Deep insight to the motion picture "The Black Swan" via The Vigilant Citizen.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
The Black Swan Part 1
“Rara Avis in Terris Nigroque Simillima Cygno”
- The poet Juvenal
Translation from Latin
“A RARE BIRD in the lands, and Very Like a BLACK SWAN”
- The poet Juvenal
Translation from Latin
“A RARE BIRD in the lands, and Very Like a BLACK SWAN”
From wikipedia:
Juvenal's phrase was a common expression in 16th century London as a statement of impossibility. The London expression derives from the Old World presumption that all swans must be white because all historical records of swans reported that they had white feathers. In that context, a black swan was impossible or at least nonexistent. After a Dutch expedition led by explorer Willem de Vlamingh on the Swan River in 1697, discovered black swans in Western Australia, the term metamorphosed to connote that a perceived impossibility might later be disproven. Taleb notes that in the 19th century John Stuart Mill used the black swan logical fallacy as a new term to identify falsification.
In his 2007 book The Black Swan, author Nassim Nicholas Taleb established what today is widely known as “Black Swan Theory”. The basic premise set forth by Taleb tries to explain:
The disproportionate role of high-impact, hard to predict, and rare events that are beyond the realm of normal expectations in history, science, finance and technology [The event is a surprise]
The non-computability of the probability of the consequential rare events using scientific methods (owing to their very nature of small probabilities) [The event in question has a major impact]
The psychological biases that make people individually and collectively blind to uncertainty and unaware of the massive role of the rare event in historical affairs. [Via hindsight the event should have been expected with known available data taken into account]
As an eso-researcher, it can be said that I (and others) investigate Black Swan events. Taleb himself points to the events of 9-11 as just such an event, and it was the events of 9-11 that led me to begin Through The Looking Glass in the first place.
On January 5th 2011 fellow researcher Goro Adachi predicted the likely-hood of just such an event on January 8th. The Talented Mr. Adachi couldn’t have been more correct. The Mass shooting in Tucson, Arizona has rocked the Nation, and has simultaneously opened the floodgates (see Australian Floods/OZ) for a full examination.
The name Tucson, as Goro points out, can be read as “Two Suns”. This is a direct reference to the film “2010: The Year We Make Contact” in which the planet Jupiter is exploded to literally create TWO SUNS. [It is important to also note that the NBA franchise in PHOENIX, AZ. Are known as THE SUNS, plural] Another reading of TUCSON can be “Two Sons” or in this particular case TWINS (a subject covered here before). Interestingly, Goro also introduces the 1999 film “The Astronaut’s Wife” into the equation. The believed target of the Tucson massacre was Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, her husband, Mark E. Kelly is an astronaut (A Space Shuttle Commander who is scheduled to Captain the final shuttle mission on April 1st, 2011) as well as a TWIN. His brother is also an astronaut and commander of the ISS Space Station. “The Astronaut’s Wife” depicts time loss in space, an alien intervention, and the birth of TWINS via an extra-terrestrial being.
As more details of the Tucson Event have been made public, we have yet again been presented with a young, mentally unstable shooter. The name TUCSON also can be translated as “The base of the black hill” which is surprisingly (or not so) close to Blacksburg (the black mound) which was the site of another mass murder involving a similar MO; previously covered here. In keeping with the pentagram symbolism represented in the work of Goro Adachi, it is also important to note that the city of Tucson, Az. Is surrounded by 5 Mountains which resemble an invented pentagram around the city. [Santa Catalina & Tortolita Mountains to the North, Santa Rita Mountain to the South, Rincon Mountain to the East, and Tucson Mountain to the West]
For the moment let’s return to The Black Swan or at the very least the concept of BLACKBIRDS. Goro Adachi, myself and others quickly reported on the deaths of thousands of Red-winged BLACKBIRDS on New Year’s Eve in the state of Arkansas. Mr. Adachi presented stills from the ABC television show “Flash Forward” in which the mass death of thousands of BIRDS is central to a World Wide “Event”. It is interesting to note that Episode 4 of Season 1 of “Flash Forward” is titled BLACK SWAN. Another popular show that found it’s way into the work of eso-researchers, “Lost” also dealt with time-loss, downed BIRDS, and brought THE SWAN into public consciousness as a major plot device.
In the days that have passed since the Tucson Event, TWO major points have come to light. 8th District Representative Gabrielle Giffords office was located at 1661 (see Mirroring and TWINS here) North SWAN Road, and lone gunman Jared Lee Loughner was referred to by a former classmate as a “rare BIRD” (A BLACK SWAN?).
