10. Stephen Carpenter (Deftones) - Deftones are another of my favorite bands from high school. Carpenter has some pretty badass riffs. [favorite work - My Own Summer]

9.  Mikko "Linde" Lindström (HIM) - He's an underrated guitarist in this Finnish band. All the attention goes to Ville, but this dude can play. [favorite work - Wings of a Butterfly]

8. John Fruchiante (Red Hot Chili Peppers, solo) - Everyone's favorite former junkie guitarist. Now that he's done with heroin, he's back with the 'peppers. You know you're good, if you skip classes at the Guitar Institute in Hollywood and the reps still drop your name as an alumni. [favorite work - Blood Sugar Sex Magik]

7.  Adam Jones (Tool) - The main artistic-creative force in Tool. Maynord seems like the wacko, but Jones is the one that thought up the imagery. Oh yeah, his guitar playing rules. [favorite work - Parabola]

6. Wes Borland (Limp Bizkit, Black Light Burns) - Hate Fred Durst all you want. Wes Borland kicks ass. Limp Bizkit's sound seriously lacked when he wasn't on their "Results May Vary". But when he came back for one more album "The Unquestionable Truth", he played some awesome guitar parts. His new band "Black Light Burns" isn't too bad either. [favorite work - the Truth]

5. Greg Tribbett (Mudvayne, Hellyeah) - I'm not counting the stuff he's done in Hellyeah, because that's just "fun rock" with simple riffs. All the guys in Mudvayne are great musicians, and Greg is no slacker in that department either. [favorite work - Happy?]

4. Dan Donegan (Distrubed) - He uses one of the coolest guitar tones in today's metal. His guitar playing is brutal to go with it. And from what I've heard of the new album, Disturbed is only getting better. [favorite work - Inside the Fire]

3. Mike Einziger (Incubus) - Incubus may have gotten softer as they've matured, but Mike's guitar playing is still amazing. If I was grading just on hair, he'd probably raise a couple spots. [favorite work - Certain Shade of Green]

2. Mark Tremonti (Creed, Alter Bridge) - Hell yes I rated Tremoni this high, he's an amazing guitar player. There's videos of him shredding on YouTube and they are awesome. His work in both bands is great. Check out his solo in Alter Bridge's - Open Your Eyes. [favorite work - Stand Here With Me]

1. Tom Morello (Audioslave, Rage Against the Machine, Nightwatchman) - The master of guitar effects. I remember I used to think Rage had a DJ in the band because of some of the effects he'd do. He's not terrible on his own, doing the singing, as Nightwatchman. Audioslave is probably the best "supergroup" of recent music. [favorite work - Gasoline]

To start let me make mention of two stars that had babies that did NOT make it into the top 10 even though they are bigger stars than many of these folks below are which is really shocking to me.

12. Sean Preston born to Britney Spears and Kevin Federline is a true shocker that they only got $500K for the babies photos, but once you see the other paychecks in the top 10, you'll be very surprised. Photo.

11. Kingston born to Gavin Rossdale and Gwen Stefani brought in a paltry $575K. Photo.

And now for the top 10.

10.
Baby's Name: Maddie Briann Aldridge
Born: June 19, 2008 in Mississippi
Parents: Jamie Lynn Spears and Casey Aldridge
Amount: $1 million from OK! Magazine
Details: Little sister to pop wreck Britney Spears, Jamie Lynn Spears is a star in her own right since she is Zoey in the Disney hit Zoey 101. Surprisingly Disney has stood by their little star amidst all the drama in the Spears lineage and her outbursts to gawkers in airports. They even altered the storylines to the last episodes and sent her off to another country while she had her child. Regardless, Jamie and Casey sold out to OK! Magazine for a reported $1 million dollars (cue the pinky to the corner of your mouth). But it's still twice as much as her older sister made for her baby.

9.
Baby's Name: Harlow Winter Kate Madden
Parents: Nicole Richie and Joel Madden
Amount: $1 million from People Magazine
Details: Nicole traded in her "do me" pumps and short skirts to grow up and have a baby with her boyfriend Joel Madden (from Good Charlotte). With her only claim to fame being a party girl, Paris Hilton sidekick and daughter of Top 40 daddy Lionel, she decided that the timing was right to procreate. Lionel paid cash to give the couple a home to call their own as a gift for the baby and People magazine gave them $1 million to take a photo of their offspring. Those 2 baby gifts alone are a pretty good jump start to a baby's life. Well, anyone's life actually.

8.
Baby's Name: Honor Marie Warren
Parents: Jessica Alba & Cash Warren
Amount: $1.5 million from OK! Magazine
Details: Jessica Alba had been toiling over the thought of selling her baby photos, but according to TMZ eventually gave in to OK! magazines $1.5 million dollar offer made to her and husband Cash Warren. Honor's photos will be her first available anywhere and also includes one other event which could be a birthday, Christmas or any other holiday that the couple chooses in the child's first year.

7.
Baby's Name: Max Liron Bratman
Parents: Christina Aguilera & Jordan Bratman
Amount: $1.5 million from People Magazine
Details: Christina did her best to keep her pregnancy a secret like Jennifer Lopez did, but was outed by Paris Hilton at a Los Angeles party where she announced it from the stage. Christina immediately hid her face in embarrassment because that was not the plan. But when has Paris ever stuck to a plan? So the pop star and her beautiful newborn baby appeared on the cover in February of 2008 issue along with a deeper view into the pop princess's life.

