Dr. UFO

I frequent blogs that pose the question "Are we being visited by UFO's"? You can say it is a hobby of mine. I would like to think that if we are being visited that we would not be destroyed by "them".

However, it is more likely that they are here to tell us we are destroying ourselves, and offering up information that could help us out of our mess.

Here is why we must keep asking questions, rather than ignoring the UFO phenomenon:

1) Their civilization has been advancing for perhaps millions of years ahead of us and they found a way to not destroy themselves in the process. We should be salivating on ourselves to want to find out how they did it. Look how far we have come in just 100 years. Just imagine how much you could achieve in a million years. So of course they found a way to travel more efficiently through space. It would be silly if they didn't.

2) When you become more advanced, the ability to control the weather and things such as solar flares becomes feasible. Thus survival of a race of intelligent beings is more likely. Less chance of being destroyed by a huge meteor as allegedly happened to the dinosaur era. It is not that far fetched as we are already experimenting with shooting enemy missiles out of the sky, multiply this million fold and you got a meteor buster.

3) They have either discovered a way to live longer so they can travel long distances, or have found a way to use wormholes as a method of shortening the time needed to travel. Either way, this would be useful information.

4) We need to eliminate our dependency on oil. Whatever propels those alien craft uses an energy source that is extremely efficient. Our government already knows this, as they allegedly spent trillions in area 51 to reverse engineer these craft. So give it up already. It just looks like they haven't figured a way to charge people for it or patent it as it is a "free" energy source, is that's why? It would bankrupt the oil companies. The government may get some of their paycheck from them to shut up....allegedly.

With all that being said, I would definitely not want to be abducted by an alien that wants to do all those crazy experiments on my body because he thinks we are not advanced enough to care one way or another!

Om Meditation

I've been practicing the Om type meditation for a couple weeks now and it is amazing how it clarifies the mind. It is basically just focusing on the breathing by using the exhaling of breath along with an Oommmmmm sound. At first I felt like a real idiot sitting there making funny sounds, but it actually has a lot of benefits:

1) The vibration of the sound clears up the nasal cavity...no joke...try it.

2) Helps remove negative junk from the mind and your pure essence comes out without all misconceptions, including falsehood created by other folks who try to define who you are.

3) It focuses the mind so that your activities are clarified and you do things in the moment very well, rather than running around doing a lot of things very badly.

4) If you are going through a lot of stress it helps relieve it.

5) It helps pave the way before you start meditation on particular subjects like compassion, how to improve oneself, solving complicated problems and dealing with difficult people.

This bracelet has a lotus engraving which represents an awakening to the spiritual side of life. The actual lotus flower grows up from the mud and sheds that muck and grime when it blossoms...so it is a popular symbol for overcoming life's troubles.

I like to wear this type of jewelry when meditating as it hones in on a positive thought pattern. Only positive thinking will help one get through obstacles as it strengthens and prepares us to look for solutions to problems rather than just focusing on the problem.

Deep Meaning and Intent

I enjoy working on pieces of art that are infused with intent or help the wearer focus. I read a book at Barnes & Noble that contained inspirational one of a kind objects. They were so dripping with intent such as positive energy or good luck that one could not help trying to create one of these talismans. Yeah, I'm one of those people sitting in those comfy chairs, gobbling up literature without buying....just as long as they continue to allow it.

I started thinking of my own interests such a yoga. I already know there exists the traditional yoga type meditation beads that help the meditation sequence. This is typically 108 beads strung on a cord with a main guru bead in which you stop at.... not going over it but in effect....turning around again and repeating a mantra or just focusing on breathing. It also can be divvied up into 57 beads or 27 beads for varied design in a bracelet.

I like taking it to a non traditional level by saying "Why can't it be different?" such as just making the beads square, or adding another element of surprise such as an actual Buddhist text baked on to the piece. Just as long as it helps the person focus on the meditation and develop an inner peace.

