Saturday November 1st starting 1pm
SLT (9pm CET)
Beware that daylight savings time in Europe is one
week earlier than US
T.R.A.C.S at Timothy Plaza River Island
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
States of Water and Songs
Water appears in
nature in all three common states of matter (solid, liquid, and gas) and may
take many different forms on Earth: water vapor and clouds in the sky, seawater
in the oceans, icebergs in the polar oceans, glaciers in the mountains, fresh
and salt water lakes, rivers, and aquifers in the ground.
Yes, these are my favorites songs!
STEAM
RAIN
RIVER
SEA
ICE
WATER
Water is a
transparent fluid which forms the world's streams, lakes, oceans and rain, and
is the major constituent of the fluids of living things. As a chemical
compound, a water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms that are
connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at standard ambient temperature
and pressure, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice; and
gaseous state, steam (water vapor).
Water is the
chemical substance with chemical formula H2O: one molecule of water has two
hydrogen atoms covalently bonded to a single oxygen atom.
Water covers
71% of the Earth's surface. It is vital for all known forms of life. On Earth,
96.5% of the planet's water is found in seas and oceans, 1.7% in groundwater,
1.7% in glaciers and the ice caps of Antarctica and Greenland, a small fraction
in other large water bodies, and 0.001% in the air as vapor, clouds (formed of
solid and liquid water particles suspended in air), and precipitation. Only
2.5% of the Earth's water is freshwater, and 98.8% of that water is in ice and
groundwater. Less than 0.3% of all freshwater is in rivers, lakes, and the
atmosphere, and an even smaller amount of the Earth's freshwater (0.003%) is
contained within biological bodies and manufactured products.
Water on
Earth moves continually through the water cycle of evaporation and
transpiration (evapotranspiration), condensation, precipitation, and runoff,
usually reaching the sea. Evaporation and transpiration contribute to the
precipitation over land. Water used in the production of a good or service is
known as virtual water.
Safe
drinking water is essential to humans and other lifeforms even though it
provides no calories or organic nutrients. Access to safe drinking water has
improved over the last decades in almost every part of the world, but
approximately one billion people still lack access to safe water and over 2.5
billion lack access to adequate sanitation. There is a clear correlation
between access to safe water and gross domestic product per capita. However,
some observers have estimated that by 2025 more than half of the world
population will be facing water-based vulnerability. A report, issued in
November 2009, suggests that by 2030, in some developing regions of the world,
water demand will exceed supply by 50%. Water plays an important role in the
world economy, as it functions as a solvent for a wide variety of chemical
substances and facilitates industrial cooling and transportation. Approximately
70% of the fresh water used by humans goes to agriculture.
T.R.A.C.S TRANCE PARTY
Last Saturday, much guests followed us into
the world of electronic dance music.
DJ INFA played tracks with 125 to 160 beats
per minute, and even more beats, that lead us into a state of hypnotism and
heightened consciousness.
Here is my set of snapshot.
Friday, October 24, 2014
Same Love
"Same Love"
When I was in the third grade I thought
that I was gay,
'Cause I could draw, my uncle was, and I kept
my room straight.
I
told my mom, tears rushing down my face
She's like "Ben you've loved girls since
before pre-k, trippin'."
Yeah, I guess she had a point, didn't she?
Bunch of stereotypes all in my head.
I
remember doing the math like, "Yeah, I'm good at little league."
A
preconceived idea of what it all meant
For
those that liked the same sex
Had
the characteristics
The
right wing conservatives think it's a decision
And
you can be cured with some treatment and religion
Man-made rewiring of a predisposition
Playing God, aw nah here we go
And
"God loves all his children" is somehow forgotten
But
we paraphrase a book written thirty-five-hundred years ago
I
don't know
And I can't change
Even
if I tried
Even
if I wanted to
And
I can't change
Even
if I tried
Even
if I wanted to
My
love
My
love
My
love
She
keeps me warm
She
keeps me warm
She
keeps me warm
She
keeps me warm
If I was gay, I would think hip-hop hates
me
Have
you read the YouTube comments lately?