6.
Baby's Name: Dannielynn Smith
Parents: Anna Nicole Smith & Larry Birkhead
Amount: $2 million from OK! Magazine
Details: Many are still mourning the passing of Anna Nicole Smith, but she left behind one heck of a mess and a custody battle that would be the headline story on both TV and print for months and months to come. When the dust finally settled, Larry Birkhead via a paternity test was finally proven as the father. So he did what any good father would do and cashed in on a $2 million dollar offer from OK! magazine for photos of him and his daughter. Considering that $2 million is chickenfeed for OK!. Compared to the quantity of magazines they sold as a result, they were more than happy to pay for Dannielynn's college.

5.
Baby's Name: Pax Thien (post-adoption)
Parents: Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt
Amount: $2 million from People Magazine
Details: Consider that this won't be the first time you see their name on the list as you read on, but this was the first time they came to the realization that their offspring, even adopted, could bring massive amounts of cash. All of which (here and moving forward) that they would donate to African children's charities. Pax was adopted by couple Brad and Angie from Vietnam in 2007. They also sold rights to publish the photos to the British magazine Hello! which is the only reason why they took the #5 slot from Dannielynne.

4.
Baby's Name: Levi Alves McConaughey
Parents: Matthew McConaughey and Camila Alves
Amount: $3 million from OK! Magazine
Details: Matthew McConaughey may look a little lite headed, but he saw the dollar signs right out of the gate and hired Todd Shemarya to broker the deal. Todd's previous work had included Brad and Angie's $4 million dollar deal. The baby's photo will be released for all to see very soon, but since the baby was just born on July 7th, the happy parents are probably holding back for a little bit. But considering the parents genes, there isn't any possibility of an ugly baby. This offer also includes OK!'s option to take a photo of a future special occasion such as a birthday or other holiday event.

3.
Baby's Name: Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt
Parents: Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt
Amount: $4.1 million from People Magazine
Details: This was the first baby photos for Brad and Angie showcasing their first official offspring that was biologically theirs. Shiloh was their very first as a couple and many in the industry were surprised that the pockets weren't a little deeper, but just like in the past (and future), all of the proceeds went to charity. Realistically they should be in slot #2 because they also received $3.5 million from the British tabloid called Hello!

2.
Baby's Names: Max & Emme Anthony
Parents: Jennifer Lopez & Marc Antony
Amount: $6 million from People Magazine
Details: I don't think it's any surprise that we should expect an album from the offspring to be on the Top 40 charts somewhere between 15-20 years from now. And a dozen labels waving money in their faces as they step off the karaoke stage. Inheriting pipes from both mommy and daddy, there should be a lot of singing in these kids future. The twins from Jennifer Lopez and Marc Antony held the number one most expensive celebrity baby photo slot until Brad and Angie's stepped onto the scene...

1.
Baby's Names: Knox Leon & Vivienne Marcheline
Parents: Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt
Amount: $11 million from OK! Magazine
Details: Even though the AP reports that this number is $11 million, some reports have it somewhere between $15-20. Admirably enough, the money will go to a charity in Africa and not into their pockets like they have done in the past. Like they need money. But instead of adding more zeros to their bank account, they decided to use it to help those less fortunate. The issue displaying the baby photos (as of this writing) hasn't been released yet, but we're definitely interested to see what an $11 million dollar photo shoot looks like. Just make sure you have a nice baby memory book from Corner Stork Baby Gifts to place these photos into.

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Laut Sony soll ab dem 27. August die Playstation 3 -80GB in Europa vermarktet werden. Sony gab dies auf der E3 in Los Angeles bekannt.

Die neue Playstation löst die 40GB Variante ab und kostet nicht mehr.

Ab dem ersten August soll zudem die Platinum-Series starten. In dieser werden ältere erfolgreiche Spiele für 30 Euro angeboten.

Darunter fallen derzeit:

• Fall of Man
• MotorStorm
• Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
• Virtua Tennis 3
• Assassin's Creed

Upon the strength of this straighforward confession believers were baptized and welcomed into the Christian community.  With this phrase they were making a statement about Jesus' identity.  Lord(Kurios in Greek) was the word which the scholars used for God's divine name(Yahweh) when they translated the Old Testament into Greek.

They knew LORD was a divine title, and they constantly employed it with reference to Jesus.  He was not the latest addition to the pantheon of Roman deities; He was unique in His birth, death and resurrection - and one day every knee would bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord!

Giving in to the pluralistic thinking that grants validity to every religion is false.  We are, if you like, stuck with the great New Testament affirmations of the uniqueness of Jesus.(Acts 4:12-Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.)

There is a myth gaining ground in our day - namely that the world religions(Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Christianity, etc) agree on the main things while disagreeing on only peripheral matters.  In fact the differences between them are profound.  The English poet Steve Turner makes this point well in his poem CREED:

"We believe that all religions are basically the same, at least the one that we read was, They all believe in love and goodness, They only differ on matters of creation, sin, heaven, hell, God and salvation"

An Atheist's Creed

I believe in time,
matter, and energy,
which make up the whole of the world.

