Silky & Filthy, South Tampa, FL (2026)

03/21/2025

ORIGINAL 🎼🧬⏳🌪⛈🐝🏗🧩🔌🪐☄⚗
SENTIENCE ⚖⛓🦠🏛🎨🛸🪂🧮🎭🌚🎶

"Sins that men account small brings God's great wrath." ¹

To indulge in the fruits borne by the tree of knowledge is considered an act apart from God. And as we all dine out on food for thought, our own doubts begin to eat us alive.

In the mid-17th century, the French philosopher René Descartes realized that in order “to establish anything at all in the sciences that was stable and likely to last,” ² he first needed to lash himself to a single point of certainty in a roiling sea of doubt. ³

Is there such a thing as Artificial Intelligence?

"In truth we know nothing, for truth lies in the depth." ⁴

Our doubts about the origin of intelligence itself have led to countless theories on what pushes mankind forward in an ocean of endless darkness. Advances in our understanding of the unseen illuminates that darkness.

It sheds light on UNREALITY.

“Knowledge, scientific and otherwise, arises from direct commerce with the unreal” ⁵ Is there such a thing as "Artificial Intelligence?" Or is it all simply INCOMPLETE biomechanical arrangements, driven forth by a spark of the divine?

_________________________________
¹ Thomas Brooks – English non-conformist Puritan preacher and author. (1608–1680)
² René Descartes – French philosopher, scientist, and mathematician, widely considered a seminal figure in the emergence of modern philosophy and science.
³ Jess Keiser – professor of English at Tufts University
⁴ Democritus - ancient greek philosopher, explorer, perrenial student, optimist, mathematician, anthropologist, and scientist, known for his formulation of an atomic theory of the universe (460 - 370 BC)
⁵ Jimena Canales – Mexican-American historian of science and author with a background in physics and engineering.

03/10/2025

DIVINE 🏗🏛🧭🛣⛵🚧🛸⚓🔥⏳🌚
SANCTION 🌦🐚🎨🧮🙏🫂🐝🌷🌈

“If there is a supernatural world, this world is only part of a great hierarchy. If there is a heaven, moreover, there is an archetype for ‘perfection.’ This perfection exists in God’s mind and underlies the foundation of universal order." ¹

"God’s mind is what the anthropic cosmologists see when they comment in wonder about the force-values of gravity, the nuclear strong force, the electromagnetic force, and ther [sic] physical constants, and wonder how they could be so finely tuned to strengths amenable for the rise of life.” ¹

Social order is to mirror divine order. ¹

"This law of nature, being coeval with mankind and dictated by God himself, is of course superior in obligation to any other. It is binding over all the globe in all countries, and at all times: no human laws are of any validity, if contrary to this; and such of them as are valid derive all their force, and all their authority, mediately or immediately, from this original." ²

As above, so below.

Let it be written. Let it be done.

__________
¹ a quote from social and political theorist "Johannes Von Thorne" in his 2014 book "The Prophets of Social Destruction."

² Sir William Blackstone, English jurist, justice, and politician, accountant, and philosopher best known for his "Commentaries on the Law of England," or, as they're often referred to, "Blackstone's Commentaries," published between 1765 - 1769.

https://nlnrac.org/node/244.html

📸 image credit - an artist's rendering of stacks of scrolls housed within the ancient Library of Alexandria superimposed in front of Minecraft ruins behind a statue of Sir William Blackstone with lightning striking a building in the background, the interior of which is illuminated by an unknown force.

The statue of Blackstone pictured in this composition is a grandiose focal point in the library at All Souls College at the University of Oxford, an institution renowned for particular strengths in the humanities and social sciences.

Is the illuminated structure in the background a modern representation of the store of ancient knowledge once held at the Library of Alexandria? Is the lightning that electrifies this building meant to be a metaphor for an otherworldly force that provides or generates this illumination? The composition invites us to ponder these questions as well as the very nature and evolution of "human knowledge" itself.

The contrast between simulation theory, natural law, the source of life as we conceive of it in our realm, the laws of man, the source of authority for those laws, and a standardized collection of human ingenuity stored in a commonly accessible format are salient themes in our modern age.

Is our conventional wisdom no more than a mere facsimile or imperfect replica of the pinnacle of knowledge that may have brought our world into existence?