"Man, that's gay" gets dropped on
the daily
We
become so numb to what we're saying
A
culture founded from oppression
Yet
we don't have acceptance for 'em
Call
each other faggots behind the keys of a message board
A
word rooted in hate, yet our genre still ignores it
Gay
is synonymous with the lesser
It's
the same hate that's caused wars from religion
Gender to skin color, the complexion of your
pigment
The
same fight that led people to walk outs and sit ins
It's
human rights for everybody, there is no difference!
Live
on and be yourself
When
I was at church they taught me something else
If
you preach hate at the service those words aren't anointed
That
holy water that you soak in has been poisoned
When
everyone else is more comfortable remaining voiceless
Rather than fighting for humans that have had
their rights stolen
I
might not be the same, but that's not important
No
freedom 'til we're equal, damn right I support it
(I don't know)
And I can't change
Even
if I tried
Even
if I wanted to
My
love
My
love
My
love
She
keeps me warm
She
keeps me warm
She
keeps me warm
She
keeps me warm
We press play, don't press pause
Progress, march on
With
the veil over our eyes
We
turn our back on the cause
'Til
the day that my uncles can be united by law
When
kids are walking 'round the hallway plagued by pain in their heart
A
world so hateful some would rather die than be who they are
And
a certificate on paper isn't gonna solve it all
But
it's a damn good place to start
No
law is gonna change us
We
have to change us
Whatever God you believe in
We
come from the same one
Strip away the fear
Underneath it's all the same love
About time that we raised up... sex
And I can't change
Even
if I tried
Even
if I wanted to
And
I can't change
Even
if I tried
Even
if I wanted to
My
love
My
love
My
love
She
keeps me warm
She
keeps me warm
She
keeps me warm
She
keeps me warm
Love is patient
Love
is kind
Love
is patient
Love
is kind
(not
crying on Sundays)
Love
is patient
(not
crying on Sundays)
Love
is kind
(I'm
not crying on Sundays)
Love
is patient
(not
crying on Sundays)
Love
is kind
(I'm
not crying on Sundays)
Love
is patient
(not
crying on Sundays)
Love
is kind
(I'm
not crying on Sundays)
Love
is patient
Love
is kind
"Same Love" is the fourth single
released by Seattle-based hip hop duo Macklemore and Ryan Lewis from their 2012
debut studio album, The Heist. The track, featuring vocals by Mary Lambert,
talks about the issue of gay and lesbian rights and was recorded during the
campaign for Washington Referendum 74, which, upon approval in 2012, legalized
Same-sex marriage in
The song was featured as a part of
YouTube's Pride Week.
Rik shared
this ▼ video on Face Book and that is why I got the idea to post it. Thank you,
Rik.
A video
Created as the closing act for Mardi Gras 2014. The song was performed Live By
Adam George, Nathan Mahon and Marcia Hines, here is used the original track By
Macklemore and Ryan Lewis "Same Love"
Wednesday, October 22, 2014
TRANCE (music genre)
Trance is a genre of electronic dance music
that developed in the 1990s in Germany
A trance refers to a state of hypnotism and
heightened consciousness. This drifting sensation is portrayed in this genre by
mixing many layers and rhythms to create build and release. For example, a
characteristic of virtually all trance songs is the soft mid-song breakdown,
beginning with and occurring after the orchestration is broken down and the
rhythm tracks (typically provided by a Roland TR-909 drum machine) fade out
rapidly, leaving the melody, atmospherics, or both to stand alone for anywhere
from a few seconds to a few minutes. Although this genre can be devoid of
vocals, with mixes done by semi-amateurs posted online at informal locations,
mixers who have gained recognition of major labels put out mixes for the radio
market with mostly but not limited to female vocals, typically soloists and
notably photogenic. Vocal talents range from mezzo-soprano to soprano sometimes
without verse/chorus structure. These are categorized as vocal trance. Vocals
have been described as "grand, soaring, and operatic" and
"ethereal female leads floating amongst the synths".
Origins
The origin of the term is uncertain; one
theory suggests that the term is derived from the Klaus Schulze album Trancefer
(1981). The earliest reference to 'trance' in modern dance music is British act
The KLF on their 1988 track What Time Is Love (Pure Trance 1), on which the
record sleeve is also annotated 'Pure Trance'. Dance 2 Trance is also an early
example of trance music, having first released single in 1991.