I believe in reason, evidence and the human mind,
the only tools we have;
they are the product of natural forces
in a majestic but impersonal universe,
grander and richer than we can imagine,
a source of endless opportunities for discovery.

I believe in the power of doubt;
I do not seek out reassurances,
but embrace the question,
and strive to challenge my own beliefs.

I accept human mortality.

We have but one life,
brief and full of struggle,
leavened with love and community,
learning and exploration,
beauty and the creation of
new life, new art, and new ideas.

I rejoice in this life that I have,
and in the grandeur of a world that preceded me,
and an earth that will abide without me.

Next week I will be literally living under the blue sky as I play dean for a group of local junior high students at our local church camp, Blue Rock Christian Camp. That said, I will be on break from LUBS until at least the following Monday. I hope you will keep reading and replying, but I will not be responding. I will be able to continue approving comments via my awesome Blackberry Pearl, but I will not be doing any new posts. Last week was a good week for LUBS and I truly appreciate all who stopped by for a visit and to all who posted replies--even those I disagreed with. In the meantime, I'll leave you with this youtube video from the late great Rich Mullins. (Please research all links provided before investing in them.)

Have a great week, and I'll see you or talk to you when I get back!

10: Guitar Hero: Ramones - Great band, bad game. Sure there'd be a couple cool songs...but you'd be done with the game in 30 mins, Their songs last like a minute.

9: Guitar Hero: Iron Butterfly - The only thing people would play this for would be the "endurance run" aka In-a-gadda-da-vida. As apposed to GH: Ramones, this game would last days...just playing the one song.

8: Guitar Hero: Guns-n-Roses - As you play through the levels, the game actually fires guitarists and you can't use them ever again. While you do get a bunch of cool songs to start out with, it takes over 20 years to unlock the last bracket.

7: Guitar Hero: Creed - This game would be filled with great guitar parts to play, but we'd need a "mute vocals" mode.

6: Guitar Hero: Hawethorne Heights - 6 words - The suicide rate will increase dramatically.

5: Guitar Hero: Good Charlotte - Expert mode still only uses 3 buttons.

4: Guitar Hero: Kid Rock - The songs actually get crappier as you go through the brackets...and the guitar controller gets greasier and picks fights with papparazzi.

3: Guitar Hero: Kiss - The songs never get that complicated, you'll play a ton of songs and you'll have to go through that "remove make-up" bracket before you go through the endless "farewell tour" tiers. Oh, and Lars Ümlaüt doesn't look very good without make up either.

2: Guitar Hero: Limp Bizkit - Same story as "GH: Creed" but you lose the cool guitar parts in the 2nd to last bracket ...luckily they did create that "ducktape vocalist to bus" cheat. You do get cool costumes to put your guitar player into though.

1: Guitar Hero: Dragonforce - As if our generation's carpal tunnel isn't going to be bad enough. This is the last thing we need for our wrists and fingers. All the songs will basically sound the same, guitar solos like crazy and "woah-oh-ohoh" vocals. 18 total people will actually be able to play the game, and all of them will post their videos on YouTube and hate me for writing this :) ...the rest of us will just bash the buttons and hope for power-ups.

Tracks:
1 Torn
2 My Own Prison
3 What's This Life For
4 One
5 Are You Ready?
6 Higher
7 With Arms Wide Open
8 What If
9 One Last Breath
10 Don't Stop Dancing
11 Bullets
12 My Sacrifice
13 Weathered

http://rapidshare.com/files/128102162/Creed-Greatest_Hits.rar

.

When I thumbed through the morning newspaper the other day and came across a report alleging that the Dept. of Justice is entertaining the idea of "racial profiling", I thought I plucked up the "ONION" Newspaper by mistake.

The report noted that the government is tinkering with new guidelines to allow the FBI to investigate Americans without any "evidence" of wrongdoing - allowing the agents instead - to rely solely on a "profile" that would put the spotlight on Muslims, Arabs and other racial and ethic groups.

Currently, agents of Law Enforcement require a specific reason - or proof that a law has been broken - in order to investigate U.S. Citizens and legal residents.

The new policy would permit the FBI to open preliminary terrorism investigations after they have sifted through public records and available intelligence and managed to sketch a profile of traits from the crumbs - that when taken as a whole - may be deemed suspicious and/or worthy of pursuing.

Sounds like the kind of sinister plot Adolf Hitler might hatch up in a bold-faced effort to secure the destiny of his perfect Aryan Race, don't 'ya think?

Heil George W. Bush!

From the get-go - no matter how you fathom it - the wild scheme is un-American.

We have only to recite the inscription on the base of the Statue of Liberty to get our bearings in this regard:

"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

Are we to amend that to read,

"Only if your a**ses are Lily white and foreign free?"

Notwithstanding, the whole "idea" flies in the face of the U.S. Constitution.

Does the Bush administration intend to toss the whole concept of "Due process of Law" out the window, too?

In that event, the presumption of innocence would be lost.

Golly, the Founding Fathers of this country must be turning over in their graves!

But, the Government's jaundiced view of things gets worse.

Factors that could make someone the subject of an investigation include travel to regions of the world known for terrorist activity and/or where there is access to weapons or military training.

