My Blog

I am a CU student

morgandrake — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 23:12:28 GMT

It is official that I am going to be attending the University of Colorado at Denver this fall semester. My aid information was finally posted yesterday, and I have enrolled in classes. So I am going to taking Foundations of Physics, which I need to take (and back-transfer to the Community College of Denver) for my Associate degree (the very last class I need for that piece of paper). The rest of the classes I am taking are for my Bachelor degree. Towards my core CU requirements, I am taking Economics of Race and Gender, to satisfy the cultural diversity requirement. Both the base literature and history classes I need to take were all filled up, so I will have to take them next semester (in fact, every class I looked at yesterday was either all filled up or on the verge of being so). To fill out the rest of my schedule, I decided to take one literature class (Literature of the City) and one history class (Greece and the Hellenistic World). That way I am working both on my major (Literature) and my minor (History---though I might decide to go with a double major after talking to my advisors). It feels strange to be getting ready to go to CU; after all, I am surprised that I even got in. There is a part of me that wonders if I have not bit off more than I can chew. I guess that only time will tell at this point.

Open Full Moon dates for the rest of 2008

morgandrake — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 23:11:44 GMT

Hearthstone Community Church Open Full Moon Dates for the rest of 2008 July 18 (this one I am doing) August 22 September 12 October 10 November 7 December 12 Meets at the First Unitarian Church at 14th and Lafayette, Denver Colorado Doors open at 7 pm. Ritual starts at 7:30 pm.

Politics and friendship

morgandrake — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 23:46:50 GMT

One of the things that I am worried about lately is that my changing political views are going to start costing me friendships. I always been strong in my political opinions, but I have always been able to see both sides of the problems that face this country. But lately, I noticed that I am leaning far more towards certain opinions than I used to. I am not sure if it is because I am in college, and am absorbing the views of my professors and classmates, or if these changes in my outlook are just a natural growth of my own mind. Either way, I am starting to notice that more and more I am starting to disagree with friends that I used to agree with. For instance, I don't think that locking our borders and outlawing outsourcing is going to help our economy. I also do not believe that our, or any other country's, economy is a zero sum game. I think that we should be focused on the long term and not just quick fixes. Unfortunately, I have some friends who lean towards the opposite. I did not realize how much my own politics had changed until I started to avoid talking politics with them. I know that I can not bring them around to my point of view, and I really don't want to bow down to their opinion either. And in the end, I think that my changing worldview might just be enough to destory the few remaining friendships that I have left. I hope not, but I am not going to hold my breath either.

I am on the front page today

morgandrake — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 18:32:50 GMT

Today, one of my articles is being featured on the front page of Helium. It is about Spring Cleaning for Writers: Organizing Your Office. I wrote it last year when I was getting ready to do the annual dusting of my office. I am not the best example of organization, or tidiness. I tend to let things slide for awhile until they are piled up to the ceiling, or it has to be absolutely done (dishes, laundry, trash). It is not good if you are trying to earn your living by being a writer--the idea is to be able to find your research when you need it. The tendency to let things pile up to the ceiling has gotten worse since I started to go to college. My recent humor piece about house cleaning did not mention that a lot of the time lately, both my wife and I have no time to clean; it is either clean or do our homework--big choice, isn't it? Yet the attitude I portrayed myself having is my actual outlook; maybe if I ignore it long enourgh, someone else will clean it instead. Often it works, the wife has a lower tolerance for dust than I do--though dishes and litter boxes would never get done if I left them to her devices. So I admit that I have a tendency to just let things slide and the clutter to build up. Except during the spring. For some reason, spring brings about the urge to clean and organize. It is not just in the house either; the majority of the garden work that gets done is accomplished during the spring. I have never been able to put my finger on why I get the urge to clean, organize, and garden during the spring. It is not exactly like me. Outside of spring, cleaning, organization and garden work is typically a sign that I am avoiding something--normally a piece of writing that I am having difficulty with. Writing is not anymore difficult in the spring than in any other season, so I remain puzzled by the urge to do these things. In fact, over the lot couple of days, I have done some gardening and organizing of the computer files, plus I started to sort the piles on the coffee table. Someone please send help, I feel another case of spring cleaning coming on. http://www.helium.com/items/228283-there-always-couple-during