Other schools of thought argue the name may
refer to an induced emotional feeling, high, euphoria, chills, or uplifting
rush that listeners claim to experience, while other suggestions trace the name
to the actual trance-like state the earliest forms of this music attempted to
emulate in the 1990s before the genre's focus changed.
Some trace Trance's antecedents back to
Klaus Schulze, a German experimental electronic music artist who concentrated
in mixing minimalist music repetitive rhythms and arpeggiated sounds. In truth
it was really Sven Vath, his labels and others in the same group that saw the
initial releases of trance. In France
Examples of early Trance releases include
but are not limited to German duo Jam & Spoon's 1992 12" Single remix
of the 1990 song The Age Of Love., German duo Dance 2 Trance's 1990 track
"We Came in Peace".
One writer traces the roots of trance to
Paul van Dyk's 1993 remix of Humate's "Love Stimulation". However,
van Dyk's trance origins can be traced further back to his work with Visions Of
Shiva, which were his first ever tracks to be released. In subsequent years,
one genre, vocal trance, arose as the combination of progressive elements and
pop music, and the development of another subgenre, epic trance, had some of
its origins in classical music., with film music also being influential.
Trance was arguably at its commercial peak
in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Armin Only is an all-night electronic dance
event featuring solo performance by Armin van Buuren. The event consists of
trance music, light, laser and firework shows and supporting acts of vocalists
or artists such as Sharon den Adel, Nadia Ali, Racoon, Ilse de Lange, Audrey
Gallagher, Richard Bedford, Eller van Buuren.
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
TRANCE
Trance denotes
any state of awareness or consciousness other than normal waking consciousness.
Trance states may occur involuntarily and unbidden.
The term trance
may be associated with hypnosis, meditation, magic, flow, and prayer. It may
also be related to the earlier generic term, altered states of consciousness,
which is no longer used in "consciousness studies" discourse.
Etymology
Trance in its
modern meaning comes from an earlier meaning of "a dazed, half-conscious
or insensible condition or state of fear", via the Old French transe
"fear of evil", from the Latin transīre "to cross",
"pass over". This definition is now obsolete.
Working models
Dennis R. Wier,
in his 1995 book, Trance: from magic to technology, defines a simple trance as a state of mind being caused by cognitive
loops where a cognitive object (thoughts, images, sounds, intentional actions)
repeats long enough to result in various sets of disabled cognitive functions.
Wier represents all trances (which include sleep and watching television) as
taking place on a dissociated trance plane where at least some cognitive
functions such as volition are disabled; as is seen in what is typically termed
a 'hypnotic trance'. With this definition, meditation, hypnosis, addictions and
charisma are seen as being trance states. In Wier's 2007 book, The Way of
Trance, he elaborates on these forms, adds ecstasy as an additional form and
discusses the ethical implications of his model, including magic and government
use which he terms "trance abuse".
John Horgan in
Rational Mysticism (2003) explores the neurological mechanisms and
psychological implications of trances and other mystical manifestations. Horgan
incorporates literature and case-studies from a number of disciplines in this
work: chemistry, physics, psychology, radiology and theology.
Working definitions
The following are
some examples of trance states:
- Enchantment: a psychological state induced by (or as if induced by) a magical incantation
- A state of mind in which consciousness is fragile and voluntary action is poor or missing
- A state resembling deep sleep
- Capture: attract; cause to be enamored; "She captured all the men's hearts"; in the sense of entranced
- A condition of apparent sleep or unconsciousness, with marked physiological characteristics, in which the body of the subject is thought by certain people to be liable to possession
- An out-of-body experience in which one feels they have passed out of the body into another state of being, a rapture, an ecstasy. In a general way, the entranced conditions thus defined are divided into varying degrees of a negative, unconscious state, and into progressive gradations of a positive, conscious, illumining condition.
- A state of hyper or enhanced suggestibility.
- An induced or spontaneous sleep-like condition of an altered state of consciousness, which is thought by certain people to permit the subject's physical body to be utilized by disembodied spirits or entities as a means of expression
- An altered state of awareness induced via hypnotism in which unconscious or dissociated responses to suggestion are enhanced in quality and increased in degree
- A state induced by the use of hypnosis; the person accepts the suggestions of the hypnotist
- A state of consciousness characterized by extreme dissociation often to the point of appearing unconscious.
Trance conditions
include all the different states of mind, emotions, moods and daydreams that
human beings experience. All activities which engage a human involve the filtering
of information coming into sense modalities, and this influences brain
functioning and consciousness. Therefore, trance may be understood as a way for
the mind to change the way it filters information in order to provide more
efficient use of the mind's resources.
Trance states may
also be accessed or induced by various modalities and is a way of accessing the
unconscious mind for the purposes of relaxation, healing, intuition and
inspiration. There is an extensive documented history of trance as evidenced by
the case-studies of anthropologists and ethnologists and associated and
derivative disciplines. Hence trance may be perceived as endemic to the human
condition and a Human Universal. Principles of trance are being explored and
documented as are methods of trance induction. Benefits of trance states are
being explored by medical and scientific inquiry. Many traditions and rituals
employ trance. Trance also has a function in religion and mystical experience.
Richard J. Castillo (1995)
states that: "Trance phenomena result from the behavior of intense
focusing of attention, which is the key psychological mechanism of trance
induction. Adaptive responses, including institutionalized forms of trance, are
'tuned' into neural networks in the brain and depend to a large extent on the
characteristics of culture. Culture-specific organizations exist in the
structure of individual neurons and in the organizational formation of neural
networks."
Kay Hoffman (1998)
states that: "Trance is still conventionally defined as a state of reduced
consciousness, or a somnolent state. However, the more recent anthropological
definition, linking it to 'altered states of consciousness' (Charles Tart), is
becoming increasingly accepted."
Kay Hoffman (1998)
asserts that: "...the trance state should be discussed in the plural,
because there is more than one altered state of consciousness significantly
different from everyday consciousness."
States of consciousness
There are some brain states in which
consciousness seems to be abolished, including dreamless sleep, coma, and
death. There are also a variety of circumstances that can change the
relationship between the mind and the world in less drastic ways, producing
what are known as altered states of consciousness. Some altered states occur
naturally; others can be produced by drugs or brain damage. Altered states can
be accompanied by changes in thinking, disturbances in the sense of time,
feelings of loss of control, changes in emotional expression, alternations in
body image and changes in meaning or significance.
The two most widely accepted altered states
are sleep and dreaming. Although dream sleep and non-dream sleep appear very
similar to an outside observer, each is associated with a distinct pattern of
brain activity, metabolic activity, and eye movement; each is also associated
with a distinct pattern of experience and cognition. During ordinary non-dream
sleep, people who are awakened report only vague and sketchy thoughts, and
their experiences do not cohere into a continuous narrative. During dream
sleep, in contrast, people who are awakened report rich and detailed
experiences in which events form a continuous progression, which may however be
interrupted by bizarre or fantastic intrusions. Thought processes during the
dream state frequently show a high level of irrationality. Both dream and
non-dream states are associated with severe disruption of memory: it usually
disappears in seconds during the non-dream state, and in minutes after
awakening from a dream unless actively refreshed.
A variety of psychoactive drugs and alcohol
have notable effects on consciousness. These range from a simple dulling of
awareness produced by sedatives, to increases in the intensity of sensory
qualities produced by stimulants, cannabis, empathogens–entactogens such as
MDMA ("Ecstasy"), or most notably by the class of drugs known as psychedelics.
LSD, mescaline, psilocybin, and others in this group can produce major
distortions of perception, including hallucinations; some users even describe
their drug-induced experiences as mystical or spiritual in quality. The brain
mechanisms underlying these effects are not as well understood as those induced
by use of alcohol, but there is substantial evidence that alterations in the
brain system that uses the chemical neurotransmitter serotonin play an
essential role.
There has been some research into
physiological changes in yogis and people who practice various techniques of
meditation. Some research with brain waves during meditation has reported
differences between those corresponding to ordinary relaxation and those
corresponding to meditation. It has been disputed, however, whether there is
enough evidence to count these as physiologically distinct states of consciousness.
Monday, October 20, 2014
GREEK PARTY at T.R.A.C.S
DJ Cat is back and she made a great
comeback, last Saturday at T.R.A.C.S. She had made a 2 hour set with, danceable,
all original Greek songs. It was a great party and we all had a lot of fun
dancing the syrtaki.
Here are the snapshots I made during the event.
Here are the snapshots I made during the event.
 |
| DJ CAT |
ONE MORE TIME...............................
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