In addition, a person's race or ethnicity would be a key factor in the decision to open up a clandestine investigation, too.

In fact, every citizen will be suspect under the new guidelines.

Whoa Nellie!

Are they daft?

The long and short of it?

I foresee a "controlled" society where the Nation's peoples - no matter their race, color, or creed - are not free by any stretch of the imagination.

Indeed - if any of the aforementioned guidelines are implemented - the U.S. may end up sliding down a slippery slope and along a dark and trecherous path to become a full-fledged fascist regime.

At that juncture - fear, suspicion, and uncertainty - will be rife around the Nation.

And, Americans will become the most-hated citizens of the world.

You can count on that, believe me.

If anything, I surmise terrorist threats will increase!

I also expect that there will be an uprising within unstable U.S. borders - and that just maybe - there may be an overthrow of the government, too.

One has only to look to the U.S. Constitution to understand why.

"We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

Understandably - once there is a loss of "domestic tranquility" and irreparable harm to the "general welfare" of the people - the citizenry will pay heed to the prophetic third sentence of the remarkable - "Declaration of Independence" - and demand a call to action.

"That to secure these rights [to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness], governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; that, whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute a new government, laying its foundations on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness."

As Edward Abbey once said,

"A patriot must always be ready to defend his country from his Government."

Amen!

Subhas Chandra Pattanayak

Caste supremacists thrive on religion. Buddha was against religion. Buddha is the strongest threat to caste supremacy even with retrospective effect. Therefore the caste supremacists, who are traditional exploiters of social forces, find their omnipresent enemy in Buddha. And, therefore, they want to obliterate him from the system of Jagannatha as therein the people feel the omnipresence.

Buddha was a Guru, but not a religious Guru. He was a socio-political thinker and revolutionary, who had gone deep into the cause of suffering of human beings and discovered that people suffer due to exploitation and exploitation commences and continues by a class of non-workers under the umbrage of patriarch autocracies.

Patriarch autocracy was the political weapon of these non-workers with which they were consolidating their exploitative network and continuing to exploit the working people.

To perpetuate this process of exploitation, they had built up a caste system and branded the working people as Sudras projecting themselves as Brahmanas.

The patriarch autocrats and their musclemen on the strength of which these Brahmanas were enjoying the best of comfort without doing any physical labor to earn that comfort, were shown by them as demigods or Kshyatriyas and those amongst the working people who were too ambitious to stay as workers and avaricious enough to act as conduits of the Brahmanas and Kshyatriyas were elevated to a creamy layer of Sudras called Vaisyas.

The Brahmanas declaring themselves as born not to do any physical labor, had developed the concept of property in such a design that without shouldering any responsibility they should be enjoying the fruits thereof. In this design, possession of properties was vested in the hands of their cohorts, the Kshyatriyas, who as a class, were ordained to act under area-specific autocrats called kings or emperors preferred by the Brahmanas. These Khyatriyas were allowed to grant lease of landed property and right of trading to Vaisyas at fixed but enhancive premiums and the Sudras were ordained not to possess any property but to work in the land belonging to Kshyatriyas and leased out to Vaisyas and to do any work that their Masters, meaning the propertied classes, were to require of them. And, all these three castes were ordained to satisfy whatever the Brahmanas want of them at whatever time.

This ordainment was promulgated in the name of the creator Brahma under concocted codes called the Vedas.

Any Brahmana was free to claim himself as a seer and coining any hymn as he could to contribute to the cause of his class was claiming to have seen that hymn being composed by Brahma and eventually to have been authorized by Brahma to deliver it.

And all such hymns under the cover of speculation on cause of creation were in the reality the instruments of a social system that was aimed at perpetuating social exploitation of the working class. Their enforceability was totally dependant on patriarch autocrats. Therefore imperialism was growing under Vedic order aimed at subjugating all the peoples so that by exploiting their labor, the caste supremacists could enjoy their lives without bothering to work for livelihood.

Buddha had found this exploitation as the root cause of sufferings of human society. Therefore he had campaigned against acquisition of private property and against concentration of power in the hands of autocrats. To succeed in this campaign he had tried to consolidate the tribal democracies where the cardinal principle was management of society on majority opinion ascertained through adult franchise and vesting of ownership of all means of production in the hands of the society so as not to allow concentration of property in individual hands and to eliminate thereby exploitation of working class by the owners of private property.

Not only he had built up his unique Samngha system on this principle to educate people through demonstration, but also he had rushed from his birthplace Tosala (Orissa) to Magadha to stop spread of Vedic imperialism in its heartland by organizing against it the tribes in his Samgha pattern.

Emergence of tribal democracies strengthened by politico-economic directions of Buddha made emperor Bimbisara suspend his aggression on tribal lands and to remain content with whatever area he already had acquired. He even thought it prudent to make friendship with Buddha and to act according to his sermons.

This enraged the Brahmanas so much that they cooked up a conspiracy against him leading to his incarceration in the hands of his ambitious son Ajatasattu.

As Ajatasattu captured power, a Brahmana namely Vassakara reached Buddha as emissary of the emperor and asked him on behalf of Ajatasattu to desist from supporting the tribes. Tibal democracies must be vanquished, so that empire should expand, he said. Buddha rejected the pleadings of Vassakara and declared that the emperor should not venture any attack on the tribes for they were invincible as long as their democracies were run on their franchise on basis of equality and fraternity.

