heaven is more valuable to the world then a king who is not a wise man, See how Moses so many times saved thousands of lives in the Bible by evoking Mercy. Many times the God makes a decree as he wants prayer from those who are below. Again if you dont ask you may not get.

Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yochanan both teach that the Torah was given in forty days and the soul is formed in forty days, so that whoever keeps the Torah, his soul is kept; whoever does not, his soul is not kept, as is taught in tractate Menachot. 26

The soul is formed in the first 40 days a fetus is in the womb, before this it has no permanence in the body. So to to receive Torah (Divine Awareness) takes a considerable amount of effort and time. People can lose their soul in the next world if they pay no attention to its needs in this world.

This physical-spiritual interdependence is further clari­fied in the teaching of Elijah the Prophet, from whom we learn that if a man reads the Five Books of Moses, the Prophets, the Writings, Halachah (Law), Midrash (mystical writings,secrets of the Torah), and attends to the busi­ness of the yeshivah (house of Spiritual study), showing less concern for the business of the marketplace, the Holy One will say this world and the World to Come will be Mine and yours together, the Temple will be Mine and yours together.²⁷ These things the Holy One wishes to share with us, as Rabbi Yitzchak teaches in tractate Menachot that men lure each other from the way of life to the way of death, but the Holy Blessed One lures one from death to life, out of the narrow mouth of Gehenom (hell), its mouth being so narrow to keep the smoke in though it is deep and large.²⁸

again we can not stress how insignificant our stay in this world is, if you don’t recognize the work of your soul while you are here. Not only do you have to learn to connect to the source of your soul above to drawn down divine energy for the betterment of the world ,but also for you own personal growth. To reveal your higher soul powers you know not of. But here we are informed that mouth of Hell, its mouth being so narrow to keep the smoke in though it is deep and large. This is telling us that the way to hell is not always obvious. One must be careful where they walk, their path could God forbid take them down. Know Hell is like a washing machine, every one goes there for no more than 11 months. Then a choice is made whether the soul requires physical incarnation again or will they stay in the upper worlds. Hell is said to be large as there are many damages one can do to themselves. Do not turn your life into a living hell !

The deliverance from Gehenom (Hell) is not the only reward of the Torah, as it says: “Tables of Fatness.” When a man has right conduct and study of the Five Books to his credit, he is given one angel. If he has the Five Books, Prophets, and Writings to his credit, he is given two angels to guard him. When one has all these and also  Mishnah, Midrash, Halachah, and Aggadah, and puts him­self under the guidance of the sages, the Holy One Himself keeps watch over him, as is taught by Elijah the Prophet.29

These spiritual forces we inherit influence our lives and will give you insight, but this requires great refinement.

All these supernal gifts and much more than can be de­scribed are the good for the righteous, but even on the physical level, Rabbi Shimon ben Akashiya tells us in tractate Kinnim the intellect of uninstructed people becomes dis­tracted as they age, while this is not so with scholars of Torah: the older they get, the more their minds become composed. With aged men there is wisdom and understanding in length of days.30

This is so as they connect to the source of their soul’s supernal intellect. Much like how Samson in the Bible had supernal strength.

In the Book of Lamentations, the Prophet states, ”Arise, cry out in the night at the beginning of the watches; God will see Thee” (Lam. 2: 19-20). Concerning this, Rabbi Chayah teaches us in

tractate Tamid that for one who learns Torah at night, the Shechinah faces him. The disciples of the wise increase peace in the world,31 and this increase of peace is not only from His inward peace, which is a treasure in and of itself, but, as Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel explains in trac­tate Avot-d’Rabbi Nathan,whoever makes peace in his house, the Torah ascribes to him as though he has made peace for every individual. Each person is a king in

his own home.³²Concerning the Crown of Torah, Rabbi Abba ben Surangeya teaches that from much Torah study, God will remove your evil passions and you will hear good tidings, you will become a Angel.³³

In the next world.

Sanhedrin 90b 92a, 2a,Avodah Zarah 3b,Horayot 13a.,Menachot 99b,Tanna d’Bei Eliyahu Zuta, ch. 14,Menachot 99b,Tanna d’Bei Eliyahu Rabbah. ch. 18,Kinnim 25a,Tamid 32b.,Avot d’Rabbi Nathan 28a,Midrash Rabba Bamidbar 14:4.

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