Dan Carlin--History and Politics

morgandrake — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 19:30:23 GMT

Recently, I have been listening to a lot of podcasts. This is mainly due to Toni having to do Spanish homework, and needing me to be relatively quiet (I am never perfectly quiet or still--it might or might not be ADHD); and partially due to the fact that I have a new IPod. I have been exploring a lot, searching the podcast library for things of interest. Looking for the usual stuff--French and Hebrew podcasts (my languages of choice)--and things to entertain me. So I started looking at the political and history podcasts; it has never been said that my idea of entertainment is normal. One of the podcasts that I stumbled across was Hardcore History, a podcast put together by Dan Carlin. One problem with history is that it can be boring, especially when it is talked about by professors. Carlin is not a teacher of history; he is an euthastic student of history. Because of that, he talks about the parts of history that fascinates him, rather than dry dusty dates. And at the end of one of the Hardcore History podcasts, there was a mention of the other podcast that he does--Common Sense, a political podcast. I think that Carlin's ideas about politics and what really is going on to be interesting. I know that some people will point to Carlin as proof that allowing people to make podcasts is like giving every lunatic in a tin hat their very own radio show, much like allowing people to blog is like allowing every nutjob to run their own newspaper. But I like Carlin--maybe that is because of the type of person that I am. Why do I like Carlin? In one of his latest podcasts, he talks about how the whole issue of Obama and his minister is a guilt by association tale cobbled together on a slow newsday; it also helps those who are trying to slow Obama down. Carlin believes that it is a tin hat story; nothing really to worry about. And in another podcast, he talks about what the founding fathers really meant the right to bear arms to be all about; I understood it. The founding fathers never meant the right to bear arms to be a separate amendment; it serves a greater purpose. I would go into greater detail, but that would rob you of the joy of listening to Dan Carlin yourself. So go hop over to the Itunes Store, or Dan Carlin's website, to download these great podcasts. http://dancarlin.com/

Book Review: Magical Pathworking: Techniques of Active Imagination (Nick Farrell)

morgandrake — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 20:20:20 GMT

Been doing a lot of book reviews lately. It is sad when you are reading more books and doing less writing. Anyway, the latest was about Nick Farrell "Magical Pathworking: Techniques of Active Imagination" which is now up on Helium. http://www.helium.com/tm/788386/modern-secrets-practical-occultism

Carson Daly--bad news for striking writers

morgandrake — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 22:54:34 GMT

Last week, Last Call with Carson Daly announced that they were going to go back to work, despite the Hollywood Writers' Strike. Reading the article, my comment was "Carson Daly uses writers?!" I have seen Last Call; there is no evidence that he uses writers. If he does, I am shocked. Do these writers stand outside Home Depot, or whatever one would find day writers (probably Dunking Donuts), because the writing on that show has never been very good. And having watched a few of the espisodes this week, I find that Carson Daly without writers is as good as Carson Daly with writers. There is a reason why he is on so late. It is either him or an infomerical. Not that I am saying that he is bad. It is just that occasionally I ask how much he is paying his writers. The skits he does sometimes stink. And their function seem to be burning up time. His improv this week has been just as effective at burning up time. And he is not paying writers to hack it out. He may want to consider not bringing the writers back after the strike is over. And yes, I realize that I should support the Hollywood Writers' Strike. After all, they are my brothers in arms. Well, not really. I am not a member of the Union. Nor am I ever likely to be a member. Nor am I likely to be famous enourgh to ever be on Last Call, or any other talk shows for that matter. It is not that I won't like to be on such shows; it is just unlikely to happen. I understand the complaints of the Hollywood Writers. If I was a member of the Union, I would be fighting for the same income. But I would be worried about my job, if Carson Daly can survive without writers, imagine who else can also.

My best earning articles on Helium

morgandrake — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 01:53:18 GMT

One of the things I am doing for my Microeconomics term paper is to look at my own freelance writing; why not use my own business as a company to look at. My very best earner, if you include income I earned from Associated Content for it also, is What is Golden Dawn (retitled A Brief History of Golden Dawn for AC). It did very well for me before they did away with the Occult Channel. Now, it only earns a few cents a month; I think it is because no one would look for it in its new channel, New Age Groups. Golden Dawn is not exactly New Age. My second best earner, which at its current pace will surpass the Golden Dawn article is How to Flip a House. It has slowed down a little lately, due I presume to the mortage market. My third best earner is The Importance of Teamwork in the Company. I am proud of it, for it has managed to stay in the top fourth of the articles under that title. My fourth and sixth best earners are both in the Wicca and Witchcraft channel--in fact the articles are related to one another: How to start your own Wiccan Book of Shadows and An introduction to the Wiccan Book of Shadows. My fifth best earner is a TV review of Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader. I think the reason for its high earnings is the fact that the title made the Helium homepage a couple of times this year, including once when mine was the highest rated article under that title. My seventh is a Golden Dawn article listed under the Wicca and Witchcraft channel, The Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram--I am not happy with that placement, but there is nothing I can do about it. All of these articles, except for the last one have earned me at least a dollar this year. The Pentagram ritual article is currently at 91 cents, so it may break a dollar this year. If I could write more articles that make a dollar or more a year on Helium (the real estate article is only six months old, and has earned me $2.24 so far this year), I would be very happy. http://morgandrake.blogspot.com/2007/11/my-best-earning-articles-on-helium.html