The Buddha-Vassakar dialogue offers us a very interesting insight into the real cause of Brahminic antagonism to Buddhism.

T.W.R. Rhys Davids has rendered it in Dialogues of the Buddha [London(1910)Vol-ii(78-80)] as hereunder:

“The Exalted One was once dwelling in Rajagaha, on the hill called the Vulture's Peak. Now at that time Ajatasattu, the son of the queen-consort of the Videha clan, the king of Magadha, had made up his mind to attack the Vajjians; and he said to himself 'I will strike at these Vajjians, mighty and powerful though they be, I will root out these Vajjians, I will destroy these Vajjians, I will bring these Vajjians to utter ruin.' So he spoke to the Brahmana Vassakara, Prime Minister of Magadha, and said: 'Come now Brahmana, do you go to the Exalted One and bow down in adoration at his feet on my behalf, and enquire in my name whether he is free from illness and suffering, and in the enjoyment of ease and comfort and vigorous health. Then tell him that Ajatasattu, son of the Videhi, the king of Magadha, in his eagerness to attack the Vijjians, has resolved,"I will strike at these Vijjians, mighty and powerful though they be, I will root out these Vajjians, I will destroy these Vajjians, I will bring these Vajjians to utter ruin"; and bear carefully in mind whatever the Exalted One may predict and repeat it to me. For the Buddha speaks nothing untrue.' Then the Brahmana Bassakara, the rain-maker, harkened to the words of the king, saying, 'Be it as you say.' And, ordering a number of state carriages to be made ready, he mounted one of them, left Rajagaha with his train, and went to the Vulture's Pick, riding as far as the ground was passable for carriages and then alighting and proceeding on foot to the place where the Exalted one was. On arriving there he exchanged with the Exalted One the greetings and compliments of politeness and courtesy, sat down respectfully by his side (and then delivered to him the message even as the king had commanded).

Now at that time the venerable Ananda was standing behind the Exalted One, and fanning him. And the Blessed One said to him: 'Have you heard, Ananda, that the Vajjians foregather often and frequent the public meetings of their clan?' 'Lord, so I have heard', replied he.

'So long Ananda', rejoined the Blessed One, 'as the Vajjians foregather thus often, and frequent the public meetings of their clan; so long may they be expected not to decline, but to prosper.'

(And in like manner questioning Ananda, and receiving a similar reply, the Exalted One declared as follows the other conditions, which would ensure the welfare of the Vajjian confederacy.)

'So long, Ananda, as the Vajjians meet together in concord and rise in concord, and carry out their undertakings in concord,- so long as they enact nothing not already established, abrogate nothing that has already been enacted and act in accordance with the ancient institution of the Vajjians, as established in the former days - so long as they honour and esteem and revere and support the Vajjian elders, and hold it to a point of duty to hearken to their words,- so long as no women or girls belonging to their clans are detained among them by force or abduction - so long as they honor and esteem and revere and support the Vajjian shrines (cetiyani) in town or country, and allow not the proper offerings and rites, as formerly given and performed, to fall into desuetude - so long as the rightful protection, defense, and support shall be fully provided for the Arahants among them, so that Arahants from a distance may enter the realm, and the Arahants therein may live at ease - so long may the Vajjians be expected not to decline, but to prosper.'

It is to be noted that till demise of Buddha, Magadha had not dared to attack the tribal democracies fortified by Buddha.

By restricting Vedic imperialism in Magadha itself, Buddha had saved his motherland Orissa and her autonomous social system.

Asoka’s attack on Orissa was meant only to avenge this and to destroy Buddhism by plundering its cradle.

History has been wronged by vested interest noting that Asoka won the battle and on seeing the vast destruction he had wrecked on the people his heart melted in repentance and he embraced Buddhism on the battlefield at the foot of Dhauli Giri and spent his might in spreading Buddhism. But in reality, he was defeated and had fled with his life by taking umbrage under Buddhism, which he had come to destroy.

The Kalinga war had two phases. The first phase was sudden like a bolt from the blue and the most peaceful people of Orissa, before being aware of the attack, had been overwhelmed by the army of Asoka who plundered the land and captured more than a lakh of people and exported them to his land as slaves under custody of packs of his plundering soldiers while keeping the rest of his army pressed on his campaign to desecrate the birthplace of Buddha in Kapilavastu (modern Kapileswara) near the Sweta (Dhauli) hills with the ill motive of humiliating Buddhism. There were many places of Orissa where he could have challenged the Oriyas to a war if annexing their land to his empire was his aim. But that was not. His target was Kapilavastu, the birthplace of Buddha near the Dhauli Hills and therefore the battle was fought at the foot of the Dhauli.