In his own words, 77 days prior to his deadly real life statement, Loughner posted one of many online “syllogisms” in which he referenced BIRDS multiple times:
"There's something important in this video: There's no communication to anyone in this location. You shouldn't be afraid of the stars. There's a new bird on my right shoulder. The beak is two feet and lime green. The rarest bird on earth, there's no feathers, but small grey scales all over the body. It's with one large red eye with a light blue iris. The bird feet are the same as a woodpecker. This new bird and there's only one, the gender is not female or male. The wings of this bird are beautiful; 3 feet wide with the shape of a bald eagle that you could die for. If you can see this bird then you will understand. You think this bird is able to chat about a government? I want you to imagine a comet or meteoroid coming through the atmosphere."
Thursday, January 6, 2011
For the love of...Goro
Mr. Adachi bringing it hard in 2011...there really isn't much else to say.
Behold.
Behold.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
"This Moment to ARise"
A Tornado of Red-Winged BlackbirdsI don't know if I have any readers left following my incredibly long absence this year...but anyone who has followed my work should not be surprised that my attention has been consumed by the recent deaths of some 5,000 Red-winged BLACKBIRDS in Beebe, AR. ("BEE" farmer).
This mass death is being considered blunt force trauma after poisons, and other modes of death have been ruled out by various sources statewide. Official causes are being presented as confusion created by fireworks on that evening, leading the birds to fly into houses and cars; to one report which suggested that 20 loud booms were reported just prior to the birds demise which was methane gas explosions again attributed to fireworks being shot into the sky.
http://www.alien-earth.org/forum/message.php?message=75601&mpage=1&showdate=1/3/11
This bizarre open air bird drop took place Friday, December 31st 2010...during the same period some 80 to 100,000 fish turned up dead in the nearby Arkansas River.
Both events are also tied to a series of tornadoes earlier that day, which swept across Missouri and within 150 miles of Beebe, in Cincinnati, AR. where 3 people were confirmed dead. According to tornado records, only one other tornado has ever been reported at this time of year. Obviously, Arkansas Governor Mike BEEBE ("BEE" farmer) called for a state of emergency.
Monday, January 3rd 2011 another mass bird death is reported in Pointe Coupee, LA. ("Place of the cut off"). This time 500 birds, mostly Red-winged BLACKBIRDS with Starlings mixed in, fell from the skies dead on impact. January 3rd is not exactly one of the hottest firework display dates on ANY calender, and in my mind rules out all previous attempts to explain the Dec. 31st event.
***Breaking News*** Similar stories are now appearing in Kentucky on a smaller scale, and from Maryland where hundreds of thousands of dead fish are turning up in the Chesapeake Bay. Winter weather conditions are the main culprit in these deaths...
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/local-breaking-news/giant-fish-kill-in-chesapeake.html
****The Plot thickens**** Randomly Sweden enters the scene
STOCKHOLM — Officials say about 50 birds have been found dead on a street in Sweden.
Veterinarian Robert ter Horst says the cause of jackdaws' (A SMALL VARIETY OF EUROPEAN CROW/BLACKBIRD) deaths was unclear but that fireworks were set off near the scene Tuesday night.
The birds were found dead on Wednesday.
Ter Horst says cold weather, difficulties finding food and possible shock from the fireworks could be responsible, leading to the stressed birds either dying from the stress or being run over by vehicles.
Five of the dead jackdaws found in the city of Falkoping were being tested.
Mass bird deaths aren't uncommon.
In the U.S., New Year's Eve fireworks were blamed in Arkansas for killing thousands of blackbirds, and a few days later power lines likely killed about 450 birds in Louisiana.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/05/dead-birds-sweden_n_804600.html
Next time we will delve further into BLACKBIRDS, The New Madrid Fault Zone...and what could be happening in the American South in the coming year.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Doubleplusgood CNN
Thanks to Red Ice for this via: John D. Sutter and the folks at CNN...
War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, and Ignorance is Strength.
Editor's Note: This is part of a CNN series called ""End of Privacy." Watch CNN today from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. ET for more "End of Privacy" stories. And please join the conversation on Twitter by replying to @cnntech or following #endofprivacy.
(CNN) -- The opening passage from George Orwell's "1984" depicts a guy hustling up a stairwell that's plastered with giant posters of a man's face staring at him.
"It was one of those pictures which are so contrived that the eyes follow you about when you move," Orwell writes in the classic dystopian novel. "BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU, the caption beneath it ran."
These days, Big Brother doesn't need to do much snooping. We just tell him what we're up to. We tweet, check in on Foursquare, use digital payment systems and generally live so publicly that spying loses at least some degree of utility.
Meanwhile, we're quickly expanding the systems we've built to monitor ourselves and our environments. We connect our power consumption to the internet via "smart meters," we let Google's cameras map our streets and we use wireless gadgets to transmit vital signs to doctors.
All of that may sound horrifying. But as old notions of privacy evaporate, some benefits of a shared and monitored life become clearer. All this data has the potential to make our cities more efficient, encourage social connectedness and even aid in response to major disasters, such as earthquakes.
Here's a look at 10 ways constant monitoring and all-the-time online sharing can improve modern life. If you find this contrarian view to be downright Orwellian, let us know in the comments section.
1. Monitored city systems
In 2009, researchers from MIT's SENSEable City Lab tacked wireless GPS monitors onto paper coffee cups, aluminum cans and bottles of dish soap. Then they tossed that stuff in the garbage and sat back to watch what happened.
Some of the trash traveled more than 1,000 miles before landing in a final resting place. They hope that kind of info can help cities and trash management companies do their work more efficiently.
2. Health monitors
Chronic heart diseases, Alzheimer's and diabetes require constant monitoring, but doctor's visits only come about so often. Cue a new generation of wireless heath monitors that let people transmit data about their blood-sugar levels, weight and heart rate to doctors without leaving home.
Some older people have taken this idea a step further still, installing networks of sensors in their homes so someone will know if they break from the routine. If an older woman hasn't opened her refrigerator in several hours, for example, an automatic alarm might send text messages to her kids so they can check to make sure she's eating regularly.
3. Disaster response
In the aftermath of January's earthquake in Haiti, volunteers all over the world scoured the internet for information about the damage.
Public tweets -- some tagged with data about where they were sent -- as well as text messages and photos from Haiti were put on a living, updating map. This info was used by emergency responders who were trying to get aid to the places where it was needed most.
4. Bored on Tuesday
Location-based social networks aren't the most widely used services in the tech world. By the measure of one survey, only about 4 percent of internet users connect with friends on Foursquare, Gowalla, SCVNGR and the like.
But for people who blab their real-world locations on these networks, social connections can emerge. Foursquare users, for example, can look at their smartphones to see where all of their friends have "checked in" most recently. If a friend is at your neighborhood bar on a random weeknight, you might just drop in to say hello.
5. Traffic maps
Once upon a time, people got traffic reports from radio DJs who spewed off the latest car crashes, usually only taking into account the major interstates. Now, a real-time traffic layer on Google Maps shows users a block-by-block view of where the backups are.
Magic? Not quite. Google relies on drivers to share anonymous information about where they are. It then takes that data, in aggregate, and figures out how quickly cars are moving on various roads and then creates a map of the flow.
6. Smart grid
Right now, most of us don't know much about our home electricity consumption. Bills go up in the summer for air conditioning and down in the winter. That's about it. But the U.S. government is in the process of deploying a smart electricity grid, which will take information about home energy use and translate it into money-saving energy tips.
One software company, called OPOWER, takes data from the smart grid and spits out home energy use reports that compare one person's energy use to that of their neighbors, on average. This data helps OPOWER's users save, on average, 2% to 3% on their energy bills.
7. Free stuff
There's often a trade-off between privacy and free services. Products such as Gmail are free because they target users with ads. Similarly, people who are willing to "check in" on smartphone apps to their favorite stores can get deals. Foursquare "mayors" -- the people who visit one location more times than anyone else -- often are eligible for free stuff. And SCVNGR app users complete check-in-based challenges that can earn them free merchandise or food.
8. Monitoring earthquakes
We can't accurately predict them, but some researchers say we could respond to earthquakes more quickly if we turned huge networks of laptop and desktop computers into seismic monitors.
In a pilot project from Stanford University and the University of California, Riverside, researchers linked up at least 1,400 computers to do just that. Sensors -- either inside computer hard drives or attached to office desks -- send readings to a central database that processes them in aggregate.
9. Looking for content you'll "like"
The Web is so big that it can seem infinite and daunting. But by sharing the content you "like" on the internet with Facebook friends, you help them find websites, stories and videos they otherwise would have missed. Increasingly, these public preferences are visible to your Facebook friends both on and off Facebook.com. If you're logged into Facebook, now, for instance, you can see if any of your Facebook friends have "recommended" this article.
10. Environmental sensors
We're not the only ones who can be watched. Plenty of environmental scientists are interested in using tiny sensors, sometimes called "smart dust," to monitor nature and get a better understanding of how it works.
Sensors in California's redwood forests, for example, have taught scientists at the University of California at Berkeley about how these giant trees take in water through fog. And researchers at Intel Labs have developed a prototype smartphone that, when uploading information to the internet, including a person's location, could be used to track air quality readings in major metro areas.
Friday, December 17, 2010
Cthulhu Sighting!
This rather intriguing story from the wonderful folks over at io9:
The Reverend Ichabod Wiswall (1637-1700) is a historical footnote. When he's remembered, it's for giving the first funeral sermon in America, in Duxbury, Massachusetts. So why is there a Lovecraftian cephalopod on his gravestone?
Wiswall was responsible, with the Reverend Increase Mather, for persuading Queen Mary to create the 1692 charter which united the colonies of Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay into the Province of Massachusetts Bay, which became the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Wiswall served the town of Duxbury as a minister for 24 years and is buried in Duxbury in the Myles Standish Burial Ground, supposedly the oldest continually maintained cemetery in the United States.
The winged skull atop the gravestone is not unusual for pre-1750 gravestones, which had a range of meaning-laden symbols on them, from arrows (symbolic of martyrdom) to scallops (symbolic of resurrection). But the cephalopod, which might be anything from a cuttlefish to a squid, is seemingly unique-a search of the literature turned up no record of a pre-1750 gravestone with any version of a cephalopod on it.
It's fitting that Wiswall's gravestone has a touch of weirdness. According to the record books of Plymouth Colony, there were two Ichabod Wiswalls alive in 1667, the second Ichabod marrying Remember Wiswall that year-but the second Ichabod Wiswall disappears from the historical record after that, an oddity for the record-obsessed Puritans. The Myles Standish Burial Ground was abandoned in 1789 under mysterious circumstances-1789 of course being the year of George Washington's first inauguration as well as the year that the French Revolution began-and was "reclaimed" only in 1887. Standish himself, the military advisor to the Plymouth Colony and a man of particular brutality, seems to have rested unquietly in the Burial Ground: the initial location of his burial site was unknown, and it took three separate exhumations to conclusively discover where he lay. The center of the Burial Ground was occupied by two pyramids, although pyramids as grave markers only became common in the 19th century.
Nor is Duxbury free of its own oddities. Duxbury does not feature in any of Lovecraft's fiction; "Arkham" is based on Salem, "Innsmouth" is based on a combination of Ipswich and Gloucester, and "Dunwich" is based on Athol. But Duxbury was no stranger to sea serpents, even in Wiswall's day. The English writer John Josselyn's An Account of Two Voyages to New-England (1674) described the 1639 sighting of a sea serpent off Cape Anne, north of Duxbury, which sparked a rash of sea-serpent sightings along the Massachusetts coast, including Duxbury. And in 1857 Henry Thoreau wrote in his journal that Daniel Webster had seen a sea-serpent off the coast of Duxbury.
So it makes a kind of sense for a Lovecraftian cephalopod to appear on the Reverend Wiswall's gravestone. The only question remaining is, is Wiswall dead in his grave, or does he merely wait there, dreaming?
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Off the Court
Manu Ginobili has started something with the UFO sighting he reported outside the Spurs’ hotel in Santa Monica, Ca, back on Dec. 1.
Trail Blazers coach Nate McMillan related his own encounter — not that close, but definitely unexplainable — with an object in the sky he couldn’t identify.
It happened when McMillan was a youngster growing up in Raleigh, N.C., in the 1970s.
[I too saw something which I recalled many years later and think to have maybe been a UFO. This was in the 1970's, and in Raleigh, NC. as well...]
“I was playing football with friends, and on the way home, behind the library I saw something that looked a little strange to me as a kid,” McMillan said before Sunday’s game between the Spurs and Blazers. “It was just starting to get dark, and on my way home, walking behind the library, I just saw something that didn’t look right
“I’m not saying a UFO. I just saw something that, for me, was, well, I don’t know what I saw. “I never really said anything about it, or made a fuss about it, but it was weird to me.”
http://www.whalesinspace.com/2010/12/basketball-player-shares-ufo-experience-with-fans-on-facebook/
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