Nostradamus - Haiti

I am fascinated by many theories and ideas. The validity or truth value isn't what drives the interest, but the possibility thereof. A man who has interested me for many years now is Nostradamus. Whether his predictions are true or false is almost irrelevant. It is the idea of trying to piece puzzles together while deciphering an unknown language. It is the idea of making us think. So, as a side note, I ran into an interesting quatrain of none other than Nostradamus. There are two versions of the same quatrain that I know of, so I will post both to avoid confusion.

Century II Quatrain 78

"The great Neptune from the depths of the sea
Will come to the people with Punic and Gallic blood mixed
The Isles bloody because of too slow rowing
It will do them more harm than their occultism poorly concealed"

Or..

"The great Neptune of the deep of the sea
With Punic race and Gallic blood mixed.
The Isles bled, because of the tardy rowing:
More harm will it do him than the ill-concealed secret."


If you haven't figured it out already, it could be a possible link to the devastation in Haiti. I'm not saying in any way, shape or form that this is DIRECTLY related or means anything. But as I said before, it's something to make you think. I will point out a few things to help better your understanding, and maybe you'll research on your own to see what you find.

First off, "the great Neptune" (Also known as the Greek god Poseidon) is considered to be the god of the sea and also credited to be the god of earthquakes.

"Depths of the sea" is just that. The earthquake in Haiti happened at a depth of about 8.1 miles down, which is about 13 kilometers. Yes, that's pretty far down. It occured on the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden fault, which extends from Haiti and farther West out East into the Caribbean. That would mean the quake was massive, and it was. Keep in mind, Haiti was not the only surrounding countries to feel the quake, but the got the bulk of the blow.

"Punic and Gallic blood mixed." Punic (from Latin, meaning Phoenician) were people of North Africa. Through research, I did not find any confirmation on what they were as a people. But one could take an educated guess that being from North Africa, the possibility of a black race is one to ponder. Gallic, or Gaul, (derived from a region of Europe) is a synonym for French, one of the official languages in Haiti.

Isle means island. As I said before, not only Haiti felt the earthquake and was effected by it. Surrounding islands or "Isles" were also within the quakes reach.

"Too slow rowing", or "tardy rowing" Could imply the needed help that was sent by sea. For example, we sent ship hospitals over that took some time to get there. During this time, Haiti was overwhelmed with the amount of blood and bodies that needed immediate medical attention that couldn't be granted.

Lastly, "do them more harm then their occulticism poorly concealed." Occult comes from the Latin word "Occultus", meaning hidden secret. Occulticism is the study of hidden wisdom, a study of truth that involves such subjects as magic or voodoo. Black magic or voodoo is a syncretic (growing together) religion or belief originating from the country of Haiti.


Again, I am not saying this is directly related to Haiti. All I'm saying is that the possible relationship should consider some thought. If you believe, then you believe. If you don't believe, then it's still interesting to untie the knots.








p.s. A 2007 hazard study noted that the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden fault zone could be nearing the end of its seismic cycle. It was concluded that a future possibility could include a size 7.2 magnitude earthquake in this zone. 2008 included geologist opinion on this zone being a high risk of seismic activity. All the dots add up. It's exactly what happened.


I better get a tip for this one. Thanks again for coming to Wasoc.

Haiti - S.O.S.

By now, we have all heard and seen of the unfortunate devastation in Haiti. I have spent some time looking through a database of over 10,000 people, found or missing, in Haiti. Scrolling through the list, looking at the pictures, and reading the names was all too surreal. Many people are still missing or deceased.

With such a natural disaster impacting our world, you would think the ideal thought of people would be helpful and positive. But this is Wasoc, so there must be some criticism somewhere. I have heard and read about opinions of people who are opposed to helping Haiti. Without mentioning any names, I will mention some of the mindsets. Some people believe that we are in our own realm of turmoil and troubles and that helping someone else just adds more water to an already full glass. The argument is that America needs to worry about their own problems and fix those before trying to rebuild another country. Others say that Haiti was in a troubled form long before the earthquake, so why wait until a tragic event to lend a hand?

I understand the arguments, and I don't condemn the ideas or the thought processes. Regardless of your viewpoints, they're legit questions. We do indeed have our own problems, there's no question about it. It doesn't mean we shouldn't help a neighboring country suffering terrible heartache, loss, pain, and death. Haiti didn't bring this upon themselves, unlike many of the problems America has, it happened unexpectedly. I am in full support of sending what we can and helping who we can in Haiti. They have their hand out and there is no reason we should turn our heads, regardless of our own situations here in the U.S.

I look at it this way, if we suffered a massive earthquake here and lost our government buildings, our hospitals, our schools, our loved ones, our children...we would be the first people to ask for help. And we would be the first to wonder why no one was helping and then curse those who chose not to. It's easy to look at the situation from the outside. Putting yourself in the situation changes things. We would want the help, so we can't be so closed minded and selfish not to give what we can when needed. It shouldn't always be about what you gain, but more so what you give away.

If you can, donate to the support in Haiti. You can donate by going to http://www.redcross.org/ or by texting "Haiti" to 90999. They could use your help, support, and prayers.

Avatar - Success Has Its Criticisms

Hello again, and welcome to Wasoc. I'm sure by now everyone has heard about or seen the movie Avatar. The movie has swept the nation grossing over 2 billion dollars to date worldwide. The movie is about a paraplegic ex-marine who experiences a new life on a far distant planet called Pandora. He finds himself battling along side the planets Na'vi race in this James Cameron Sci-Fi adventure. I've seen the movie in its entirety and highly recommend it for those who love creativity and imagination.

So why exactly am I writing about this? Well, with success comes a side of criticism. Rather than head to the theater, grab some popcorn and a snack, snag a seat right in the middle, pop on the 3D glasses, and enjoy a movie that takes you to another world...some would rather find fault in the film instead of appreciating the hard work that went on 12 years in the making. Some have now gone as far as criticizing the movie for it being against capitalism and sending leftist propaganda messages. Political conservatives have stated that people should be offended by such a movie, especially our military figures and leadership. Come on America, does everything need to have a secret encoded subliminal message?

The movie Avatar has a clear message about greed. There is no hidden subtext. However, because it paints a mindset, people now feel the need to rebel against the film. Are we so proud to be an American that we now have tunnel vision? Give me a break. "It's a way of sort of looking back at ourselves from this other world and seeing what we're doing here", Cameron, the director of Avatar, states. People have taken this way too seriously and forget that it's just a story. The film holds within it a love story just like any other movie, the only difference is we're taken on a journey through a fascinating new planet that is mesmerizing to the eye. Yes, it has some views of the writer, but what movie doesn't? Cameron has incorporated into the film what he sees as the actions that could destroy a planet or a race. Is he wrong? Hell damn no. Greed? Selfishness? Money hungry bosses who will do whatever they can to gain more even if it includes hostile takeover? Kind of like...an invasion? Sound familiar at all?

Listen, the facts are out there. But everyone is so in denial that there will always be heated debate. There is nothing in this film that is so over the top that should cause one not to see it. It's a story. And a good one. And it's good stories that make good movies, regardless of whose views they are. And the movie has grossed over 2 billion dollars worldwide, so what does that say about whoever's watching it?

If you were to take my advice, then watch the film if you haven't already. Enjoy it. Take it for what it is. Appreciate it for what it is, and that's good film making, good entertainment, and good writing. It's proven itself week after week, so someone did something right. If you don't want to see it, fine. But don't blame liberal views and leftist messages from some imaginary story that ISN'T REAL! It's just a movie, nothing more. There's no difference in writing a book with your viewpoints on each line and writing a movie with your viewpoints on every screen. People choose to read it or watch it on their own, no one forces anyone to spend 10 dollars when they don't want to. If people could only learn to escape reality for a couple hours at a time and submerge themselves in an alternate world, people would enjoy art a little more and maybe even relieve some stress. And let's face it, some of you could use it.

Although Avatar attempted at times to mirror what goes on here in our world, we're not on Pandora. Therefore, the movie is a mirage. Something we see for a brief moment and then it's gone. We watch these sci-fi fantasy movies to get away from our own world for a second and enjoy something we haven't experienced before. If you want to watch real life drama, stay home and look outside.

Toy Story 3, be careful. You may upset some of these tight asses who think your adult innuendos and political sense of humor is too much for our world.

Please.

You know what, this meals on me. Thanks for coming to Wasoc.

State Of The Union 2010

President Obama moves forward into a new year, a new decade of our time. He gives yet another speech addressing the American people and the issues that run parallel with our daily lives. President Obama sat down at the table with a full plate on January 20th, 2009. As 2010 sets sail, the President still has a long way to go.

I've noticed that many people take the opportunity to criticize Obama's work ethic and policies. But I've also noticed that people aren't in the same state of panic they were once in before he became president. The country repeated over and over just how close we were coming to a depression. Throughout Obama's campaign, he instilled hope in the people that we would halt ourselves from falling into a depression and create jobs for many people. Obama has been president for a year now, and guess what? No depression. We, as a country, have so far to go but I think we've taken a hell of a first step.

Obama, in his state of the union address, spoke on the issues of debate. One issue he spoke on was the tax cuts that many say weren't implemented. "We cut taxes for 95 percent of working families", he says. This includes taxes for small businesses, first time home buyers, and most importantly for me, 8 million Americans paying for college. Another issue, just as important as any, are the lack of jobs. "Because of the steps we took, there are about 2 million Americans working right now who would otherwise be unemployed." I'm no math genius, but 2 million people is a lot of people anyway you look at it. I'm sure the majority of us can't say we know what its like to be president of the United States. However, I know creating jobs for that many people can't be an easy task. Not to mention, that was a task carried out within the first year of his presidency. The Obama administration is also on track to add another 1.5 million jobs to the total by the end of the year. This positively affects so many Americans including teachers, cops, and fire fighters who now have jobs after recently being unemployed. Over the past 2 years, there have been nearly 7 million jobs lost and this subtracted 2 million is no balanced make up. However, it is a large step in the right direction.

Another issue that is vital to the success of our future, and that is the state of our school educational system. "The success of our children cannot depend more on where they live than on their potential." Obama looks to renew the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and work with Congress to expand reforms to all states. In this economy however, a high school diploma is not sufficient enough to guarantee a job. This is why Obama urges the Senate to follow the House and pass a bill that will "revitalize" community colleges. As many can relate, community colleges are future pathways to children of many hardworking families. Making college more affordable is a goal of Obama's and a hope of mine. I'm a senior and will be graduating soon, but the many that follow behind me should have better opportunities than I had. If they do not, then there was no progression and that is not how it should be. "No one should go broke because they chose to go to college", says Obama. I couldn't agree with this quote more. Obama looks to change the repayment plans of student loans and change the paid interest to help ensure Americas can pay off their loans in 20 years, and to do so without suffering financially as much as we are now.

Regardless of your thoughts on Obama, or criticisms about his time as president, these are changes that need to be made for the betterment of our future. Our future lies in the hands of our youth, and if we do not support and lift our youth, then all is lost. Education is important, taxes are important, and jobs are important. Obama is implementing policies that will strengthen these issues for the good of the country. Those who think there is some evil subplot hidden within the fine print of the Obama Administration should evaluate themselves. Ask yourself, do you really care about the betterment of the country? Or is it every man and woman for themselves? Although every policy and plan will not work, Obama seems to have this country's best interest at heart, and regardless of who you are or where you're from, you can't fault him for that.

Thank you for coming to Wasoc.

Welcome to Wasoc, Can I Take Your Order?

Welcome to Wasoc. A place where you can share your thoughts, ideas, and criticisms on life as we know it. I will discuss any topic from politics, news, media, film, music, art, technological advancements, mergers, business corporations, and so forth. Anything that comes to mind will be posted. For those of you who are very opinionated and critical, feel free to share your mind here at Wasoc.