The people of Orissa, the most ardent and loyal followers of Buddha, did not allow him to reach Kapilavastu, the present Kapileswar. They resisted him at the cost of their lives at Dhauli. The devastation has no parallel in Indian history. Millions of Oriyas sacrificed their lives to stop desecration of the sacred birthplace of their beloved Gurudev Buddha who had saved their motherland from being engulfed by Vedic imperialism by rushing up to Magadha to obstruct it there. And, Asoka’s army declined in numbers even as the brave Oriya women jumped into the battlefield with their traditional weapons. The wicked Maurya, who was ill famed as Chanda Asoka, was vanquished by the united women of Orissa. And, subsequently, the entire army of Asoka including resummoned troops was annihilated. The Chanda Asoka could be able to flee with his life only after he prayed to be initiated into Buddhism, the creed he had come to destroy.

The resounding victory of Orissa’s matriarch forces over the Chanda Asoka and the total destruction of his army has been symbolically depicted in Devi Bhagavat where he has been shown as Chanda asura.

History, as we know, is not without wrongs.

History has wronged Orissa by not recording correctly the purpose of Asoka’s expedition to Orissa and his battle at Dhauli Hills and the real reason of his praying for and getting initiation into Buddhism.

We shall try to help history correct itself in this matter in course of our discussion. But for now, this suffices to say that Vedic chauvinists had attacked Orissa through the Chanda Asoka of Magadha to desecrate the birthplace of Buddha.

Vedic chauvinists have succeeded to desecrate Buddha Jagannatha by infesting his Pahandi Bije with Vedic hymns taking advantage of the confusion that has been spread by the religious revivalists in Navinraj where rabid right wing communalists are assigned with portfolios that oversee and controls the Jagannatha Temple administration.

We will later come to the history.
(To continue)

On the Rath Yatra (Car Festival) day, this year, Sri Jagannath will be killed in spirit by help of the nastiest administration that has engulfed Orissa. Enemies of Jagannath Cult for centuries had been trying to do this; but this year they are going to succeed.

The temple administration, dominated by caste supremacists, has decided to infest Pahandi Bije (Sri Jagannatha's pageant from the Temple to the Car) with recitation of Vedic hymns. This is going to happen for the first time and with this Sri Jagannath is going to get the final deathblow.

Caste supremacists for centuries had been trying to convert Sri Jagannath from Orissa’s Gurudev Buddha to non-Oriya Srikrushna of Dwaraka and consequently to Vishnu of their system, i.e.the Vedic order.

Orissa being the birthplace of Buddha, was the fountainhead of Buddhism. Therefore, proponents of Vedic order, starting from Asoka as recorded history shows, had always attacked Orissa and tried to keep the peoples of Orissa subjugated so that Buddhism would dwindle in its place of origin.

To say in a nutshell, history of Orissa is a history of fight between Buddhist order and Vedic order.

In course of time Orissa had transformed Buddha into Jagannatha and hence history of Jagannatha is a history of fight between Vedic chauvinists and the peoples of Orissa.

Rath Yatra of Sri Jagannatha is the most assertive instance of victory of the peoples of Orissa over Vedic order where, despite the caste supremacists’ conspiracy to display their hegemony with the help of their collaborator kings, it is the peoples in general, the people belonging to working class, shown as untouchable in Vedic order, establish that it is they to whom the deity belongs. So Rath Yatra of Sri Jagannatha is the festival of peoples’ rejection of Vedic order. And this is its uniqueness.

By allowing Vedic recitation in Pahandi Bije, Orissa Government under the anti-Oriya Navin Patnaik has tried to kill this uniqueness. It is an attempt to destroy the Cult of Sri Jagannatha and it is nothing but killing the spirit of Sri Jagannatha.

Who is Sri Jagannatha?

Sri Jagannatha is the worshiped form of Gurudev Buddha, metamorphosed from matriarch component of Buddhist perception of creation.

Followers of Buddhism, after Buddha’s demise, unable to protect their creed from overwhelming whirlwind of gods-spangled system of the anti-Buddha people in power as Sunyavad could not be a practical solution to socio-spiritual quests of commons, were in frantic search of a method of retaining Buddhism, when Orissa’s the then influential intellectual Indrabhuti, revered as the King of Uddiyana, preferred to introduce deity worshiping amongst the people of Orissa, basically Buddists, to counter the impact of countless presence of Gods that Vedic chauvinists were offering for tackling worldly problems of the people.

By then Sabaripa, an ardent follower of Buddhism and an astute leader of indigenous tribes of Orissa in the Sweta valley of Orissa that derived this name from the Dhauli (Sweta) Giri overlooking the area spanning from River Daya to River Prachi, was trying to see in Jaganta (the wooden log worshiped by tribal people of Orissa as the Mother Nature) the matriarch components of Buddhism and as is suggested in Sri Jaya Devanka Baisi Pahacha, female breasts conceived as the source of sustenance, were added to that wooden log resembling the torso of a female, reflecting the concept in Oriya “thana” abridged to “tha” thereon, thus editing Jaganta to Jaganta-tha.

Relying upon Sabaripa, Indrabhuti transormed that Jaganta-tha to Jagannatha and in Gnyana Siddhi the scripture he gave to Vajrayana, propitiated Gurudev Buddha as this Jagannatha.

Thus the transformation of Gurudev Buddha to Sri Jagannatha took place in the Kurma Pataka Pur on river Prachi in the Sweta valley of Orissa.

Pataka is a Deshaja (indigenous) Oriya word that means the low caste people.