If it is inspired by a mind above ours, is there fidelity in its reproduction, or have new perturbations to its pattern led to disharmony? If so, is that discord irreconcilable? and what would that mean for our future?

For a copy of the original image of the Library of Alexandria, follow the link below:

https://www.ancient-origins.net/ancient-places-africa/what-treasures-were-lost-destruction-great-musaeum-alexandria-006924

³ For a more thorough discussion of Blackstone, Minecraft, natural order, and the relevance of simulation theory in reference to these subjects, see the original incarnation of this image in its prior iteration on this page:

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1Uw4gx8JzW/

".. fleeting sublunary pleasures [and] transcendental motives, wild and untamed. Semisentient beings with "freedom of will," yet governed by immutable divine decree." ³

02/10/2025

NATURAL 🌅🌪☄🗣🏗🧱🪂🧩🎭🧬🪞
ORDER 🎼🐚🕸🌿🐝🦠🏛🛸⏳⛈🎨🔌

Is rule of action dictated by some superior being? ¹

In those creatures that have neither the power to think, nor to will, are such laws invariably to be obeyed? ¹

Man, considered as a creature, is said to be a dependent being and therefore must necessarily be subject to the laws of a Creator. ¹

Man was manifested to discover the purpose of those laws. ¹

Even if he never understands them.

As mankind, “... we live happy or unhappy ... ignoring that we are, [for] the short time the gods give us to entertain them, like children playing serious games.” ²

_______________________
¹ The above questions on "Sir William Blackstone's Commentaries on the Law of England" are short excerpts, reproduced nearly verbatim, with question marks appended to the end of the sentence or grammar rearranged to match the context.

https://www.laits.utexas.edu/poltheory/blackstone/cle.int.s02.html

"The Commentaries on the Laws of England (commonly, but informally known as Blackstone's Commentaries) are an influential 18th-century treatise on the common law of England by Sir William Blackstone, originally published by the Clarendon Press at Oxford between 1765 and 1769. The work is divided into four volumes, on the rights of persons, the rights of things, of private wrongs and of public wrongs."

It is considered one of the most important philisophical works on common law legal theory in modern the Western world, and helped lay the foundation for American jurisprudence.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commentaries_on_the_Laws_of_England

² Fernando António Nogueira de Seabra Pessoa - (1888 - 1935) was a "Portuguese poet, writer, literary critic, translator, and publisher. He has been described as one of the most significant literary figures of the 20th century and one of the greatest poets in the Portuguese language."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fernando_Pessoa

Pessoa was also quoted as saying "We are slaves to our gods … whether or not they exist.”

Divine decree, like the law of nature, is eternal, immutable, and must be obeyed.

It's interesting to wonder where the concept of "gods" or "deities" diverges from the construct of "natural law," itself.

If divinity is omnipresent, it stands to reason that divine law comprises the very structure of our reality.
.. that God IS law.

"Ferae naturae is a Latin term meaning nature [wild] animals which refers to any animals that are not designated domesticated animals by law. Ferae naturae are generally considered the property of no one, however, a person can obtain a property interest in a given ferae naturae by capturing one."

https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/ferae_naturae

📸image: The movie poster for the 1999 film The Thirteenth Floor, dealing with topics of computer research and simulation theory.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thirteenth_Floor

Imposed in front of the movie poster is the depiction of 19th Century American "Manifest Destiny," personified by a robed woman laying utility line to connect the western frontier to the growing nation of America, taken from John Gast's 1872 painting titled "American Progress."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Progress

Here we see that Manifest Destiny is laying the wire framework that sketches our material reality.

The use of this imagery in this context is to suggest that the next frontier is beyond the limits of our current understanding.

Common notions of simulation theory almost seem intent on cheapening our collective perspective of existence, as though a more full and purpose driven life exists on the periphery of our reality. Is it possible, though, that this is an oversimplification of the structure, order, and intent of divine decree?

If this reality bore our existence, is it really a simulation? Especially if we know little else?

Either way, it leaves a lot of questions unanswered.

If all has been written, is there really such a thing as free will? Or prophecy? Or foresight, divinely ordained?

Is there such thing as fate?

As choice?

As destiny? Manifest or unrealized?

Are we really actors in a play, on the world stage?

If so, how do we know our lines?

And if we don't, how can we ever change our fates?

“Whose performance am I watching? How many people am I? Who am I? What is this space between myself and myself?” ²

As humankind, who are WE?

Wikipediae and repositories like it should be considered public utilities. They are a connection to our past as we brave a new frontier; a new age of information. A new understanding of society. Please take a moment to consider donating to help keep Wikipedia ad free and somewhat independent.

https://oka.wiki/donate/

If we forget our past, our past is bound to forget us.

09/03/2024

WöEF. 🤷🏼🧑‍🦯🌷🕊🐚🌚🪞
WöEF. ¹ 🎨🎶🔥🦮🏗🧮

"Ek is moeg, maar ek gaan nie moed opgee nie." ²

³
_______________________
¹ Stylized Afrikaans translation of the English word, "WOOF," (to bark), or the onomatopoeic vocalization used to denote the loud noise a dog makes, or "woef" in Afrikaans.

Afrikaans, or "Cape Dutch," is a West Germanic language derived from the form of Dutch brought to the Dutch Cape Colony of South Africa centered on the Cape of Good Hope (present day South Africa), by Protestant settlers in the 17th century. It gradually began to develop distinguishing characteristics in the decades that followed.

Afrikaans is spoken in South Africa, Namibia and Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe, and is notably associated in American pop-culture with movies like District 9 and Blood Diamond or the South African musical duo DIE ANTWOORD. There is a high degree of mutual intelligibility between Dutch and Afrikaans, particularly in written form. As it evolved, Afrikaans acquired some lexical and syntactical borrowings from other languages such as Malay, Khoisan languages, Portuguese, and Bantu languages, and Afrikaans has also been significantly influenced by South African English.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afrikaans

According to Google's Search Labs | AI Overview, "the word woof is an imitative or expressive formation, and its earliest known use is in the 1830s."

The "o" in the sylized word "WöEF," repeated twice in this post's title, is appended with what are called umlauts (um·laut /ˈo͝omˌlout/), a mark ( ¨ ) used over a vowel, as in [languages such as] German or Hungarian, to indicate a different vowel quality, as described in the definition returned in the first result for the search term "umlauts meaning" in Google.

Words used in American English are often stylized with European phonetic indicators called "diacritical marks," such as accent marks or umlauts, for the sake of making them appear more foreign and exotic.

² Quote from November 17th, 2020 Silky & Filthy post, with new picture and updated branding, adapted and reproduced for South African meme repository "Rhodesian Ridgequotes," and translated into Afrikaans.

See original post:
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/MzMecjew4XwqKgK2/

📸 image credit: Dutch photographer Monique Gidding of Hondenfotografie

https://mogihondenfotografie.nl

The photo was found in a four part editorial series by science writer and author, canine nutritionist and dog trainer Linda P. Case on her blog The Science Dog about the use of facial expressions as an operant conditioning behavioral modification technique to influence emotional states in training dogs.

photo:
https://thesciencedog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/funny-face-weimeraner.jpg

article:
https://thesciencedog.com/2013/09/19/face-gonna-freeze-like-that/

*Case listed the dog as a Weimaraner when the image was uploaded to a content management system before being published on the web, although, according to the photographer, the dog is a Slovakian Rough-haired Pointer. It certainly does appear that the dog could be mixed with a smoother haired dog like a Weimaraner, a Magyar Vizsla, or a Rhodesian Ridgeback (also referred to as a "Lion Chaser").

*EDIT: [the photographer was unavailable for comment at the time of publishing to clarify the dog's breed. It has since been confirmed that the dog in the original photo is of her dog Kandor, a full blooded Weimaraner, not her Slovakian Rough-haired Pointer. Thank you, Monique Gidding 🙏🕊🌈] ***

³ the phrase "eat grass," expressed as a hashtag ( #) at the end of the post (prior to these footnotes), refers to the way dogs can often be observed eating grass, compelled by instinct to increase their fiber intake, which, as explained by Google's Search Labs | AI Overview when queried "why do dogs eat grass," to satiate a fiber deficiency which "can make it difficult for dogs to digest food and pass stool."

The dog in the original picture is chewing on a mouthful of grass. perhaps, as Google Search Labs | AI Overview suggests, to aid in digestion, or to flush out parasites, or, as is also explained by Google ... possibly out of boredom:

"Dogs may eat grass to pass the time, especially if they are left alone for long periods ..."

08/25/2024

FAITH ⛈🪞🙏🐚🎨⚒🗣
IS ... 🌄🧮🧠🫀🫂🕊🌷

" … the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted," ¹ but that a change of circumstance has challenged beyond your perception.

_______________________
¹ Clive Staples Lewis, aka "C.S. Lewis," (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer, literary scholar, and Anglican lay theologian. He is best known as the author of The Chronicles of Narnia, but he is also noted for his other works of fiction, such as The Screwtape Letters and The Space Trilogy, and for his non-fiction Christian apologetics, including Mere Christianity, Miracles, and The Problem of Pain.

Lewis was a close friend of J. R. R. Tolkien, author of The Lord of the Rings. Both men served on the English faculty at Oxford University and were active in the informal Oxford literary group known as the Inklings.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._S._Lewis

A generous and faithful man, "Lewis gave away the royalties from his books. Though he had only a modest salary as a tutor at Magdalen College, Lewis set up a charitable trust to give away whatever money he received from his books. Having given away his royalties when he first began this practice, he was startled to learn that the government still expected him to pay taxes on the money he had earned."

https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/tip-sheet/article/81733-10-things-you-probably-didn-t-know-about-c-s-lewis.html

"Though C. S. Lewis died many decades before the rise of the New Atheists, he taught and wrote in an academic world where naturalism, scientism, and secular humanism were ascendant and the Christian worldview was either dismissed or relegated to the personal, emotional realm. In the refined Oxbridge atmosphere in which Lewis lived and moved and had his being, most professors took for granted that miracles did not happen, that Jesus was just a good, moral teacher, and that evolution was a sufficient theory to explain everything we see around us and experience within us.

In response to this reigning materialist paradigm, one he had vehemently embraced throughout his teens and 20s, Lewis wrote three works of apologetics that have not lost any of their power. In Mere Christianity, he first argued for the existence of God on moral grounds and then clarified the essential teachings of the gospel, biblical morality, and Christian theology. In The Problem of Pain, he reconciled the ubiquity of pain and suffering in the world with the all-good and all-powerful God of the Scriptures. In Miracles, he argued that miracles do not break the laws of nature but are consistent with the God revealed in Christ and the Bible."

https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2022/october-web-only/case-aslan-narnia-cs-lewis-david-marshall.html

It's scary how many peoples' opinion of "atheism," or a refusal to adhere to any specific religious doctrine, in their opinion precludes spirituality altogether. A "naturalist" or "materialist" can find value in religious scripture, even if they don't subscribe to any specific religious faith. There's value in understanding different perspectives on mankind's connection to the divine. Religious doctrine describes real magic, experienced by real people. Magic we can touch, even in this earthly realm.

From this perspective, all religions are NOT equally true.

According to Rabbi Rami Shapiro, they're actually "equally FALSE."

"The relationship of religion to truth is like that of a menu to a meal. The menu describes the meal as best it can. It points to something beyond itself. As long as we use the menu as a guide we do it honor. When we mistake the menu for the meal, we do it and ourselves a grave injustice.”

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/qhDqe6RgDyVazScD/

Faith is universal. We can read about it in books, but to truly believe, we need to experience it for ourselves.

Faith is believing, even when we can't see.

"God is the ultimate depth, untouchable by our being." (Octavio Paz).

We can't ever really KNOW ... all we can do is have FAITH.

08/13/2024

I 🧑‍🦯🪞🌚🫂🕊🌷
AM ... 🐚🫀🧠🧮

“... i am speculation, adventure, the spirit of pursuit …” ¹

_______________________
¹ Capt. Benjamin Franklin “Hawkeye” Pierce, played by Alan Alda in the 16th episode of the 7th season of M*A*S*H, aired on CBS, January 8th, 1979.

In this episode, Hawkeye is challenged to confront his often selfish nature. A recurring theme throughout the series as Hawkeye matures, learns lessons about life, as well as about the world around him.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0638338/

Hawkeye's lesson in S07E16? Sometimes we don't get what we want.
.. at least until we understand that what we NEED is more important.

"The only active force that arises out of possession is fear of losing the object of possession." ~ Ancient Egyptian Proverb

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/miXFbbUQwFJ1yf2C/

Disillusionment. Loss. Disappointment.

Open your eyes.

Wake up.

Sometimes the world around us holds up a mirror.

Sometimes we are a mirror for the world around us.

What we encounter is often a reflection of what we show the world.

And vice versa.

At any given moment, that reflection can be a distortion. But if we pay attention to what we see, over time, we can usually come to recognize patterns.

Sir John Polkinghorne ... renowned theologian and mathematical physicist ... explains that "the soul is an information bearing pattern," or "the anthropic fine tuning of the universe."

https://chcweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Evolution-Creation-Intelligent-Design.pdf

We are the sum total of thousands of generations before us. Our ancestors' wildest dream come true. A mathematical impossibility. A testament to the term "iterative progress" in it's most ornate expression.

A very, very, long progression. With many twists of fate. An insurmountable endeavor if taken in its entirety; only possible for us to perceive in infinitely many small actions with every step we take.

The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step.

It's something we can sometimes only recognize in retrospect.

Self-discovery is a journey within.

An odyssey: "a long wandering or voyage usually marked by many changes of fortune."

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/odyssey

Learn yourself.

Pursue yourself.

Make yourself.

Of yourself.

Be yourself.

Compete with YOURSELF.

You might never win, but if you look at it any other way you've already lost 🤷🏼

07/13/2024

DON'T LIE, DON'T CHEAT, 🎃🪞🌚
DON'T STEAL ² 🙏🐾🐆🐘⚒🎨🐚

Space and time are mere "forms of intuition" that structure all experience, and the objects of experience are no more than mere "appearances." ¹

________________________________________
¹ Wikipedia article about Immanuel Kant,³ the German philosopher and one of the central Enlightenment thinkers. Born in Königsberg, Kant's comprehensive and systematic works in epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, and aesthetics have made him one of the most influential and controversial figures in modern Western philosophy, being called the "father of modern ethics," the "father of modern aesthetics," and for bringing together rationalism and empiricism earned the title of "father of modern philosophy."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immanuel_Kant

📸 image credit: engraving of Immanuel Kant by German School, appended with the head of a jaguar, with an image of a galaxy beyond the curtain of his office as the backdrop to a translucent image of Kant's face.

² concise summary of the ethical philosophy underpinning "deontology," a school of thought "often associated with philosopher Immanuel Kant," from a University of Texas article on the subject.

"Deontology is simple to apply. It just requires that people follow the rules and do their duty. This approach tends to fit well with our natural intuition about what is or isn’t ethical.

Unlike consequentialism, which judges actions by their results, deontology doesn’t require weighing the costs and benefits of a situation. This avoids subjectivity and uncertainty because you only have to follow set rules."

https://ethicsunwrappedutexas.edu/glossary/deontology

It's argued, however, that deontology falls short when subjective evaluation of several factors means we have to weigh consequences in a complicated world.

A lot of moving parts.

It becomes a matter of prioritizing principles.

Rules don't work well when we need to consider exceptions, unless we already have rules for those.

So what does one do in order to prioritize their principles in a murky context?

It's difficult.

A matter of hard choices. A situation that deontology is or isn't always equipped to deal with. At least well. At least depending on what you think or see.

What can you see? What do you know? What do you think?

Hard and fast rules aren't always applicable.

So when should you change them? Break them? Or Make them?

When subjectivity can justify ANYTHING, what can you hold on to?

Is it really subjectivity when EVERYTHING is bent around a single self-serving motive?

NO.

Awash in a roiling sea of doubt, where do we turn?

We try to lash ourselves to a single point of certainty.

Sometimes, one needs "to deny knowledge in order to make room for faith.” ³

A true north. A real perspective. A moral compass.

A matter of personal views. Make and keep pure motives.

So what's pure?

It's all a matter of perspective. A matter of substance.

While “thoughts without content are empty, intuitions without concepts are blind.” ³

In the end, if all we know is what we see, and what we see is just an illusion, what do we really know AT ALL?

To wait. Be patient.