11143 words down, 38857 words to go

morgandrake — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 20:19:13 GMT

I am up to 11143 words, a tad short of where I should be at this point of National Novel Writing Month. If I wanted to catch up completely today, I would need to finish 3860 words by midnight. Too bad, this weekend involves some shopping, two homework assignments, the reading of a book, studying for two tests, and the writing of two term papers. Sigh. The novel is going to have to be backburnered until the end of next week. http://morgandrake.blogspot.com/

It is almost time for National Novel Writng Month to begin

morgandrake — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 02:12:22 GMT

As many of you may know, I going to be taking part in National Novel Writing Month. The goal is to write 50,000 words in the space of a month. I decided in the interest of saving time to only update my progress here once a week, and save individual screams for my regular writing blog, Musings from the Pen. I figure anyone really interested in my insanity can go there to be entertained; otherwise, they can just settle for the weekly update. http://morgandrake.blogspot.com/

Moving up to THAM (5=6)

morgandrake — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 20:57:23 GMT

Well, I get to start doing the Adept Minor Theoricus (5=6) studies this weekend. It just gets deeper and deeper. LOL. At this pace, I should advance officially to Adept Major (6=5) before the next century starts. Of course, the question is: do I want this much authority? I think that the answer is no; what do I need to do to convince people that I should not be an elected lodge officer--short of getting expelled, of course. LOL.

Denver Open Full Moon October 2007

morgandrake — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 22:50:08 GMT

As some of you know, I am doing the Open Full Moon for Hearthstone this Friday, October 19th. If you didn't know, now you do. If anyone wants to attend that has never been at a OFM, it is held at the First Unitarian Church at 14th and Lafayette (that is in the Capital Hill area). The doors open at 7:00 pm and the ritual starts at 7:30. As for what I plan I doing at the ritual, I am still not completely sure. I do know that there will be some GD elements to it because that is who I am.

Avoiding the 50,000 words

morgandrake — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 18:49:41 GMT

I am doing a real good job of avoiding working on the 50,000 word goal I set for myself this month. The slighest distraction on the internet can sidetrack me. I only need to write 8035 words today to catch up to where I should be at the end of the day. To illustrate how easy it is for me to get sidetacked, note I have written three articles already on Helium this month. Last month during my online market research month, I only wrote four. And I want to Helium to look for things to write, because writing there is easy than the task I have given myself. Now, the first article about the diffenrence between Satanists and witches needed to be wrote. The first article in the title cast my kind in the same light my mom casts my religion. But the Lammas article could have waited--though it is coming up in less than a month, so maybe it is best that I wrote it now rather than waiting to have time to do the complete set. And the article about Teamwork, ok, that one is obviously me just trying to avoid my word count for the day. Much like me checking out the Star Trek fandom sites last night. Another obvivous method of avoidance--writing this blog entry. Next thing I know, I will be reading and editing someone else's writing. Oy vey. http://www.helium.com/tm/433406/people-think-witches-satanists http://www.helium.com/tm/440260/eight-wiccan-sabbats-lughnasadh http://www.helium.com/tm/433488/despite-cultures-emphasis-individuals

50,000 words in 30 days

morgandrake — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 22:44:59 GMT

Yesterday, I went to the library. Originally, it was to meet up with someone, but it ended up being me browsing the stacks. Mainly looking for ways to kick the cobwebs out of my head and get writing again. One of the books I grabbed was No Plot? No Problem! A Low-Stress, High-Velocity Guide To Writing a Novel in 30 Days. I decided that it was as good of a way to spend my summer vacation as any other, so between July 1st and July 31st, I will be attempting to hack out 50,000 words (a first draft of a novel). Anyone who wants to follow my screams, can check out my ongoing writer's blog at: http://morgandrake.blogspot.com/

Are my opinions of my county those of my father?

morgandrake — Fri, 25 May 2007 17:35:41 GMT

Here is an interesting article on how to raise patriotic children: http://men.msn.com/articlebl.aspx?cp-documentid=4725712&GT1=10015 My father didn't use any of these tactics, but there were related techniques involved. For instance, my father made it clear that we were Americans. When people would ask him (and us) what nationality we were, he would proudly exclaim that we were Americans. And he would my siblings and myself whenever we attempted to give an answer other than that. Of course, we were taught to be able to count the number of nationalities that ran though our blood. Recently, both me and my sister have added new ones to the mix, thanks to research on the family tree. I was also taught by example, besides words, that you had no right to complain about this county's goverment unless you actually went and voted. I also blame (or maybe it is thank) my willingness to roll up my sleeves and voluteer in community projects on him. I may not be the best American, but at least I am involved in the destiny of my county.

Associated Content and My Lot

morgandrake — Mon, 21 May 2007 23:10:55 GMT

Spent the day on Associated Content, trying to learn that site's system. And on My Lot. What a way to spend my summer vacation looking for places to write after school resumes. Of course, it is better than what I did yesterday. We lost some of the lodge tools yesterday due to a resignation. *sigh*

Still exhausted

morgandrake — Thu, 10 May 2007 00:03:29 GMT

In the end, I played some video games and researched and wrote a real estate article on flipping houses; not a single thing in my normal speciality. http://www.helium.com/tm/326620/before-think-about-flipping

Exhausted and fried

morgandrake — Wed, 09 May 2007 21:31:01 GMT

True to the pattern that I have gotten into, today I am burnt to a fine crisp. Yesterday was the last day of the semester, and toady I have been busy accomplishing nothing. On the bright note, I think I passed all my classes.

Middle Pillar

morgandrake — Sun, 06 May 2007 00:04:10 GMT

Wrote a small article on the Middle Pillar Ritual yesterday. http://www.helium.com/tm/317653/while-traditional-golden-technique

bad weather

morgandrake — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 21:05:48 GMT

Decided to stay home today and work on my term papers, rather than go outside and drown in the monsoon.

LBRP

morgandrake — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 22:01:50 GMT

Just some simple thoughts about the Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram: http://helium.com/tm/258508/lesser-ritual-pentagram-widely

Some Wiccan articles

morgandrake — Sat, 31 Mar 2007 00:04:58 GMT

Today I wrote a couple of articles on Helium about the Wiccan Book of Shadows. How to start your own Wiccan Book of Shadows http://www.helium.com/tm/243910/books-shadows-individualized-fingerprints An introduction to the Wiccan Book of Shadows http://www.helium.com/tm/243906/shadows-handwriting-brothers-sisters

This week's helium writing

morgandrake — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 18:52:34 GMT

This week's Helium Writing--if you are actually curious about what I have been writing lately. Should Pet Food Be Regulated: http://www.helium.com/tm/226824 TV Review: Are you smarter than a 5th grader: http://www.helium.com/tm/226941/admit-fascinated-smarter-grader My opinion about the Helium Marketplace: http://www.helium.com/tm/227000 And finally, Spring cleaning for writers: organizing your office: http://www.helium.com/tm/228283 At the moment, I am holding the number one spot on a couple of these titles, so the links may be broken in hour or so. Just look for my pen-name if someone else grabs the number one slots.

Us vs. Them

morgandrake — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 19:01:16 GMT

{The following is a cross-post from one of the many GD forums that I belong to; what happened was that there was a mud-slinging session that occurred on Monday, and this is my response to it.} Watching the recent melee here--yes, it amused me (I was so sad that I was gone Monday and didn’t get to play until it was over--I so wanted to be one of the Gang of Eight)--I was reminded of the fact that the argument is always “Us vs. Them.” As if anyone not for the one is automatically a member of the other camp. To me that was insulting, I am my own master. For instance, I am not for Crowley, but I am not totally against him either. When I first became interested in Ceremonial Magic, I went though a Crowley phrase; as one of my friends periodically reminds me, I used to be a fan. With experience, I came to a middle path with his writings--some of it I agree with, some of it I don’t. I am not big on physical pain and self-mutilation, and I think that sex is highly over-rated--yet despite that, Crowley does some interesting things to say. The fact is that I am neutral about Crowley now; a lot of people try to tell me that I should be of one camp or the other (either you are a Crowley-ite or not), the implication is that you can’t be neutral. And that is what I was watching here--a bunch of **** saying you can’t be neutral--you are either with us or against us. I do realize why I am so sensitive to the topic at the moment. I was just finished off the introduction of a book I was writing, in which I was talking about another option. Basically, my opinion is that there is a third option. It is called being neutral. And I think a lot of us here believe in that path. In some ways, I think the whole concept behind Open Source is one of neutrality--you don’t have to answer to the OSOGD, but you are free to use the material. I don’t think that some of the parties involved realize that the whole “Us vs. Them” campaign is just going to drive more people into the “We don’t answer to anybody camp.” The resources are out there--the Open Source material, the A.A. material, the Regardie documents, the Cicero material--even I have tossed stuff on the pile. For a group of people that say that they are trying to protect the tradition, all they are accomplishing is more and more independent groups. So am I the only one that feels this way?

My first lulu project

morgandrake — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 00:17:40 GMT

After many screams and much teeth gnashing, it is done. http://www.lulu.com/content/751625 Golden Dawn Rituals: Volume One--Neophyte Ritual--Three Officer Version