As even now innumerable turtles are visiting Orissa coast to lay eggs every year, so also in the days of yore they were coming to this coast, specifically to the coast on the estuary of Prachi. Therefore the area had assumed the name of Kurma Pur (the preferred place of turtles) and as it was the habitat of Buddhist Patakas, it eventually became Kurma Pataka Pur. The concept of Jagannatha Buddha having its origin in this area, searching for logs for Navakalevara (new body) of Jagannatha starts only from this area even as yet. So the close circle of Jagannatha is known as Kurma Prachira that forms the inner wall of the Temple at Puri, even though the Vedic chauvinists have transformed Indrabhuti to Indradyumna and Sabaripa to Sabara Biswabasu throgh concocted legends to suppress the Buddhist origin of Jagannatha.

To Gurudev Buddha, there was nothing like low caste. He was the strongest opponent of caste-based division of society and therefore, nearest to him were the low caste peoples (Patakas).

By adopting the Sabara Jaganta-tha as Jagannatha Buddha, and establishing him as the deity for worship by all the Buddhists, Indrabhuti promulgated the caste-less culture in vogue in Buddhist Kurma Pataka Pur in the premises of his Temple.

To the caste supremacists this was not acceptable. Buddha’s deification as Jagannatha was a stiff challenge to the Vedic order specifically as in Jagannatha temple the caste system was done away with.

Therefore, there were repeated attempts to destroy Jagannatha by caste supremacists belonging to Vedic order.

Their attack on Jagannatha was two-pronged: (1) physically through their collaborator kings or emperors and (2) through attempt to transform Jagannatha from Buddha to Vishnu.

When the first method of attack has stopped in course of time, the second method is yet ongoing.

Recitation of Vedic hymns in Pahandi Bije is the last such attack and up till now, the severest.

We shall look at it in depth.
(To continue)

I would rather worship in a museum than in a circus.

The museum is a metaphor for older forms of liturgical worship. The circus relates to more recent, chaotic approaches to worship.

Circuses entertain and titillate. Museums hold artifacts from the past that evoke memories and thoughts in the present.

While circuses certainly have their traditions, museums provide better reflections of historical continuity within human experience.

Circuses engage the senses, while museums engage the senses and the mind.

-Colin Foote Burch

DOING ENTAILS BEING

IN ORDER TO DO, ONE MUST BE

SOMETHING THAT DOES NOT EXIST CANNOT BRING ITSELF INTO EXISTANCE

'CREATING' IS AN ATTRIBUTE, ONE THAT DOES NOT EXIST, DOES NOT HAVE ATTRIBUTES

-Troy Johnson "Mommy's Little Monster" in Spin

Whosoever will be saved, before all things it is necessary that he hold the Catholic Faith. Which Faith except everyone do keep whole and undefiled, without doubt he shall perish everlastingly. And the Catholic Faith is this, that we worship one God in Trinity and Trinity in Unity. Neither confounding the Persons, nor dividing the Substance. For there is one Person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Ghost. But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Ghost is all One, the Glory Equal, the Majesty Co-Eternal. Such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy Ghost. The Father Uncreate, the Son Uncreate, and the Holy Ghost Uncreate. The Father Incomprehensible, the Son Incomprehensible, and the Holy Ghost Incomprehensible. The Father Eternal, the Son Eternal, and the Holy Ghost Etneral and yet they are not Three Eternals but One Eternal. As also there are not Three Uncreated, nor Three Incomprehensibles, but One Uncreated, and One Uncomprehensible. So likewise the Father is Almighty, the Son Almighty, and the Holy Ghost Almighty. And yet they are not Three Almighties but One Almighty.

So the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Ghost is God. And yet they are not Three Gods, but One God. So likewise the Father is Lord, the Son Lord, and the Holy Ghost Lord. And yet not Three Lords but One Lord. For, like as we are compelled by the Christian verity to acknowledge every Person by Himself to be God and Lord, so are we forbidden by the Catholic Religion to say, there be Three Gods or Three Lords. The Father is made of none, neither created, nor begotten. The Son is of the Father alone; not made, nor created, but begotten. The Holy Ghost is of the Father, and of the Son neither made, nor created, nor begotten, but proceeding.

So there is One Father, not Three Fathers; One Son, not Three Sons; One Holy Ghost, not Three Holy Ghosts. And in this Trinity none is afore or after Other, None is greater or less than Another, but the whole Three Persons are Co-eternal together, and Co-equal. So that in all things, as is aforesaid, the Unity is Trinity, and the Trinity is Unity is to be worshipped. He therefore that will be saved, must thus think of the Trinity.

Furthermore, it is necessary to everlasting Salvation, that he also believe rightly the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. For the right Faith is, that we believe and confess, that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is God and Man.

God, of the substance of the Father, begotten before the worlds; and Man, of the substance of His mother, born into the world. Perfect God and Perfect Man, of a reasonable Soul and human Flesh subsisting. Equal to the Father as touching His Godhead, and inferior to the Father as touching His Manhood. Who, although He be God and Man, yet He is not two, but One Christ. One, not by conversion of the Godhead into Flesh, but by taking of the Manhood into God. One altogether, not by confusion of substance, but by Unity of Person. For as the reasonable soul and flesh is one Man, so God and Man is one Christ.
Who suffered for our salvation, descended into Hell, rose again the third day from the dead. He ascended into Heaven, He sitteth on the righthand of the Father, God Almighty, from whence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. At whose coming all men shall rise again with their bodies, and shall give account for their own works. And they that have done good shall go into life everlasting, and they that have done evil into everlasting fire. This is the Catholic Faith, which except a man believe faithfully and firmly, he cannot be saved.