"Truth is the child of time." ³

07/13/2024

PIZZA 🍕😝🤷🏼♻️🍳🏗
GREASE ² 🤟🥳🧠⌛🐢

"Forgiveness is divine, but never pay full price for late pizza." ¹

______________________________
¹ Michaelangelo - in the 1990 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie, played by Robbie Rist, "American actor known for playing Cousin Oliver in The Brady Bunch, Martin in Grady and "Little John" in Big John, Little John. Rist is also known for voicing assorted characters in television shows, games and movies, including Stuffy, the overly-proud stuffed dragon in Doc McStuffins, Whiz in Kidd Video, Star in Balto, Maroda in Final Fantasy X, Choji Akimichi in Naruto, and Michelangelo in the films Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze (1991), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III (1993), and Casey Jones (2011)."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robbie_Rist

"Michelangelo, nicknamed Mike or Mikey, is a superhero and one of the four main characters of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics and all related media. Characterized as the most naturally gifted of the four brothers, Michelangelo prefers leisure to training martial arts."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelangelo_(Teenage_Mutant_Ninja_Turtles)

² the reason why pizza boxes are notoriously difficult to recycle, as the pizza grease weakens the fibers of the corrugated cardboard material they're made from.

"Pizza box recycling has been an issue within the recycling world for years. The material that these boxes are made of is typically not accepted by recycling companies due to the fact that the pizza grease contaminates it and makes the fibers weak. This means that the 3 million pizza boxes that are used each year are almost all thrown into the trash instead of being properly recycled.

This is a staggering amount of waste, and GEL Recycling believes that this wasteful practice can and should be stopped. New research indicates that contact with grease has to be extreme for pizza boxes to be unfit for recycling and that there is no reason to avoid recycling your pizza boxes. Consumers are not aware of this alteration in the guidelines for pizza box recycling, however, and these boxes continue to be thrown out rather than recycled.

Collecting the hundreds of thousands of tons of corrugated cardboard that are excluded from the recycling stream due to contact with pizza grease can make a measurable difference when it comes to sustainability and conservation."

https://gelrecycling.com/recycle-your-pizza-boxes-in-and-around-florida

"God, I LOVE BEING A TURTLE!" ¹

07/13/2024

THE LAST 🎃🎭🪞🌚🙊
LIBERTARIAN HERO ¹ 🧮

“I Would Describe Myself As Quite Sane and Lucid, Which is Why I’m Still Alive.” ²

________________________________________
¹ Article - Rubio, Chema. (27 June, 2021). “Who was John McAfee and why did he commit su***de in a Barcelona jail?” Atalayar Entre Orillas. https://www.atalayar.com/en/articulo/new-technologies-innovation/who-was-john-mcafee-and-why-did-he-commit-su***de-barcelona-jail/20210627095250151838.html

² John Mcafee - cybersecurity guru of the 1980’s and 1990’s, avid yoga enthusiast (see: "Secret of the Yamas," by John McAfee), tech entrepreneur (McAfee antivirus software), and all around enlightened gun-toting nutcase who took his winnings in the commercial software market and ran off to Belize to manufacture his own “vitamin supplements,” started his own small scale local militia, and spent his days frolicking in a tropical paradise with a gang of bandits and teenage women (see: "Gr**go: The Dangerous Life of John McAfee," 2016 documentary).

Hailed by some as “The Last Libertarian Hero,” ¹ McAfee, an avid Bitcoin enthusiast, in addition to a bizarre run for public office in 2015, also helped the Libertarian cause and promoted the personal freedom that a medium of exchange like cryptocurrency had to offer.

The Libertarian Party, having a strong presence in the debate about cryptocurrencies over the past decade, has championed the cause of anonymity when it comes to deregulation and decentralization of financial markets. A salient part of this plank of the Libertarian platform is published on Libertarianism.org, as follows:

“Bitcoin, a privately issued medium of exchange, is a libertarian answer to a problem many libertarians care deeply about: the abuse and seizure of private property by the state. History is replete with examples of governments that exploited their monopoly privileges to debase the currency at the public’s expense.” ³

It’s clear that blockchain technology and cryptoassets have been used to steer the political process, as, particularly in considering the creation of a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) that cryptocurrencies now a major concern amongst corporations and lawmakers. The Federal Reserve has been experimenting in federally backed crypto currency, and it is the sole liability of the central bank ⁴. Moreover, the crypto movement was born amongst the digital congregation in darkweb social platforms, some of which, in internet terms, could be said to have never seen the light of day.

³ Zuluaga, Diego. (24 November, 2020). “Bitcoin.” Libertarianism.org. https://www.libertarianism.org/topics/bitcoin

⁴ The Federal Reserve. (11 April, 2023) “Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC): Frequently Asked Questions.” Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. https://www.federalreserve.gov/cbdc-faqs.htm

"I am not in any way a conspiracy theorist and have no time for such nonsense." ²

06/28/2024

HOW? 🧑🏼‍🦯🐾🐆🧭🌦🌱⏳
EASY ... 🗣🐘🎭⚒🎨🐚

"Let go and let God deal with it." ¹

_______________________
¹ Clifford Joseph Harris Jr. - aka T.I., in his song "No Matter What," from his sixth studio album, the 2008 release "Paper Trail." The name of the album was partially inspired by his decision to write his lyrics down on paper, a practice he hadn't used since his 2001 album, "I'm Serious."

The phrase, "Let go and let God deal with," loosely paraphrased, is similar to a quote by Horace, the Ancient Roman poet and philosopher, who, in his First Book of Odes, in Ode IX to Thaliarchus in Winter, wrote "Leave the rest to the gods." ²

² Quintus Horatius Flaccus - aka Horace, the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian) ...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horace
.. was known in his own time primarily for his Odes, a series of poems written in [a similar tone and tenor to that] of ancient Greek classics. Generations of later poets would be inspired by Horace's rectitude, his devotion to tradition and to form, and his overwhelming concern with the importance of moral instruction in poetry.

https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Horace

Much of Harris' work also deals with moral questions. How to confront problems in life. Determination in the face of difficulty. Holding onto ethics through life's hardest challenges. The song "No Matter What" deals with TI's own anxiety over drastic life changes, feelings of helplessness, loss, and dealing with adversity in the public eye.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Matter_What_(T.I._song)

Even those who can do ANYTHING can't do EVERYTHING.

Especially alone.

Where can we turn for help in life's darkest turns?

To our faith.

Like Harris, Horace acknowledges our limitations and reminds us to accept that there is much beyond our control.

Let the gods deal with it.

In the English language version displayed on the Loeb Classical Library site, Horace's ode is prefaced with the phrase "Winter bids us make merry." ²

https://www.loebclassics.com/view/horace-odes/2004/pb_LCL033.41.xml?readMode=recto

Stay positive.

Take time to contemplate. Nothing worthwhile is easy.

Hope, "cased in ice by the shuddering cold." ²

https://allpoetry.com/poem/14330269-Bki-Ix-Winter-by-Horace

Prepare for tomorrow, "leave the rest to the gods." ²

In the Loeb translation from the original Latin, Horace goes on to say in his Ode to Thaliarchus in Winter, "Once [the gods] still the winds that battle so fiercely over the boiling sea, the old cypress and ash trees are no longer in commotion." ²

Don't quit. Face your problems. Even if they seem insurmountable.

"We can't fix what we do not address." ¹

“Leave off asking what tomorrow will bring, and whatever days fortune will give, count them as profit.” ²

"Some people see fog, others see the destination." ¹

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNBRDkrq7_Y (18:22)

"Pulvis et umbru sumus," or, translated into English, "we are but dust and shadow." ²

Life is short. "It's later than you think." ²

Make the best of your time here.

"Pactum Serva," or "Keep the Faith." ²

"Refuse to give up, your mistakes don't define you. They don't dictate where you're headed, they remind you." ¹

"Rejoice while you are alive. " ²

Listen to your heart.

"The closest you can get to speaking to God is when you hear your own voice in your own ear." ¹

and,

"The greatest lesson in life is to know that even fools are right sometimes." ²

📸image credit: Horace, as imagined by Anton von Werner, displayed as the main image on the New World Encyclopedia article on Horace, appended with a bottle of E&J VSOP Black Label and a cigarette in his left hand, an ancient bronze medallion depicting himself, seen on the Wikipedia page for Horace, as well as a pair of size 10 Crocs.

https://stockx.com/crocs-classic-clog-jjjjound-white?size=10

Hope for clear skies. Prepare for hard travels.

“Treacherous ashes hide the fires through which you stride” ²

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