Make Lemonaide

Just lovelovelove this clip. Millions of people out there are creating their true calling, by listening to the inner voice that says you are more than just a job title. We are all being forced to re-evaluate what is truly important to us.

Just watch.

Alien Egg Ring

This ring kind of looks like a nest of alien eggs ready to hatch and stick to your face. Remember the movie with Sigorney Weaver in which they stumble upon a space ship that harbors eggs that get big really quick after they are born? Of course my eggs are different shape as they are a different species. Ok, enough.

Some people just say it looks like a plate of blue donuts so you take your pick. Then it takes on a different meaning all together....like I should go up to dunkin donuts and search out my market target group....police.

I've been pounding away on my anvil (not really an anvil...just a big chunk of metal) to twist, bend, rivet, pierce, and altogether generally speaking....tweeking my little creatures of art jewelry.

Pompeiian Phallus Research

I have been doing some research into ancient jewelry such as from the Pompeii site, which is in turn inspiring me to create some ancient modern jewelry using modern methods. Which of course is a lot easier that sweating over a fire pit in ancient times hammering out a bracelet for a week.

What intrigued me was how many artifacts have phallus symbols on them...apparently they were fertility representations, but they were so prolific during excavation that it was quite a shock. We have to imagine that the rest of the Roman world at the time that Mt. Vesuvius erupted was pretty much categorically the same in other locations. But, what is unique is that Pompeii was so freeze frame perfectly preserved, that it helps us understand other areas that were not so remarkably preserved during that time.

What is even more interesting is that most of the sexual imagery in frescoes and other items were removed and kept in a secret collection, then kept in the University of Naples where they were only viewed by scholars, until recently. So visitors to Pompeii from the 1800's on up to the present day are not getting the full whack of the original discovery in 1599. They are slowly over time removing plaster from existing frescoes that were not chipped out and removed from the site, revealing more erotica.

This photo is showing the owner of that particular villa, House of Vettii, with a huge penis that is obviously strapped up to a scale so he can show how heavy his tool is. This is actually in a "sealed off area" disguised as "under construction" but someone apparently had the fortitude to step over the barrier and snap this photo.

Eggcellent

Working with Polymer clay has been a learning experience. Not everything works out as planned such as a bad combination of colors, or the technical engineering of the piece goes awry such as putting the holes in the wrong place for the attachments, forget to put enough bonding adhesive on the connections before baking, etc. So there is a growing bin of rejects that keeps on piling up.

But, even Thomas Edison who was successful with the light bulb had many previous failures and has these encouraging quotes:

1. "I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward."

2. "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that don't work."

3. "Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up."

4. "Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work."

So, I'm only human and I get discouraged from time to time. However, when one succeeds, it makes up for all the bad, headbanging, vodka downing moments when we just want to throw in the towel and just give up. And, I guess the sure fire way to failure is to do just that! So crafters, keep on plugging away at your inventions as you don't know how close you are to a winning moment!

Etsy Video Contest

Check out this cool video that I think is the BEST entry so far in the Etsy.com contest. I did not enter it yet. Basically, because I know I could not beat this entry. I don't know how they accomplished it but it's great!

Polymer Clay Junkie

I'm having loads of fun with my new artist medium...polymer clay. Its sort of like playing with Playdough, but you get to bake it to make jewelry out of it. Of course it will still stick to the furniture, get the cat hair all up in it, make an impression of your thumbprint you can take down to the FBI office so they can keep a record of you...etc.

This project just required me to do a little cutout craziness. It involved making a miniature landscape all out of clay, putting it on a base slab of clay and roll the cutout shapes into the form so it will stay put. It looks "cleaner" than trying to paint a landscape on there with regular paint. Plus my eyes would not bear the strain of painting a miniature.

I think that is why photo art pendants are all the rage right now as you get a perfect little image and plaster it on some polymer and everyone thinks you are Leonardo Davinci. Of course, I think there is nothing wrong with that. I am really not a photographer and don't have a line of my own vintage type photos, so I'm gonna try this cutout technique instead.