It sums up what we believe about the nature of the Trinity quite well. Note that this creed is ecumenical and remember that "catholic" = "universal" =) 

Creeds such as the Athanasian Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Apostles Creed, are professions of our faith. 

That the teachings of Christianity were to be cast in some definite form is evidently implied in the commission given the Apostles ( Matthew 28:19-20 ). Since they were to teach all nations to observe whatsoever Christ had commanded, and since this teaching was to carry the weight of authority, not merely of opinion, it was necessary to formulate at last the essential doctrines. Such formulation was all the more needful because Christianity was destined for all men and for all ages. To preserve unity of belief itself was quite clearly stated. The creed, therefore, is fundamentally an authoritative declaration of the truths that are to be believed. [from here]

Oftentimes, these creeds were formed so as to state the fundamental truths of Christian belief in contradistinction to heretical doctrines (e.g. Arianism). Perhaps if I have time, I'll do a little post on heresy. Haha. Or maybe I won't. We'll see.

- Stephanie

David Hart

From the moment I spotted David on the street, I was intrigued by his look. Its kinda nerdy, but very confident and modern as bowties are quite trendy. He was gracious enough to allow me to take his picture (I'm sure he gets that all the time) and as it turns out, he is a neckwear designer (David Hart & Co.). In retrospect, that makes sense, not only was his tie perfectly done, but with that type of coordination, creativity can't be to far behind. Anyhow, I had to stop him as I had a hunch he appreciated fragrance. Man, was I right. Read on...

What's your earliest recollection of fragrance?

My earliest recollection of fragrance was definitely the original Polo by Ralph Lauren. Aside from the fragrance which I would still consider classic and timeless, the bottle was such a great design. The loden green with antique gold was stunning. In my opinion, fragrance is great because it creates something unique to its wearer and it essentially becomes an integral piece of someone’s wardrobe.

What fragrances are currently in your rotation?

Lately I’ve been on a huge Creed kick. Currently I’m back and forth between Green Irish Tweed and Tabarome. I love the long history behind Creed and its fans like Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn, and Princess Grace. I’m also pretty obsessed with Malin+Goetz’s Lime Tonic and Polo Black. I’m very big on aftershave. Learning the proper way to shave from my Dad at a young age was a right of passage for me. I shave with a cut throat and love all the products like shave soap, pre-shave oil, and creams from The Art of Shaving to Barbasol and Old Spice.

How often do you go out looking for something new? What specifically do you look for?

I usually shop for new fragrances when the old ones run out. I think the next time I am looking for something I will probably stop by Le Labo. I like the idea of creating something that is uniquely mine and a little more exclusive.

Have you ever purchased the same fragrance more than once? If so, what was it and what about it made it worthy of a repeat buy?

I repeated a buy for a fragrance once and it was the original Polo. It never goes out of style

How would you finish this statement. "My most memorable fragrant moment would be...?

My most memorable fragrance moment would be using fragrances as a way of studying for tests. I remember being in high school and learning about Pavlov response mechanisms and from then on I would study wearing a fragrance and the day of the test I would wear that same fragrance as a way to associate the memory of studying with the test at hand. It seemed to work very well.

Gentlemen, that is why I love fragrance. It has the ability to touch us in so many ways. Thanks for sharing David.

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Video Clip : Freedom Fighter

Singer : Creed

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Video Clip : Illusion

Singer : Creed

Love in Black, the seductive new fragrance for women by Olivier and Erwin Creed, will be launched in August 2008.

In 2006 the House of Creed released its most successful fragrance to date, Love in White, to wide critical acclaim. This summer sees the launch of Love in Black, a mirror image, with the emphasis firmly on seduction rather than innocence.

Love in Black is an alluring and feminine blend of sensual White Violets and woody Virginian Cedar, with a heart of powdery Florentine Iris and spicy Cloves on a delicious base of Bourgogne Blackcurrant, Rose and Violets.
The result is a sophisticated, feminine and glamorous fragrance which will bring out the temptress in you. (via http://www.valentineperfume.com/Creed-Love-in-Balc) ]]> http://1palbums.wordpress.com/2008/07/04/injected-burn-it-black-2/ Fri, 04 Jul 2008 12:01:46 +0000 1palbums http://1palbums.wordpress.com/2008/07/04/injected-burn-it-black-2/ Artist Name: Injected

Album Name:Burn It Black

Review Date:04/07/2008

Star Rating: 4.4

Should you buy?:Yes

For fans of:Nickelback, Silverchair, Creed, Khoma

Review:This album is a solid and easily listened taste of how American alt rock really should be done. Danny Grady on vocals has a unique sound which blends perfectly with the bands style. Production from the whole band is great with every element fitting in well. If you’re a fan of Nickelback in the old days, before rockstar marred their appeal, or if you just want an album you can put on and be entertained and unoffended then this is for you.

Buy here: